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3.25 AVERAGE
3.25 AVERAGE
This was my first Rushdie book.
I try, at times, to expand my horizons by reading books outside my genre, authors outside my preferences, and so on. Rushdie is a well-respected author that i normally wouldn't touch because he's well within the lit/fic shelving, which isn't my native habitat. However, the blurb on this story got me: the offspring of a jinn/human couple a thousand years ago being called into action when the veil between worlds tatters? Now THAT is up my alley.
Alas, the whole Jinn vs Human vs Jinn-human-hybrid story is just a scaffold for the author to espouse various philosophical theories and political stances. It's story in support of philosophy, an overly-wordy offspring of Plato's works, wherein the story only exists to to demonstrate a philosophical position.
I'm not impugning Rushdie's prose - in the hands of a lesser author, i'd have given up on this book very quickly and given it a one-star rating without any hesitation. It is, in fact, only his fantastic wordsmithing that saves this book from being utter tripe. The repeated themes of men taking advantage of younger women, jinn being entirely focused on sex, men leaving their wives for younger women, etc etc etc... it's the sort of one-track-mind issue that makes one uncomfortably suspicious about the author's personal life.
I know the major problem here is that i'm not the intended audience of this book. Lit/fic is not my thing, even if it's dressed up in spec-fic clothing. However, no matter the genre or plot, there were fundamental elements of this book that left me rolling my eyes and muttering imprecations about how old men dominate publishing.
I try, at times, to expand my horizons by reading books outside my genre, authors outside my preferences, and so on. Rushdie is a well-respected author that i normally wouldn't touch because he's well within the lit/fic shelving, which isn't my native habitat. However, the blurb on this story got me: the offspring of a jinn/human couple a thousand years ago being called into action when the veil between worlds tatters? Now THAT is up my alley.
Alas, the whole Jinn vs Human vs Jinn-human-hybrid story is just a scaffold for the author to espouse various philosophical theories and political stances. It's story in support of philosophy, an overly-wordy offspring of Plato's works, wherein the story only exists to to demonstrate a philosophical position.
I'm not impugning Rushdie's prose - in the hands of a lesser author, i'd have given up on this book very quickly and given it a one-star rating without any hesitation. It is, in fact, only his fantastic wordsmithing that saves this book from being utter tripe. The repeated themes of men taking advantage of younger women, jinn being entirely focused on sex, men leaving their wives for younger women, etc etc etc... it's the sort of one-track-mind issue that makes one uncomfortably suspicious about the author's personal life.
I know the major problem here is that i'm not the intended audience of this book. Lit/fic is not my thing, even if it's dressed up in spec-fic clothing. However, no matter the genre or plot, there were fundamental elements of this book that left me rolling my eyes and muttering imprecations about how old men dominate publishing.
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I had new found appreciation for Salman Rushdie after listening to him in Joseph Anton. But The Midnight's Children is where he was at his peak for me. Perhaps it is because I was so much younger and that introduction to his worlds and words was beautiful.
In this book, I wish I got a closer look at Shehrezade and One Thousand and One Nights or Arabian Nights through the Rushdie lenscope. Instead I get Duniyazade and the embedded symbolism of the powerful genie world interspersed within the human world. I loved the hook, but I didn't drown as i would have liked to. Was it the narration?
In this book, I wish I got a closer look at Shehrezade and One Thousand and One Nights or Arabian Nights through the Rushdie lenscope. Instead I get Duniyazade and the embedded symbolism of the powerful genie world interspersed within the human world. I loved the hook, but I didn't drown as i would have liked to. Was it the narration?
Really a 2.5 rating, I feel as if I wasn't smart enough to fully appreciate this novel. I liked all the interesting characters, and following the ethereal adventures of the jinn and Duniazàt. However, at a certain point I found my appreciation being muddled by philosophical or scientific language, and my comprehension being bogged down by Rushdie's almost rambling writing style and use of many commas. Overall not a terrible read, and there were a few passages that I highlighted because I believed them to be worth saving, but I found myself struggling at about the 70% point, checking my page count every couple minutes to see how long until the book ended. I plan on checking out other works by Rushdie, but let's just say my introduction to his literature was not the best.
The language was beautiful but the characters were incredibly flat and honestly I was bored through most of this. This felt like a short story that got out of Rushdie's control.
I had a hard time getting into this. I'll assume full responsibility for that. When I was in a good flow of reading, I enjoyed it quite a bit. Otherwise it felt so, so very dry.
Rushdie does not stick long enough with each character to make me really care, and when he does (dunia) the nondescript (fire and smoke) character hardly develops.
I like the philosophical twist on reemerging myths, but rushdie slides into cheap super hero comic-style near the end. There is nothing epic about the evil to be slain, no buildup in the cronies first to be defeated. Very unlike the slide to superhuman abilities in midnights children, which worked perfectly.
Only two stars, maybe because I had really high hopes of this book. I wanted it so badly to be the new midnights children, but alas..
I like the philosophical twist on reemerging myths, but rushdie slides into cheap super hero comic-style near the end. There is nothing epic about the evil to be slain, no buildup in the cronies first to be defeated. Very unlike the slide to superhuman abilities in midnights children, which worked perfectly.
Only two stars, maybe because I had really high hopes of this book. I wanted it so badly to be the new midnights children, but alas..
dark
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
I recieved an ARC of this novel thanks to Random House and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
In all honesty, I had to push myself through this book. Though the writing was beautiful and poetic, a majority of the time, especially when he was writing about the history of the jinn, it read like a drawn-out textbook. His language also, as the book progressed, left me marginally confused. I kept finding myself rereading passages in order to fully understand what was going on.
The characters in this book were another problem I had with this book. With the exception of Dania, the jinn, they all felt fairly one-dimensional and interchangeable. I found myself not really caring what was going to happen to them or what they were going to do. Along with the characters, the plot didn’t connect with me much either. The disjointed nature of it - the transitions from the main plot line to the history and back - made the book just drag on.
I did, however, enjoy the philosophical nature of this book, and it is one that I’ll contemplate reading again in the future because of this fact. Rushdie’s running themes of good vs. evil and the nature of love, for example, were thought provoking and will resonate with readers.
Overall, I was disappointed with Two Years Eight Months and Twenty Eight Nights, though it will not stop me from picking up another Rushdie book in the future. I may also give this one another try to see if maturity, age, and life experience changes my viewpoints on some of the plot points and philosophical ideas that Rushdie tackles in this beautifully written novel.
In all honesty, I had to push myself through this book. Though the writing was beautiful and poetic, a majority of the time, especially when he was writing about the history of the jinn, it read like a drawn-out textbook. His language also, as the book progressed, left me marginally confused. I kept finding myself rereading passages in order to fully understand what was going on.
The characters in this book were another problem I had with this book. With the exception of Dania, the jinn, they all felt fairly one-dimensional and interchangeable. I found myself not really caring what was going to happen to them or what they were going to do. Along with the characters, the plot didn’t connect with me much either. The disjointed nature of it - the transitions from the main plot line to the history and back - made the book just drag on.
I did, however, enjoy the philosophical nature of this book, and it is one that I’ll contemplate reading again in the future because of this fact. Rushdie’s running themes of good vs. evil and the nature of love, for example, were thought provoking and will resonate with readers.
Overall, I was disappointed with Two Years Eight Months and Twenty Eight Nights, though it will not stop me from picking up another Rushdie book in the future. I may also give this one another try to see if maturity, age, and life experience changes my viewpoints on some of the plot points and philosophical ideas that Rushdie tackles in this beautifully written novel.