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3.7 AVERAGE
3.7 AVERAGE
This is art, not blasphemy. A bold and fantastical myth-spanning dream of a novel.
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Mystifying, tickles my brain in a good way
I liked this, but his other work is often too ridiculous for me.
challenging
dark
funny
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I am really in two minds about this book. I did like a lot of it. I generally enjoy the type of fantastically ironic story it describes, but somehow this novel did not really manage to grab me.
Wondering why, I think it is just too much of a loose baggy monster. There are just too many layers and too many allusions and ironic comments to hold the story together. It also did not help that I am not that familiar with Islam and its stories, so I am sure I missed a fair amount of them anyway.
As in a lot of Dickens' novels, I think less would have been more in this one.
I did like the relativisation of good and evil thouhgh. Nothing it what it seems, things that start well and end badly and vice versa. This and Rudshdie's really good style kept me going when I was feeling overwhelmed by allusions and stories within stories.
Wondering why, I think it is just too much of a loose baggy monster. There are just too many layers and too many allusions and ironic comments to hold the story together. It also did not help that I am not that familiar with Islam and its stories, so I am sure I missed a fair amount of them anyway.
As in a lot of Dickens' novels, I think less would have been more in this one.
I did like the relativisation of good and evil thouhgh. Nothing it what it seems, things that start well and end badly and vice versa. This and Rudshdie's really good style kept me going when I was feeling overwhelmed by allusions and stories within stories.
It's been a long time since a book shook me like this one. I took my time reading it - it's been over a month since I started - finished today. Well worth the extra time to mull it over.
What is an angel? Who is the devil? What does it mean to be a displaced and rejected brown man in England, or the very same man at home in post-colonial India?
Can we reconcile the devil within ourselves? Can we attain sainthood as humans on earth?
The plot is a true mind-bender of magical realism and time hopping madness. Two men plummet to their deaths from a blown-up, terrorist-jacked plane (remember, this is in the 80s) and become the personification of good and evil. But who is good and what is evil?
Rushdie takes us back to the origins of Islam and the mysterious 'Satanic Verses' to answer this question. Who was Muhammed but a man, and a fallible one at that? Would-be miracles abound in a spellbinding tale of the best and the worst of humanity.
I was struck by the emotion I felt at the end, towards a character I was unprepared to feel empathy for. Death, birth, forgiveness, the wheel of time...
I'm just rambling really, but I'm still processing the feelings I have about this book. 10/10 would (will?) read again, but with a fine-toothed comb. Also hilarious, and underrated for that.
What is an angel? Who is the devil? What does it mean to be a displaced and rejected brown man in England, or the very same man at home in post-colonial India?
Can we reconcile the devil within ourselves? Can we attain sainthood as humans on earth?
The plot is a true mind-bender of magical realism and time hopping madness. Two men plummet to their deaths from a blown-up, terrorist-jacked plane (remember, this is in the 80s) and become the personification of good and evil. But who is good and what is evil?
Rushdie takes us back to the origins of Islam and the mysterious 'Satanic Verses' to answer this question. Who was Muhammed but a man, and a fallible one at that? Would-be miracles abound in a spellbinding tale of the best and the worst of humanity.
I was struck by the emotion I felt at the end, towards a character I was unprepared to feel empathy for. Death, birth, forgiveness, the wheel of time...
I'm just rambling really, but I'm still processing the feelings I have about this book. 10/10 would (will?) read again, but with a fine-toothed comb. Also hilarious, and underrated for that.
یه وقت مناسبتری شاید بیام نظرم رو دربارهش بنویسم. ولی گول نخورید و نخونیدش. چیزی رو از دست نمیدید.
Liked it, but not enough to finish it. Argh. Very convoluted story. Very surreal. I may try again sometime.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated