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bustecap's review against another edition
slow-paced
1.5
Story very slow and with scattered thoughts. Felt more like a historical narration rather than an actually story. Stopped after 10% through the book.
olicooper's review
3.0
This was not my favorite. I had some issues, but overall, I just can't get enough of Rushdie. I love the thought and care that is put into the story telling and spinning of tales.
I didn't particularly care for any of the characters in his novel. I thought them rather uninteresting. There were a few sideline characters that I really did enjoy though.
Why this move wins in my book, is two fold. One, I believe everything is intentional, carefully thought out and placed. Rushdie novels always take me time to digest his words, and I'm okay with that. There is a beauty to his writing that I love to take my time with. He also is great at weaving stories within stories, so he forces you to read carefully.
Next, the message. Basically, it all boils down to a battle between good and evil. The "good" promote rationalism, the "bad" are those that are absolutist, religious, and God-fearing-- in other words, the "irrational." In the end, (***SPOILER, albeit an obvious one***) the good side wins.
But what I think is great about it is (***Spoiler**, of a less obvious sort) that with the triumph of rationality, comes the loss of dreams. Literally, the descendants left in the wake of this "good vs evil" battle, do not dream anymore. I thought this was great, because even though Rushdie is constantly pushing us to side with rationalism- he ends his tale with, what I think, is a little give or take. To completely give yourself up to rationality, can have its own consequences. The loss of creativity, imagination, dreams. Maybe the message is that the world needs a balance. The irrational, can sometimes lead to destruction, can also lend itself to the imagination. Art, creativity, positivity, hope, passion, love... These things aren't always rational. What do we become if we lose the ability to create, to hope, to dream?
I didn't particularly care for any of the characters in his novel. I thought them rather uninteresting. There were a few sideline characters that I really did enjoy though.
Why this move wins in my book, is two fold. One, I believe everything is intentional, carefully thought out and placed. Rushdie novels always take me time to digest his words, and I'm okay with that. There is a beauty to his writing that I love to take my time with. He also is great at weaving stories within stories, so he forces you to read carefully.
Next, the message. Basically, it all boils down to a battle between good and evil. The "good" promote rationalism, the "bad" are those that are absolutist, religious, and God-fearing-- in other words, the "irrational." In the end, (***SPOILER, albeit an obvious one***) the good side wins.
But what I think is great about it is (***Spoiler**, of a less obvious sort) that with the triumph of rationality, comes the loss of dreams. Literally, the descendants left in the wake of this "good vs evil" battle, do not dream anymore. I thought this was great, because even though Rushdie is constantly pushing us to side with rationalism- he ends his tale with, what I think, is a little give or take. To completely give yourself up to rationality, can have its own consequences. The loss of creativity, imagination, dreams. Maybe the message is that the world needs a balance. The irrational, can sometimes lead to destruction, can also lend itself to the imagination. Art, creativity, positivity, hope, passion, love... These things aren't always rational. What do we become if we lose the ability to create, to hope, to dream?
meowzik's review
3.0
I've been contemplating picking up Rushdie for a while now, but I haven't really been in the mood for [b:Midnight's Children|14836|Midnight's Children|Salman Rushdie|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1371063511s/14836.jpg|1024288] or [b:The Satanic Verses|14837|The Satanic Verses|Salman Rushdie|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1410083312s/14837.jpg|1434467], so I was keen when I saw this was up for review as an ARC. I love the Arabian Nights mythos, so I was really excited about picking this up. It was an interesting read - the conflict between the good and bad jinn was great and the jinn and other fantasy characters were fascinating. It did get a little too metaphorical for me in places, and had I been in a better frame of mind, I might have given it four stars.
balletbookworm's review
4.0
Apocalyptic Ur-fairy tale with humor and just generalized weirdness. I didn't like it quite as much as The Satanic Verses (which is the only other Rushdie book I've read...sorry, Midnight's Children, maybe soon) - Two Years Etc seemed overly frenetic, hard to keep all the characters and their stories straight, particularly ones who appear only briefly but are important, and to keep all the events straight until they all tie together in the end.
The man has sentences that slip in the brain like buttah, though. Excellent last line.
The man has sentences that slip in the brain like buttah, though. Excellent last line.
sleepgoblin's review
2.0
I didn't love this. It was hard to keep my attention on it while listening, and it seemed to jump around more than necessary. I also never felt a strong connection with any of the characters. Some of the philosophical bits were nice though, which isn't something I'd ever thought I'd say.
elerijane's review against another edition
3.0
After a day to reflect I’m still not sure how to feel about this book, might be more of a 3.5 but I’m undecided. Firstly, the story was so interesting and strange and like nothing I’ve read before, in a good way. The mythology was rich and cleverly woven into the human side of the story, which created a sort of magical realism that was really well done. Throughout, Rushdie presents some fascinating and thoughtful commentary on heroism, religion and society.
Yet it also took at least 100 pages for me to begin enjoying it, and even then I didn’t really connect to any characters. It was as if every time I was close to connecting, he pulled them away from reach and took the story to someone else. This made it really difficult to stay interested and want to pick it back up again because, while I wanted to know how the story progressed, there was nobody to I was particularly rooting for or attached to, until it was too late for this to even matter. Some characters were also quite underused, while others were given more time than they deserved. The writing style was mostly lovely to read, but I think sometimes his attempts to be clever made it seem more pretentious than necessary, as the story itself was enough. This is why I leave this book confused, because I’m in no way disappointed by the story, maybe even pleasantly surprised, but nearly everything else lets that down for me.
Yet it also took at least 100 pages for me to begin enjoying it, and even then I didn’t really connect to any characters. It was as if every time I was close to connecting, he pulled them away from reach and took the story to someone else. This made it really difficult to stay interested and want to pick it back up again because, while I wanted to know how the story progressed, there was nobody to I was particularly rooting for or attached to, until it was too late for this to even matter. Some characters were also quite underused, while others were given more time than they deserved. The writing style was mostly lovely to read, but I think sometimes his attempts to be clever made it seem more pretentious than necessary, as the story itself was enough. This is why I leave this book confused, because I’m in no way disappointed by the story, maybe even pleasantly surprised, but nearly everything else lets that down for me.
branch_c's review
2.0
I had yet to try something by Rushdie and this one sounded interesting so I gave it a shot. Well, I don't suppose this will be a popular opinion... I've read worse, but I'm glad I got it from the library.
Okay, so it's literary fiction. Does that mean that as long as your writing is oh so erudite, filled with clever puns and knowing references to varied literature and pop culture, then the actual content can just be whatever meandering musings that come to mind? Because that's how this reads.
I think one problem I see with postmodern writing like this is that it's impossible to have any kind of suspension of disbelief. With the author constantly winking at the reader, reminding us how smart we are to have picked up on that allusion, it's quite clear at all times just how artificial this absurd world is.
My recommendation for readers looking for a fantastical story involving jinnis and magical forces in conflict down through human history, try Wecker's The Golem and the Jinni. That book takes the concept and immerses you in a world where you can easily imagine such things happening, whereas this one refuses to take seriously that there's an interesting story to be told.
I should also mention that I absolutely applaud Rushdie for his defiance of Islam. That's a job that needs to be done, and to that end if nothing else, I'm glad his books have a supportive audience, even if I personally am unlikely to track down and read more of his work.
Okay, so it's literary fiction. Does that mean that as long as your writing is oh so erudite, filled with clever puns and knowing references to varied literature and pop culture, then the actual content can just be whatever meandering musings that come to mind? Because that's how this reads.
I think one problem I see with postmodern writing like this is that it's impossible to have any kind of suspension of disbelief. With the author constantly winking at the reader, reminding us how smart we are to have picked up on that allusion, it's quite clear at all times just how artificial this absurd world is.
My recommendation for readers looking for a fantastical story involving jinnis and magical forces in conflict down through human history, try Wecker's The Golem and the Jinni. That book takes the concept and immerses you in a world where you can easily imagine such things happening, whereas this one refuses to take seriously that there's an interesting story to be told.
I should also mention that I absolutely applaud Rushdie for his defiance of Islam. That's a job that needs to be done, and to that end if nothing else, I'm glad his books have a supportive audience, even if I personally am unlikely to track down and read more of his work.