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A review by olicooper
Two Years Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights by Salman Rushdie
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?