A review by grgrhnt
East, West by Salman Rushdie

4.0

There's a growing complexity in this collection. Divided into three parts with three stories in each part. The 'East' section serves the simple stories of Indian life tinged with some fantastical elements here and there. The 'West' section offers stories of westerly grandeur, plunging into history and conjuring up a stories from there. Here magical realism, his signature, comes into play. There's an adjustment period that is needed, coming off of the simplicity of Indian stories, but the reader gets acquainted soon enough. The prose has a flow to it that makes it easy to read; like the stories are tightly stitched. Then the final section: 'East, West' blends people from East and the people from West and so through this diversity, the stories have more grandeur than ever. The meaning being that the marriage of these worlds will make wonders. This is a very tight and precise story collection.