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aranthe02 's review for:
The Satanic Verses
by Salman Rushdie
After the attack on Mr Rushdie, I felt it was time to read the book that defined radical orthodoxy in the late 20th century. My first take away is the book is beautifully written: his gift for the written word is sublime. My second take is the stories are boring. While the ideas behind the words: caught between culture, between the modern and the past, between father and son are all powerful. I just found Gibreel boring and Saladin slightly less so. Rushie's writing of women was more plot device than actual character - which is the lot of many authors of that generation.
I honestly don't see why this book offended anyone. The themes are universal, the sections that garnered the fatwah were done for story and were so deep in the book that I'm shocked at the anger this book raised. With the eyes of the 21st century though, I realize my views are way more grey than the rest of the world.
I'm glad I read the book as it captured a time in history: a painful time. Still, the book was a slog even with the beautifully written word.
I honestly don't see why this book offended anyone. The themes are universal, the sections that garnered the fatwah were done for story and were so deep in the book that I'm shocked at the anger this book raised. With the eyes of the 21st century though, I realize my views are way more grey than the rest of the world.
I'm glad I read the book as it captured a time in history: a painful time. Still, the book was a slog even with the beautifully written word.