Reviews

Shalimar the Clown by Salman Rushdie

shawnwhy's review

5.0

I thought this was amazing , beautifully written sentences(sometimes alittle sentimental for my taste(the repetition of pleas during the Kashmir wartorn times for example), highest highs and lowest of lows, Horros of war and idealogical fanaticim, heroes and pieces of shit, and likeable characters who turn into pieces of shit, I actually think that the French Resistance Couple are much more interesting characters and the Kashmiri Couple kind of acted like archetype(well, sort of not masters of their action). I thought eh shadow of the hateful spirit catching up to the female lead was dragging a bit at the end. kind of like the ending of teh ground beneath her Feet, I think Sir Salman might have dragged the story too long to rhyme with a mythological story( but who the fuck am I to criticiz Salman RUshdie). I like the witty scene of him self getting murdered as a middle finger to the assasins

dougus's review

challenging dark tense slow-paced

3.5

Did not fully align with my style. 

abz2201's review

adventurous emotional hopeful informative mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

SO GOOD. Everything about the book is so good. It reads like poetry, I definitely felt a rhythm. It's my first Rushdie since I DNFed Satanic Verses out of sheer boredom, but I'm so very glad I picked it up. But also, who dies?

losh's review

dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

2.0

theplantperson's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

propamanda's review

5.0

It's Rushdie, I like it so far, no surprises here. Olga "Volga" Semyonova is maximally entertaining.

miklosha's review

5.0

This is my third novel of Rushdies (Satanic Verses and Midnights Children being the other two) and while Shalimar the Clown is very much Rushdies writings and styles, this book is different. It's more about people and less about ideas taking shape in the forms of people and I must say I was very pleasantly surprised. The novel was both intense but contemplative and while his writing is always beautiful, with this book it held a more grounded theme and wasn't nearly as lofty as his other works are. It was a creative and brilliant departure for me and I'm incredibly glad I picked this up.

ptencha's review

dark emotional informative reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

5.0

lissurrr's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

the_brewed_bookworm's review

5.0

Salman Rushdie is a man whose brilliance cannot be described in a meagre book review. This book dealt with the forbidden settings of war, terrorism, violence, human frailty, human strength, lust, love and hate in a tale so convoluting and strange it reads like a fairy tale and horror story in one.

Every character had layers within its layers and I have loved each and everyone of them (including the assassin) except India Ophuls for some reason I can't fathom. The motivations and failures of all were explored in excess and the ending seemed apt for me.

I might be reading this again sometime in the future to further grasp this genius of a work.