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3.7 AVERAGE
3.7 AVERAGE
Rating this book was more difficult than I expected it to be. It was not an easy read for me. It took time and perseverance to get through its many pages. My ignorance of Indian culture and Islam's role in the various locales often left me feeling rather adrift. I also struggled with the storytelling itself. By the end of the book, I felt as if the whole thing might be the mad hallucinations of a schizophrenic who has played one too many gods in his acting career. It's definitely a plausible explanation for the multiple Gibreel (Gabriel) storylines.
As for the rating:
I complained too much during the reading of the book to give it a rating of more than "it was okay". However, I must admit that a book that keeps my attention after I close it for the last time does deserve some kind of accolades. Even though I didn't enjoy reading it, I'm still somewhat intrigued.
As for the rating:
I complained too much during the reading of the book to give it a rating of more than "it was okay". However, I must admit that a book that keeps my attention after I close it for the last time does deserve some kind of accolades. Even though I didn't enjoy reading it, I'm still somewhat intrigued.
Now before I say anything, lets keep the whole controversy aside, just for a moment. This is a fabulous book, but it was stupid for Rushdie to go overboard with some of the things he says in it, and the reaction to what he said was an even bigger example of going overboard. So lets not go there. For now.
Coming back to the book, in my opinion the first thing one should do when reading Satanic Verses, is to quickly come to terms with the idea that the book is heavily symbolic and relies on imagery, and should not be taken literally. When men fall from the sky and start turning into goats, be sure that there's something deeper happening there.
Primae Facie, the story is about Gibreel Farishta and Saladin Chamcha, two men who fall from a plane when it explodes over London (a fall from grace, maybe),and as they descend, Gibreel acquires the Archangel Gabriel's qualities, whereas Saladin turns into the devil.The strange thing about this is, that Gibreel is the one who has renounced god (much like Aadam Aziz in Midnight's Children)whereas Saladin is the morally upright one, albeit very very confused. They part ways and try to reclaim their lives in London, and their destinies and actions finally bring them together again.
Even as Saladin slowly starts to physically turn into the devil (horns growing out of his head et al), Gibreel is haunted by visions, where he is really the Archangel Gabriel, and speaks through him. Gibreel's visions show him three separate stories, one about a cleric in exile (part of the reason why this book became so troublesome), one about Ayesha and the village that she lives in, and the third is the story of the prophet (the controversial bits relate to this part of the book)
As the story progresses, it is difficult to separate reality from visions, but quite frankly, if one is attuned to the imagery, there is no need to. For instance, Saladin begins to turn into a beast(half man, half goat)moments after he falls from the plane. Understand Saladin's character however, and you realize what has really happened; his English adoring self has finally realized that in England, the land of his dreams, he will always be seen as a foreigner, as an animal, only half a man. His ill treatment by the police brings this home to him with disturbing clarity, and he sees himself through the eyes of the English. He was made out to be an animal, he never really turned into one.
The book left me with many questions, which perhaps a second reading may answer. I don't know if I will find them, but I can always try. A second reading will be rewarding, that I can definitely say.
Now for the big question, the hoopla, the hype, the controversy. The controversy in itself can be broken up into two bits. One of these is ideological. This is the part about the Satanic Verses itself, where Rushdie talks about what the Satanic Verses were, and speculated about their origins. My own knowledge of this aspect is limited, so I am not in the right position to judge the allegations of blasphemy levelled against Rushdie.
However, there is another aspect to the controversy. In a certain section of the book, Rushdie is vulgar, abusive, and completely disrespectful to religious sentiments. There was no need to be, the plot could have been handled in a better way, and clearly Rushdie was just being a jerk. These are the parts I completely disapprove of. When you write for an audience, you consider their sentiments, no matter how smart you think you are, and you don't write the sort of rubbish that Rushdie has written. Having said that, the reaction to the whole episode was equally unjustified, and in these cases, censorship is a reasonable option, book banning is not. I think Rushdie was after cheap publicity, and he got more than he could chew
All in all, Satanic Verses is a great book. Read it for the images. Read it for the story. Read it for the layers of depth and meaning. But please dont read it for the hype
Coming back to the book, in my opinion the first thing one should do when reading Satanic Verses, is to quickly come to terms with the idea that the book is heavily symbolic and relies on imagery, and should not be taken literally. When men fall from the sky and start turning into goats, be sure that there's something deeper happening there.
Primae Facie, the story is about Gibreel Farishta and Saladin Chamcha, two men who fall from a plane when it explodes over London (a fall from grace, maybe),and as they descend, Gibreel acquires the Archangel Gabriel's qualities, whereas Saladin turns into the devil.The strange thing about this is, that Gibreel is the one who has renounced god (much like Aadam Aziz in Midnight's Children)whereas Saladin is the morally upright one, albeit very very confused. They part ways and try to reclaim their lives in London, and their destinies and actions finally bring them together again.
Even as Saladin slowly starts to physically turn into the devil (horns growing out of his head et al), Gibreel is haunted by visions, where he is really the Archangel Gabriel, and speaks through him. Gibreel's visions show him three separate stories, one about a cleric in exile (part of the reason why this book became so troublesome), one about Ayesha and the village that she lives in, and the third is the story of the prophet (the controversial bits relate to this part of the book)
As the story progresses, it is difficult to separate reality from visions, but quite frankly, if one is attuned to the imagery, there is no need to. For instance, Saladin begins to turn into a beast(half man, half goat)moments after he falls from the plane. Understand Saladin's character however, and you realize what has really happened; his English adoring self has finally realized that in England, the land of his dreams, he will always be seen as a foreigner, as an animal, only half a man. His ill treatment by the police brings this home to him with disturbing clarity, and he sees himself through the eyes of the English. He was made out to be an animal, he never really turned into one.
The book left me with many questions, which perhaps a second reading may answer. I don't know if I will find them, but I can always try. A second reading will be rewarding, that I can definitely say.
Now for the big question, the hoopla, the hype, the controversy. The controversy in itself can be broken up into two bits. One of these is ideological. This is the part about the Satanic Verses itself, where Rushdie talks about what the Satanic Verses were, and speculated about their origins. My own knowledge of this aspect is limited, so I am not in the right position to judge the allegations of blasphemy levelled against Rushdie.
However, there is another aspect to the controversy. In a certain section of the book, Rushdie is vulgar, abusive, and completely disrespectful to religious sentiments. There was no need to be, the plot could have been handled in a better way, and clearly Rushdie was just being a jerk. These are the parts I completely disapprove of. When you write for an audience, you consider their sentiments, no matter how smart you think you are, and you don't write the sort of rubbish that Rushdie has written. Having said that, the reaction to the whole episode was equally unjustified, and in these cases, censorship is a reasonable option, book banning is not. I think Rushdie was after cheap publicity, and he got more than he could chew
All in all, Satanic Verses is a great book. Read it for the images. Read it for the story. Read it for the layers of depth and meaning. But please dont read it for the hype
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I probably should have read this book many years ago, but I had tried and failed. Now, reading the critiques of the experts in the late 1980s, it is clear that what was seen as a total surprise at the time, it is not so new to me, because since then I have read books about Indian expatriates in England, and I have also seen movies, so as a topic it is not a complete surprise. What is different, however, is the religious discourse behind the book, which I continue to ignore blithely, despite an attempt to understand why the fatwa was issued. I will now turn to something else of his, partly because I have read all the recent books and wanted to fill in the gaps with the older ones.
Probabilmente avrei dovuto leggere questo libro tanti anni fa, ma ci avevo provato e non ci ero riuscita. Ora, leggendo le critiche degli esperti alla fine degli anni '80, é chiaro che per me il discorso é diverso perché da allora ho letto libri in cui si parlava degli espatriati indiani in Inghilterra, e ho visto anche dei film, quindi come argomento non mi é nuovo. Diverso é invece il discorso religioso alla base del libro, che continuo ad ignorare bellamente, nonostante un tentativo per comprendere il perché della fatwa. Ora mi dedicherò a qualcos'altro di suo, anche perché i libri recenti li ho letti tutti e volevo colmare le lacune con quelli piú vecchi.
Probabilmente avrei dovuto leggere questo libro tanti anni fa, ma ci avevo provato e non ci ero riuscita. Ora, leggendo le critiche degli esperti alla fine degli anni '80, é chiaro che per me il discorso é diverso perché da allora ho letto libri in cui si parlava degli espatriati indiani in Inghilterra, e ho visto anche dei film, quindi come argomento non mi é nuovo. Diverso é invece il discorso religioso alla base del libro, che continuo ad ignorare bellamente, nonostante un tentativo per comprendere il perché della fatwa. Ora mi dedicherò a qualcos'altro di suo, anche perché i libri recenti li ho letti tutti e volevo colmare le lacune con quelli piú vecchi.
Such an interesting book -- even more so than the two other Rushdie books I've read, The Satanic Verses inhabits its own entire universe, with its own physics, histories and linguistics. Not an easy book to read, but full of little surprises and pleasures.
After the attack on Mr Rushdie, I felt it was time to read the book that defined radical orthodoxy in the late 20th century. My first take away is the book is beautifully written: his gift for the written word is sublime. My second take is the stories are boring. While the ideas behind the words: caught between culture, between the modern and the past, between father and son are all powerful. I just found Gibreel boring and Saladin slightly less so. Rushie's writing of women was more plot device than actual character - which is the lot of many authors of that generation.
I honestly don't see why this book offended anyone. The themes are universal, the sections that garnered the fatwah were done for story and were so deep in the book that I'm shocked at the anger this book raised. With the eyes of the 21st century though, I realize my views are way more grey than the rest of the world.
I'm glad I read the book as it captured a time in history: a painful time. Still, the book was a slog even with the beautifully written word.
I honestly don't see why this book offended anyone. The themes are universal, the sections that garnered the fatwah were done for story and were so deep in the book that I'm shocked at the anger this book raised. With the eyes of the 21st century though, I realize my views are way more grey than the rest of the world.
I'm glad I read the book as it captured a time in history: a painful time. Still, the book was a slog even with the beautifully written word.
Wanted to read this because of the controversy - ended up having the most hot and cold reaction. Some sections were really interesting, but others I just wanted to skip past. Not entirely sure I understood what was happening for 50% of it. I liked that it showed how the concepts of "good" and "evil" aren't black and white, but overall it wasn't what I had hyped it up to be.
Not a great novel, in my opinion, but a fascinating theological conundrum
I read this novel as part of a project to expand my horizons and read some authors and works I would not normally seek out, guided by my Barnes & Noble planner. The featured author at this time is Salman Rushdie, so I decided to read the novel for which he became notorious when I was growing up - The Satanic Verses. The story itself was not very interesting to me for many reasons though some bits were really quite clever (including some play on words with his own name - a character mistakes the name Salman for Sulaiman [Solomon], and he says he is peaceful, not wise). But there is a theme about the so-called Satanic verses that I found fascinating - verses retracted from the Quran which stated that three pagan Arab goddesses, the "daughters of Allah," could be invoked to intercede with God. The Prophet retracts these as verses from Satan, not Gabriel - but it raises interesting theological problems of whether the Prophet could be deceived by Satan while receiving revelation from God through his angel. Hence the infamous fatwa calling for the death of Salman Rushdie. The novel itself deals with issues of empire, colonialism, what it means to be part of an ethnic and religious minority in the West, etc. I can't recommend it very highly, but I did enjoy parts of it immensely.
I read this novel as part of a project to expand my horizons and read some authors and works I would not normally seek out, guided by my Barnes & Noble planner. The featured author at this time is Salman Rushdie, so I decided to read the novel for which he became notorious when I was growing up - The Satanic Verses. The story itself was not very interesting to me for many reasons though some bits were really quite clever (including some play on words with his own name - a character mistakes the name Salman for Sulaiman [Solomon], and he says he is peaceful, not wise). But there is a theme about the so-called Satanic verses that I found fascinating - verses retracted from the Quran which stated that three pagan Arab goddesses, the "daughters of Allah," could be invoked to intercede with God. The Prophet retracts these as verses from Satan, not Gabriel - but it raises interesting theological problems of whether the Prophet could be deceived by Satan while receiving revelation from God through his angel. Hence the infamous fatwa calling for the death of Salman Rushdie. The novel itself deals with issues of empire, colonialism, what it means to be part of an ethnic and religious minority in the West, etc. I can't recommend it very highly, but I did enjoy parts of it immensely.
I love my British lit professor but he has…questionable taste. I didn’t despise this novel, I actually really loved the prose. But I mean, I just, I can’t.