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3.25 AVERAGE
3.25 AVERAGE
This was quite lovely. Beautiful blend of mythology and world building with a very modern world.
I'd probably only recommend this for people who far prefer plot to characters/character development (who just isn't me). That being said, I will warn that I found that the pacing was off, especially at the end when what could have been a pretty cool and action-y climax went by so quickly I hardly even realized that it was actually the climax. The writing too was sometimes a bit too far-out and artsy to still be effective at getting much of a point across. But even though that was the case sometimes, I also often found it very lyrical and nice to the ear.
DNF. I got about 20% through the story and it was just too dry for me. It read like a textbook and had no emotional weight. Also, I can only handle so many storylines about old men having a "romance" with super young women (there were already three by the time I gave up).
I should’ve trusted the 3.4 rating. Honestly, I usually don’t give any book that has below a 3.8 the time of day, but I recently read The Circle despite its 3.4 rating and loved it, so I thought to myself, “You know what—maybe I shouldn’t always trust reviews. I’m capable of forming my own opinions, right?”
Wrong. I must join the masses on this one.
This was my first Rushdie novel, so I wasn't quite sure what to expect. I enjoyed his writing style, as it's obvious he loves to experiment with the language and show off his impressive vocabulary:
The characters and story, on the other hand, possess the same soulless frivolity of Zadie Smith’s White Teeth. It reads more like a fable, which makes sense given it's inspired by Eastern folklore, but that approach made it difficult to feel any real emotional stakes. As David Rathod says in the Goodreads question section, “His wordplay is impressive, but the layer below—depth, truth, narrative—It's gone, or dormant.”
The themes seem to oscillate between criticizing the dark side of human nature and exploring the importance of staying connected to your cultural roots, but the presentation is too didactic and disorganized. There is also a larger conceit involved, as the narrators hail from a civilization one thousand years in the future and are thus reciting the history of their culture. Meta-narrative also plays an important role, with frequent reflections on the connection between storytelling and identity (“…these stories become what we know, what we understand, and what we are, or, perhaps we should say, what we have become, or can perhaps be”). But all these meaningful, grandiose quotes didn’t align with the silliness of the actual plot; the audience is told the message but not given any concrete events to make them feel the significance of those words. It’s like telling instead of showing or claims without evidence.
In all fairness, this novel does feature deeper layers that could be explored in spawns of college essays and dissertations. With the number of quotes I’ve highlighted, I could probably crank out a 15-pager without trying; the text is ripe for analysis. Still, writing style is not enough to carry a story (looking at you, Erin Morgenstern). I was not entertained, I was not moved, and those are ultimately the qualities that matter most to me as a reader.
So, I would not recommend this one, although I'm curious to read his much more well-received Midnight's Children.
Wrong. I must join the masses on this one.
This was my first Rushdie novel, so I wasn't quite sure what to expect. I enjoyed his writing style, as it's obvious he loves to experiment with the language and show off his impressive vocabulary:
“The indolence of her days, the delicacy of her china, the elegance of her high-necked lace dresses, the amplitude of her estate and her carelessness regarding its condition, her fondness for marrons glacés and Turkish delight, the leather-bound aristocracy of her library, and the floral-patterned prettiness of the journals in which she made her almost military assault on the possibility of joy should have hinted to her why she was not taken seriously beyond the walls of La Incoerenza.”
The characters and story, on the other hand, possess the same soulless frivolity of Zadie Smith’s White Teeth. It reads more like a fable, which makes sense given it's inspired by Eastern folklore, but that approach made it difficult to feel any real emotional stakes. As David Rathod says in the Goodreads question section, “His wordplay is impressive, but the layer below—depth, truth, narrative—It's gone, or dormant.”
The themes seem to oscillate between criticizing the dark side of human nature and exploring the importance of staying connected to your cultural roots, but the presentation is too didactic and disorganized. There is also a larger conceit involved, as the narrators hail from a civilization one thousand years in the future and are thus reciting the history of their culture. Meta-narrative also plays an important role, with frequent reflections on the connection between storytelling and identity (“…these stories become what we know, what we understand, and what we are, or, perhaps we should say, what we have become, or can perhaps be”). But all these meaningful, grandiose quotes didn’t align with the silliness of the actual plot; the audience is told the message but not given any concrete events to make them feel the significance of those words. It’s like telling instead of showing or claims without evidence.
In all fairness, this novel does feature deeper layers that could be explored in spawns of college essays and dissertations. With the number of quotes I’ve highlighted, I could probably crank out a 15-pager without trying; the text is ripe for analysis. Still, writing style is not enough to carry a story (looking at you, Erin Morgenstern). I was not entertained, I was not moved, and those are ultimately the qualities that matter most to me as a reader.
So, I would not recommend this one, although I'm curious to read his much more well-received Midnight's Children.
A gardener floating above the ground, egotistical jinn, a philosophers' argument lasting beyond the grave - this book has the ingredients of an entertaining fairytale. If your smile freezes a little too often, it's because the story hits very close to home (Swots taking over the country of A. and banning everything - sounds familiar?). It shows how close we are to the 'age of unreason' and reminds of the importance of not letting hate take over. Oh, and it's so beautifully written you will not want it to end.
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Love the concept. After reading The City of Brass, I am so interested in djinn stories. This blurb is giving Sense 8 but it's so slow so far. And I like slow most of the time. But I am just bored. I will attempt to come back to this one, only because I already own it and I enjoyed the other Rushie book I've read.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
I enjoyed certain parts of this book more than others. The beginning, for example, was particularly good. It lost me in some places though.