Paperback, 561 pages
English language
Published Feb. 24, 1997 by Picador USA.
Just before dawn one winter's morning, a hijacked jetliner explodes above the English Channel. Through the falling debris, two figures, Gibreel Farishta, the biggest star in India, and Saladin Chamcha, an expatriate returning from his first visit to Bombay in fifteen years, plummet from the sky, washing up on the snow-covered sands of an English beach, and proceed through a series of metamorphoses, dreams, and revelations. --back cover
I read this a number of years ago. I didn't fully understand it at the time, but I've had a lot of time to digest it. It's a critique on Islam and not always favorable.
I listened to a fantastic old audio book version of The Satanic Verses. Somebody digitised it from a series of old cassette tapes and put it on the internet (thank you). I am not sure if it is the voice of Salman Rushdie himself, whoever it is, I would like to thank him so much for this brilliant work. 22 hours of listening pleasure during my walks to and from work.
I always thought that this was a very serious book. But for most parts it is hilarious. It is also long winding, and I must admit that at some parts I dozed off, simply enjoying the very pleasant sound of the narrator’s voice.
Absolutely incredible. Took me ages to read but what a spectacular achievement. A wild story and deep reflections on the nation and religion, identity and myth. Some of the gender dynamics are a bit dated these days but otherwise absolutely bang on. Well worth a fatwa or two
Overall it feels like Rushdie wanted to capture all of his thoughts on life and death and religion and spirituality and culture in one book. Sometimes it's interesting and mesmerizing, sometimes it's tedious and perplexing. As with any book that covers a complex worldview, some of it is unpleasant and I can't say I agree with Rushdie's points everywhere. But it still makes for a very thought-provoking read.
Dnf. The language is all over the place, and after 200 pages I could still not see where the overall story was leading...
Thank goodness it's over!
I really had a hard time following this book. I'd expected a challenge going in, but I really had to force myself to finish this. In the wake of the Brexit, there were some interestingly relevant themes relating to racism, but overall, I did not find the storyline(s) especially interesting.
I picked up the audiobook simply because there was so much controversy over the book back when it was published that I was curious. Have to say, the fatwa against Rushdie probably did way more to get people to read this book than the actual merits of the book would have. It essentially follows the story of two men on a hijacked plane from India going to England, but it wanders around disjointedly and confusingly into their childhoods, their dream sequences and hallucinations, into surreal realms of magic and miracles, and does this at such length that it's downright tedious. And don't get me wrong, I don't mind a little wordiness, I read Charles Dickens for pleasure and enjoyed many of his books. But this felt like the author sat down at his keyboard and just typed days' worth of stream-of-consciousness until he ran out of ink, and didn't bother …
I picked up the audiobook simply because there was so much controversy over the book back when it was published that I was curious. Have to say, the fatwa against Rushdie probably did way more to get people to read this book than the actual merits of the book would have. It essentially follows the story of two men on a hijacked plane from India going to England, but it wanders around disjointedly and confusingly into their childhoods, their dream sequences and hallucinations, into surreal realms of magic and miracles, and does this at such length that it's downright tedious. And don't get me wrong, I don't mind a little wordiness, I read Charles Dickens for pleasure and enjoyed many of his books. But this felt like the author sat down at his keyboard and just typed days' worth of stream-of-consciousness until he ran out of ink, and didn't bother editing a word. It is at least well written in terms of language and phrasing which is why it didn't get 1 star, but it's everything i dislike about meandering, pointless, pretentious "literary" writing. I would never have finished this if it wasn't an audiobook and even so it was a painful struggle. If the ayatollah hadn't called a fatwa over this book I imagine it would have quickly and deservedly dropped into oblivion where it would have been far better off.
To celebrate Banned Book Week, the book club decided to read The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie. For those who don’t know, the book tells the story of two Indian actors falling to earth, transformed into living symbols of angelic and evil. Both actors struggle to piece their lives together and this novel tries to put it all together from the terrorist hijacking that leads to them falling to earth and surviving to their live their struggles. Farishta is a Bollywood superstar and Chamcha is a voiceover artist in England but The Satanic Verses is a clash between Eastern and Western culture and the effects it has on their Hindu faith.
I started off really enjoying this book; it was bizarre and I had no idea where this book would take me but after the millionth dream sequence I did feel very lost. I don’t begin to understand the religious …
To celebrate Banned Book Week, the book club decided to read The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie. For those who don’t know, the book tells the story of two Indian actors falling to earth, transformed into living symbols of angelic and evil. Both actors struggle to piece their lives together and this novel tries to put it all together from the terrorist hijacking that leads to them falling to earth and surviving to their live their struggles. Farishta is a Bollywood superstar and Chamcha is a voiceover artist in England but The Satanic Verses is a clash between Eastern and Western culture and the effects it has on their Hindu faith.
I started off really enjoying this book; it was bizarre and I had no idea where this book would take me but after the millionth dream sequence I did feel very lost. I don’t begin to understand the religious aspects of this book or the life of Muhammad so I felt like I was missing a lot from this novel. I did end up asking a friend about life as a Muslim and the issues she faced with religion in western society which did lead to her fully venting and while it was great to get her opinion, I was left with more questions than answers. I finally had to try and accept that Rushdie is just trying to vent his own issues about his personal dilemmas about faith and being disillusioned with both cultures.
While this book is considered to be both controversial and acclaimed, I found it hard to see this book as either. Of course I understand if people take issues with this book but for me it felt more like Salman Rushdie needed to express his concerns and it was more a personal problem than a stab at the entire religion. As for the critically acclaimed aspect, sure the books was beautifully written but the magical realism was probably turned up to the extreme in this novel and it was difficult to piece together. Also if you want to understand this book fully you may need to study theology and migrate to a place that clashes with your cultural ideals.
Overall this book was confusing and made my brain feel like it was melting; there is so much weirdness and depth to the book I have a feeling I will never grasp it in a way I would like to. The amount of dream sequences didn’t help this book as made it a lot harder to keep up with. I would love to know what someone that has a similar issue with religion and culture butting heads thinks of this book.
I would be interested in reading this book again, maybe when I have a degree in literature and have the tools to fully analyse everything in this book. But for now it was too intense for me to get full enjoyment out of it. I’ve heard Salman Rushdie is not an easy author to read and I can see why. This book’s final rating is not a reflection of my enjoyment of the book but more of the proses and the fact that it has stuck with me well after I’ve finished it. I don’t fully understand it but I now appreciate what he did with The Satanic Verse.
