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3.7 AVERAGE
3.7 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
funny
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-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 only knew about this because of the fatwa against the author and, in the same vein of thought as seeking out banned, or previously banned, books, I decided to give it a go to see what it was all about.
Unfortunately I don’t know enough about Islamic law to see exactly where the contention points were, but I can see why some of the Muslim community would be just generally offended by some of the ideas raised. There are certain things that are probably best left unexplored. The name of the book also doesn’t really help things either.
The book is well written, but not really my taste. The plot is pretty complicated but not enough so it’s impossible to follow, and it feels a few hundred pages too long.
Unfortunately I don’t know enough about Islamic law to see exactly where the contention points were, but I can see why some of the Muslim community would be just generally offended by some of the ideas raised. There are certain things that are probably best left unexplored. The name of the book also doesn’t really help things either.
The book is well written, but not really my taste. The plot is pretty complicated but not enough so it’s impossible to follow, and it feels a few hundred pages too long.
challenging
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Book club. Sigh.
Alright, page 150ish- it's as far as I can get. I'm not ruling out trying to read this book again-- in the future. Not now. It's not working for me. And I'm not 100% sure why- magical realism? check. Tom Robbins-esque writing? check. Religious doubt? check. I appreciate all of those elements individually... but they're not working for me here. Also, I'm not one opposed to lengthy books- if the book holds its weight for the duration. Which this one has not done. Usually, a book is long because it just takes that long to tell the story. This one felt like, 'oh, I've got 700 more pages- I'll just take my time getting to any kind of point.'
Alright, page 150ish- it's as far as I can get. I'm not ruling out trying to read this book again-- in the future. Not now. It's not working for me. And I'm not 100% sure why- magical realism? check. Tom Robbins-esque writing? check. Religious doubt? check. I appreciate all of those elements individually... but they're not working for me here. Also, I'm not one opposed to lengthy books- if the book holds its weight for the duration. Which this one has not done. Usually, a book is long because it just takes that long to tell the story. This one felt like, 'oh, I've got 700 more pages- I'll just take my time getting to any kind of point.'
I can understand the upset re this book a little, but how on earth did they understand what he was saying theologically anyway. He jumps all over the place, way too many characters, and I am sure had there not been such a hubub about this book it would never have been so popular.
I just couldn't get through this book. This writer was talking rapidly and continuously in a foolish, excited, or incomprehensible way for me. No clue what hit me in the head so not a book for me!
It was a difficult book to finish. It took me over 5 years! I reached midway, then put it aside for many years before finally picking it up again to start over. The second time took me just less than a year to complete.
The content is dense, written using a style you will rarely encounter were you to pick a random book off a bookshelf. Rushdie plays with punctuation and sentence structure, similar to the text in Midnight's Children. It is in Satanic Verses, however, that the words flow more easily - perhaps he learned to better wield his power with words in Verses, after his first run with Children.
At its core, Satanic Verses is about immigrants- the experience of leaving one's home land, of creating, and failing, at new identities, at fitting in with cultures and with people, so unlike our own. It will make you cringe at the tortures he puts some of his characters through; it will make you laugh out loud at their reveries, perhaps you understand the jokes better because you know exactly how it feels; and it will make you question, not only what you are reading - the fantasy realism jumps across space time lands - but the things you believe you know about life as an immigrant, about religion - what it means to be a believer or an atheist (in Rushdie's words, an atheist is simply another believer).
It is a book less about religion than about deep faith in something outside of yourself - whether that's in a religious figure, in yourself, or in the right to make something of yourself in another land, and how such faith can be both a blessing, as well as a curse.
It tackles difficult subjects with unexpected humour. Don't expect an easy time and if you do give up, know that each time you return, you'll find something new that you didn't encounter previously.
The content is dense, written using a style you will rarely encounter were you to pick a random book off a bookshelf. Rushdie plays with punctuation and sentence structure, similar to the text in Midnight's Children. It is in Satanic Verses, however, that the words flow more easily - perhaps he learned to better wield his power with words in Verses, after his first run with Children.
At its core, Satanic Verses is about immigrants- the experience of leaving one's home land, of creating, and failing, at new identities, at fitting in with cultures and with people, so unlike our own. It will make you cringe at the tortures he puts some of his characters through; it will make you laugh out loud at their reveries, perhaps you understand the jokes better because you know exactly how it feels; and it will make you question, not only what you are reading - the fantasy realism jumps across space time lands - but the things you believe you know about life as an immigrant, about religion - what it means to be a believer or an atheist (in Rushdie's words, an atheist is simply another believer).
It is a book less about religion than about deep faith in something outside of yourself - whether that's in a religious figure, in yourself, or in the right to make something of yourself in another land, and how such faith can be both a blessing, as well as a curse.
It tackles difficult subjects with unexpected humour. Don't expect an easy time and if you do give up, know that each time you return, you'll find something new that you didn't encounter previously.