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3.25 AVERAGE
3.25 AVERAGE
reflective
slow-paced
This is a philosophical expose disguised as a novel.
2.5 ⭐ (poklonjena trojka)
Ne postoji konkretan razlog zašto, ali baš me nije "uhvatila" knjiga. Nije mi smetala ni ideja, ni realizacija, ni stil pisanja - jednostavno bih zaboravila na nju svaki put kada je ostavim sa strane. I moram reći da mi je bilo prilicno tesko da nastavljam da je čitam kad bih je ostavila. Ipak tri zvezdice jer mislim da bi mi legla drugom prilikom više, verovatno nije bio trenutak za nju sada.
Ne postoji konkretan razlog zašto, ali baš me nije "uhvatila" knjiga. Nije mi smetala ni ideja, ni realizacija, ni stil pisanja - jednostavno bih zaboravila na nju svaki put kada je ostavim sa strane. I moram reći da mi je bilo prilicno tesko da nastavljam da je čitam kad bih je ostavila. Ipak tri zvezdice jer mislim da bi mi legla drugom prilikom više, verovatno nije bio trenutak za nju sada.
2020 reading challenge category: A book with the "twenty" in the title
This is the second book of Rushdie's I've read and I think his writing just isn't for me. It's not the magical realism--I've read other magical realism authors and books and really enjoyed them--it's just that I find his work, well...boring. There was a fun ending to this one though.
This is the second book of Rushdie's I've read and I think his writing just isn't for me. It's not the magical realism--I've read other magical realism authors and books and really enjoyed them--it's just that I find his work, well...boring. There was a fun ending to this one though.
Not his best, but it has some solid parts. His writing is still top notch.
Never read Salman Rushdie before. Now I can say I did.
There was a literal flood of Russian publications in India during the 1980’s and 90’s. While this was a reflection of India’s leftist leanings, it later came to light that there was a ploy by Russian intelligence to sway young minds very early into the socialist/communist mind-set. Be that as it may, they were a big part of growing up in the 80’s and amidst the shining pages of a children’s book I had come across the picture of a matryoshka doll which still remains as a faded image within my mind. The fact that a number of dolls could be fitted one within the other with no external indication as to the contents was a surprise to me as a kid. After having been acquainted to various myths from across the world, understanding dawned that we humans have been employing this tactic for ages now in storytelling. The method that Salman Rushdie uses for this novel put me in the mind to remember the doll and how in the hand of the right craftsman, it can be really a thing of beauty. Wrapped between the layers of a large number of seemingly unconnected stories, Rushdie comes up with a timely social satire.
The main characters in this story are the Jinn (supernatural beings of immense power from the Arabic myths) who split between the factions of good and evil battle for supremacy over the Earth. How the conflict begins, escalates and finally concludes is the three-part act of this tale. The difference lies in how Rushdie executes the whole story. Unlike a typical fantasy tale, he shies away from the violence and focuses more on the human side of the conflict. Pause to think of it and we realize that all these gods, demons and angels are nothing but our own reflections. For an act of intense evil or dazzling goodness, one need not look up to the skies for a winged creature to come out and help/hamper them in the process. It is all within us and we choose with our fickle natures, the guise we want to put on while faced with situations. All of Rushdie’s Jinn are examples of having driven the humans to acts of good and evil while having world domination delivered right into their hands.
Rushdie cleverly inserts a lot of commentary on the present state of affairs in the world to the novel : the fear of the so called ‘intellectuals’ about the rise of Hindu intolerance (read - fear of RSS), how the Taliban suppressed art and women in Afghanistan, America’s urge to bring freedom to countries which they have an eye on, our overindulgence and addiction to gadgets and many an incident that defines the world of today. Needless to say, Rushdie shares his own opinions on these through the mouths and minds of his characters. As a writer of fairytales, Rushdie had awed me with Haroun and the sea of stories and Luka and the fire of life earlier. Cut a few scenes of violence, swearing and sex and this tale could fall right into that category.
An interesting story, if not a tad too long. Recommended.
The main characters in this story are the Jinn (supernatural beings of immense power from the Arabic myths) who split between the factions of good and evil battle for supremacy over the Earth. How the conflict begins, escalates and finally concludes is the three-part act of this tale. The difference lies in how Rushdie executes the whole story. Unlike a typical fantasy tale, he shies away from the violence and focuses more on the human side of the conflict. Pause to think of it and we realize that all these gods, demons and angels are nothing but our own reflections. For an act of intense evil or dazzling goodness, one need not look up to the skies for a winged creature to come out and help/hamper them in the process. It is all within us and we choose with our fickle natures, the guise we want to put on while faced with situations. All of Rushdie’s Jinn are examples of having driven the humans to acts of good and evil while having world domination delivered right into their hands.
Rushdie cleverly inserts a lot of commentary on the present state of affairs in the world to the novel : the fear of the so called ‘intellectuals’ about the rise of Hindu intolerance (read - fear of RSS), how the Taliban suppressed art and women in Afghanistan, America’s urge to bring freedom to countries which they have an eye on, our overindulgence and addiction to gadgets and many an incident that defines the world of today. Needless to say, Rushdie shares his own opinions on these through the mouths and minds of his characters. As a writer of fairytales, Rushdie had awed me with Haroun and the sea of stories and Luka and the fire of life earlier. Cut a few scenes of violence, swearing and sex and this tale could fall right into that category.
An interesting story, if not a tad too long. Recommended.
My friend recommended this book to me by saying it was too weird and fantasy-like for her. A blend of fantasy and literature, and based on the blurb perhaps some magical realism too? Sounded perfect to me!
It started out promising, with jinns and jinnias and clever wordplay - and then it stayed just that. Clever, and witty, with sentences that run for paragraphs, referencing older stories, and history, describing famous people without using their name, that kind of stuff. Usually I sort of like that, finding these little easter eggs makes me feel smart, but in this case it was just too much. It was almost desperately self-conscious, trying to be intelligent and interesting.
The story itself was.. ok. Not great, not terrible. It sort of drowned in all the wittiness, and in the second half it also started drowning in the rants against faith, and believers, and religion. It wasn't offensive, just.. well, boring, to be honest.
We get the point - fear is used to drive people to religion, religion is used to oppress the masses, but the manipulating masterminds don't realise that this strategy will eventually lead to those masses turning away from faith. Also, in the purely hypothetical case that there actually is a god, he/she/it would want us, their children, to grow up and become independent. Fine, get on with the story instead of making these points over and over again.
Wouldn't recommend, won't read again.
It started out promising, with jinns and jinnias and clever wordplay - and then it stayed just that. Clever, and witty, with sentences that run for paragraphs, referencing older stories, and history, describing famous people without using their name, that kind of stuff. Usually I sort of like that, finding these little easter eggs makes me feel smart, but in this case it was just too much. It was almost desperately self-conscious, trying to be intelligent and interesting.
The story itself was.. ok. Not great, not terrible. It sort of drowned in all the wittiness, and in the second half it also started drowning in the rants against faith, and believers, and religion. It wasn't offensive, just.. well, boring, to be honest.
We get the point - fear is used to drive people to religion, religion is used to oppress the masses, but the manipulating masterminds don't realise that this strategy will eventually lead to those masses turning away from faith. Also, in the purely hypothetical case that there actually is a god, he/she/it would want us, their children, to grow up and become independent. Fine, get on with the story instead of making these points over and over again.
Wouldn't recommend, won't read again.
This was especially disappointing because the premise was wonderful. I would have stopped reading entirely at 63%, but the sunk cost was too high. Instead, I slogged through the inconsistencies and some of the sloppiest published writing I've ever read. I don't mind meandering; there are times I love it. This isn't that. I don't mind loose Kerouac or weird Joyce. This also isn't that. This read like someone banged out an entire first draft all in one long breath and didn't bother to take the time to pull and shape and trim, and just dumped the whole thing into my reader as if it were done baking. It actually made me angry, and I'm very glad I borrowed this rather than bought it or I'd have been furious.
Having said all that, 2 stars because it's a good first draft. There were interesting things flying by the window that I tried to capture, but Rushdie had already turned the corner and forgotten what he'd said. I've been bummed out by Rushdie's promise vs presentation before, and I won't be tricked by the cool concept and let down by the execution again.
Having said all that, 2 stars because it's a good first draft. There were interesting things flying by the window that I tried to capture, but Rushdie had already turned the corner and forgotten what he'd said. I've been bummed out by Rushdie's promise vs presentation before, and I won't be tricked by the cool concept and let down by the execution again.
Audio: Yes, I've finished, hoorah. I have no idea how to rate this, because I'm not completely sure I understood it in its entirety. Pieces grabbed me and crawled right in, others left me flummoxed & staring them down. Overall I get it - 1,001 nights reinvented and alive - yet - Overall, I'm feeling quite insecure about the true meaning and my "getting" it. Ha! So there you have it, and I've finished it with no regret at all.
Confession: I've never read anything by Rushdie before, so I had no idea what to expect from this book (which I received an advanced copy as part of the First Reads program). I've always loved Scheherezade's tales from 1,001 Nights, so I was pleased to see the jinn world brought to life and the intertwining stories of the humans affected by the battles between the two worlds. There are deeper themes of philosophy and religion that seem a little pedantic and forced at times, but otherwise it reads like a modern fairy tale of magical realism, with just enough current sensibility and political edge to keep things interesting. I might have to check out some other stuff from this Salman Rushdie guy...