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3.25 AVERAGE
3.25 AVERAGE
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
In all honesty this book could have been a short story. It was extremely long with nothing that helped the book. The writing style of the author I did not like at all. He constantly made lists in his writing to show examples of things and it kept going… there was also very little dialogue and when there was sometimes it wasn’t in quotes so didn’t realize someone was talking. He would switch between third and first person. I really struggled with this read and the plot wasn’t enough to save it.
I just had to give up, after trying really, really hard to get into this book! I feel like I should like Rushdie, but he never gets there for me. I got bored, trying to follow the many many characters and sub-stories, with nothing truly engaging about it. I even re-started the book, thinking I'd not given it enough attention in a longer sitting. I stayed through something like 40% of the book or more. Normally I love a supernatural fable.
Rushdie draws heavy inspiration from the tales of Scheherazade and the 1001 Arabian Nights. In this book, a world full of magic and wonder collides with the modern world which on some level aims for rational truths.
The story goes that a portal between the worlds of Djinn (genies) and humans have reopened after laying dormant for several centuries. As a result, Djinns of all levels of moral persuasions reentered the earth to jockey for control over its fate.
There are several themes in this book which readers of Rushdie will be familiar, such as his disdain for religious dogmatism, epistemic arguments over the nature of truth, etc. In short, the book is a love letter to both atheism and rational thought. If you can't contend with those ideas, then this book is not for you. More importantly, Rushdie is most likely not your man.
The story goes that a portal between the worlds of Djinn (genies) and humans have reopened after laying dormant for several centuries. As a result, Djinns of all levels of moral persuasions reentered the earth to jockey for control over its fate.
There are several themes in this book which readers of Rushdie will be familiar, such as his disdain for religious dogmatism, epistemic arguments over the nature of truth, etc. In short, the book is a love letter to both atheism and rational thought. If you can't contend with those ideas, then this book is not for you. More importantly, Rushdie is most likely not your man.
A cute fairytale-like mish-mash of different stories coming together under the common theme of the relationship between humans and the supernatural.
Pleasant fantasy, with a few strokes of morality as the supernatural being are equated to the "darkness within" humans; then also sort of putting religion as the tool of the machinators who wish the seem the human race war against each other.
Characters aren't particularly well developed and the ending is a bit lacking both for the individuals and the story as a whole.
A fairy tale. No more, no less.
Pleasant fantasy, with a few strokes of morality as the supernatural being are equated to the "darkness within" humans; then also sort of putting religion as the tool of the machinators who wish the seem the human race war against each other.
Characters aren't particularly well developed and the ending is a bit lacking both for the individuals and the story as a whole.
A fairy tale. No more, no less.
There's some really good bits in here, but overall I'm kind of disappointed by my first Rushdie. Not really enough "there" there.
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
3.5 for me. At times the writing is brilliant and other times it drags. The voice here is a little too distant for me; though there are passages that are beatuifully descriptive, I never really connected with the characters. But something kept me reading and as often as not, I wanted to see where the story led.
challenging
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
slow-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:
Complicated
It started off hard to follow but made a bit more sense as the pieces fell into place. It's an intriguing story and take on human behavior. I don't know if it was quite my cup of tea, but there are quite a few notes and quotes I've saved from this book to refer back to one day - some funny quips, but mostly eloquent ways to frame the human experience.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cannibalism, Death of parent
Moderate: Death, Sexual content, Slavery, Violence, Religious bigotry, Murder, Colonisation, War, Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Animal death, Homophobia, Incest, Rape
Very long-winded sentences, referencing obscure history that was not well explained, and I didn’t find the writing or the story very compelling.
That was interesting. Very dense, a little disconnected, and a little strange, but an interesting take on the 1001 Nights storytelling tradition. 3.5 stars.