Rushdie, Salman

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One of the Ten Greatest Novels Ever Written
The Booker of Bookers
Terrible Book
dumdum 25 dollar toiletpaper
Eh...

Midnight's Children
Salman Rushdie
Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0140132708

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Anyone who has spent time in the developing world will know that one of Bombay's claims to fame is the enormous film industry that churns out hundreds of musical fantasies each year. The other, of course, is native son Salman Rushdie--less prolific, perhaps than Bollywood, but in his own way just as fantastical. Though Rushdie's novels lack the requisite six musical numbers that punctuate every Bombay talkie, they often share basic plot points with their cinematic counterparts. Take, for example, his 1980 Booker Prize-winning Midnight's Children: two children born at the stroke of midnight on August 15, 1947--the moment at which India became an independent nation--are switched in the hospital. The infant scion of a wealthy Muslim family is sent to be raised in a Hindu tenement, while the legitimate heir to such squalor ends up establishing squatters' rights to his unlucky hospital mate's luxurious bassinet. Switched babies are standard fare for a Hindi film, and one can't help but feel that Rushdie's world-view--and certainly his sense of the fantastical--has been shaped by the films of his childhood. But whereas the movies, while entertaining, are markedly mediocre, Midnight's Children is a masterpiece, brilliant written, wildly unpredictable, hilarious and heartbreaking in equal measure.

Rushdie's narrator, Saleem Sinai, is the Hindu child raised by wealthy Muslims. Near the beginning of the novel, he informs us that he is falling apart--literally: <blockquote>I mean quite simply that I have begun to crack all over like an old jug--that my poor body, singular, unlovely, buffeted by too much history, subjected to drainage above and drainage below, mutilated by doors, brained by spittoons, has started coming apart at the seams. In short, I am literally disintegrating, slowly for the moment, although there are signs of an acceleration.</blockquote> In light of this unfortunate physical degeneration, Saleem has decided to write his life story, and, incidentally, that of India's, before he crumbles into "(approximately) six hundred and thirty million particles of anonymous, and necessarily oblivious, dust." It seems that within one hour of midnight on India's independence day, 1,001 children were born. All of those children were endowed with special powers: some can travel through time, for example; one can change gender. Saleem's gift is telepathy, and it is via this power that he discovers the truth of his birth: that he is, in fact, the product of the illicit coupling of an Indian mother and an English father, and has usurped another's place. His gift also reveals the identities of all the other children and the fact that it is in his power to gather them for a "midnight parliament" to save the nation. To do so, however, would lay him open to that other child, christened Shiva, who has grown up to be a brutish killer. Saleem's dilemma plays out against the backdrop of the first years of independence: the partition of India and Pakistan, the ascendancy of "The Widow" Indira Gandhi, war, and, eventually, the imposition of martial law.

We've seen this mix of magical thinking and political reality before in the works of Günter Grass and Gabriel García Márquez. What sets Rushdie apart is his mad prose pyrotechnics, the exuberant acrobatics of rhyme and alliteration, pun, wordplay, proper and "Babu" English chasing each other across the page in a dizzying, exhilarating cataract of words. Rushdie can be laugh-out-loud funny, but make no mistake--this is an angry book, and its author's outrage lends his language wings. Midnight's Children is Salman Rushdie's irate, affectionate love song to his native land--not so different from a Bombay talkie, after all. --Alix Wilber

Book Description

A classic novel, in which the man who calls himself the "bomb of Bombay" chronicles the story of a child and a nation that both came into existence in 1947—and examines a whole people's capacity for carrying inherited myths and inventing new ones.

Customer Reviews:

One of the Ten Greatest Novels Ever Written.......2007-06-14

The thing that really surprised me about Midnight's Children, by the end of it, was its generally sardonic attitude towards the magical symbolism and omens that are so central to the plot. So much is made of the mystical connections relating to the main character (Saleem Sinai), so much promise is set up in the story, that it's surprising when the abuse starts being heaped on Saleem with almost sadistic relentlessness. By the end of the story Rushdie has portrayed a startlingly pessimistic view of the "potential" of the innocent. And, with the obvious parallels between the life of Saleem Sinai and the development of modern India, Rushdie also exhibits a pessimistic and fairly depressing forecast for the future of one of the world's most populous nations.

But amidst all that is an epic; a collection of stories that seems almost like "A Thousand and One Nights" in its scope. The magical realism style Rushdie employs is far less confusing than that of Gabriel Garcia Marquez: where Marquez's rambling, stream of consciousness writing serves largely to (intentionally) disorient the reader, Rushdie (through a liberal use of semi-colons) gently guides the reader through narrative leaps spanning both time and distance. Astonishingly descriptive, Rushdie is almost more a painter than a writer in this book: the near 550 pages pass by with a very economical use of dialogue, and it is the scenes and descriptions that provide the meat and memories of the novel.

Those who are fans of Tolkein and other authors who write lavishly detailed stories simply cannot miss this novel. "Midnight's Children" plays out like an Oscar-winning film or a very vivid, elaborate dream.

The Booker of Bookers.......2007-05-08

It's no wonder that this book won the 1993 Booker of Bookers.
It is amazingly written and the story is hugely engaging. The narrative is delicious, Rushdie paints his book with the skill of a real artist.
An amazing read, and highly recommended by me.

Terrible Book.......2007-04-29

Rushdie's book Midnight's Children is unbearable. The book is extremely repetitive and boring. Rushdie attempts to avoid this criticism by being "unique" and using a stream of consciousness technique that infuriated me consistently during the reading. The book is filled with supposedly "deep" metaphors, which are actually incredibly superficial and annoying. Rushdie's arrogance and narcissism is reflected by the main character of the book, Saleem, who spends the majority of a 500 page novel complaining about how life hasn't treated him fairly. Prior to reading the novel I was disgusted by what I knew of Indian tradition in general, particularly the caste system and pervasive racism in the country. This novel did little to enlighten western readers to some redeeming quality in their society, and left me, a staunch liberal, reconsidering how bad colonialism actually was. Since I realize that colonialism was one of the most immoral actions perpetrated by any group of people in history, it only goes to show you how negatively Rushdie portrays what should be a vibrant culture. Since this seems to be the only reason to market this novel towards western readers, I am forced to conclude that this novel is a complete failure.

dumdum 25 dollar toiletpaper.......2007-03-12

had fair expectations. rushdie spends too much time being cutesy and obnoxiously witty. read a book on indian history instead.

Eh..........2007-03-05

This is great until you read 'The Tin Drum' by Gunter Grass and discover he just ripped it off and changed the setting.

Average customer rating:

A Wonderful Novel
"What's the use of stories that aren't even true?"
Brilliant. Delightful. More fun even than your favorite childhood bedtime story.
Clever and engaging
A children's book.

Haroun and the Sea of Stories
Salman Rushdie
Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Immediately forget any preconceptions you may have about Salman Rushdie and the controversy that has swirled around his million-dollar head. You should instead know that he is one of the best contemporary writers of fables and parables, from any culture. Haroun and the Sea of Stories is a delightful tale about a storyteller who loses his skill and a struggle against mysterious forces attempting to block the seas of inspiration from which all stories are derived. Here's a representative passage about the sources and power of inspiration: <BLOCKQUOTE> So Iff the water genie told Haroun about the Ocean of the Stream of Stories, and even though he was full of a sense of hopelessness and failure the magic of the Ocean began to have an effect on Haroun. He looked into the water and saw that it was made up of a thousand thousand thousand and one different currents, each one a different colour, weaving in and out of one another like a liquid tapestry of breathtaking complexity; and Iff explained that these were the Streams of Story, that each coloured strand represented and contained a single tale. Different parts of the Ocean contained different sorts of stories, and as all the stories that had ever been told and many that were still in the process of being invented could be found here, the Ocean of the Streams of Story was in fact the biggest library in the universe. And because the stories were held here in fluid form, they retained the ability to change, to become new versions of themselves, to join up with other stories and so become yet other stories; so that unlike a library of books, the Ocean of the Streams of Story was much more than a storeroom of yarns. It was not dead, but alive.

"And if you are very, very careful, or very, very highly skilled, you can dip a cup into the Ocean," Iff told Haroun, "like so," and here he produced a little golden cup from another of his waistcoat pockets, "and you can fill it with water from a single, pure Stream of Story, like so," as he did precisely that. </BLOCKQUOTE>

Customer Reviews:

A Wonderful Novel.......2007-06-01

This novel is Salman Rushdie's funniest, yet it also talks about the importance of freedom of speech and of storytelling. I was immediately drawn into the book from the beginning, which is written like a modern-day fairy tale. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for an enjoyable, yet thought-provoking read.

"What's the use of stories that aren't even true?".......2007-06-01

Back in the days when Salman Rushdie was a literary fugitive, he fulfilled a long standing vow to his son. Zafar, then about nine years old, had begged his father to write a children's story. Rushdie had put this off until the hubub over his fourth novel exploded. Then, throughout the Muslim world, soot from charred copies of "The Satanic Verses" wafted skyward and the faithful wailed for the infidel author's demise. In response the essay "In Good Faith" appeared. An exhausted Rushdie, somewhere, who knows where, it probably felt like nowhere, was left with just enough energy to take on a short project. "Haroun and the Sea of Stories" was conceived in this strange fugitive exile from everyday life. The results display a fervent imagination in no way limited by the threats surrounding it. Though "Haroun" targets twelve to fifteen year olds, readers will recognize Rushdie's indubitable style weaving throughout the fantastical tale. If Roald Dahl had been from India, he probably would have written something like this. "Haroun" works at the level of myth and fable with a lurking moral. Every now and then it peeks out and winks at the reader. That it relates to freedom of speech and the importance of storytelling should come as no surprise. Veiled references to certain religious persuasions will also not go unnoticed. Though "Haroun" does not relate, storywise, to Rushdie's predicament at the time, he nonetheless uses the medium to express some opinions about his censorious detractors.

The fable tells of young Haroun's journey to the moon Kahani to restore the storytelling powers of his famous father, Rashid. One day Soraya, Rashid's wife and Haroun's mother, stops singing and abandons her family, leaving Rashid in a muted state (though he bleats and mutters "Ark, ark, ark.") Rashid's fallen reputation has fatal implications since a political thug has hired him to entertain and sway the masses before elections. No stories, no life. Ouch. While sleeping on this same thug's houseboat on Dull Lake, before the next day's ominous speech, Haroun notices a small man in the bathroom. From this point on things get very interesting. His name is Iff and he has come to disconnect Rashid's story water supply. Haroun confiscates Iff's valuable Disconnector and forces Iff to take him to the Walrus to bargain for his father's story water supply. Riding a fantastic mechanical telepathic bird named Butt the Hoopoe, the ride to the moon Kahani at just the right speed. There Haroun learns of the lands of Gup and Chup. Gup oversees the Ocean of Stories, the source of all narrative threads, and "The Process Too Complicated To Explain" or "P2C2E." Chup lives in internal darkness under the cruel rule of Khattam-Shud. Here silence and censorship reign. Khattam-shud schemes to poison the Ocean of Stories and plug up the ocean's source with a stadium-sized plug. Suddenly, Rashid appears on Kahani. The Chups suspect him of spying, but he warns them that their princess Batcheat has been apprehended by Gups. They threaten to sew her lips together to keep her from singing (her looks and singing apparently leave much to be desired). Joined by Plentimaw fish, who have multiple mouths, water walking gardeners, and a rebellious Shadow Warrior named Mudra, the Chups go to war against the Gups. All seems lost until Haroun remembers his Wishwater. With it he literally raises the sun.

"Haroun and the Sea of Stories" revels in fabulism, absurdity, pop culture references (most notably the Beatles), and, most of all, fun. But it represents more than just a wild ride. It serves as a poignant literary metaphor for Rushdie's oft-repeated defense of fiction and the novel. He had more in mind than a children's story, and it shows. Scenes of moving melancholy flow into scenes of unhinged joy. The ending, though many adults will see it coming, is magnificent. So if anyone ever asks, as Old Man Sengupta defiantly asks Soraya, "What's the use of stories that aren't even true?" Tell them it's all here, right here in "Haroun". Look no further.

Brilliant. Delightful. More fun even than your favorite childhood bedtime story........2006-10-21

This may be the most delightfully whimsical yet brilliant little book I've ever read. A joy at every level - story, characters, themes, language - it literally made me smile every time I read it. A testament to the value of concision and expertly-crafted simplicity, after reading The Satanic Verses, Fury, and The Ground Beneath Her Feet, this proved to me that Rushdie's seeming mastry of language and storytelling was far from some style he coincidentally stumbled across which worked for both him and his audience, but was a result of unique craft which he can scale deftly across any genre or style.

Clever and engaging.......2006-08-24

Written during the time of Khomeini's fatwa against Rushdie, Haroun and the Sea of Stories is a lovely little parable on the power of storytelling and the evils of censorship and repression. This jewel-like book is clearly written for children, but adults will appreciate its sparkling writing and lively plot, as well as Rushdie's insights about the role of stories in human culture.

Stylistically, Haroun and the Sea of Stories felt like Rushdie-lite to me. His trademark wordplay and clever use of language are present, but they have been noticeably toned down, presumably to make the book accessible to his younger audience. The plot was also simpler than what I'm used to from Rushdie; the cast of characters is smaller than usual, and there is a decided lack of twists, turns, and subplots. The simplicity, while unexpected, was not unpleasant and made this a quick, fun read.

A children's book........2006-04-19

Don't get me wrong, this is not a bad book as such. It's just that it's a children's book, a fact I did not know before buying it. It's beautifully written and imaginative, and I liked the hidden message and the meaning behind the names, but the fact is I stopped reading fairy tales a VERY long time ago. The book has some moments that managed to hold my interest, but other than that I found myself wanting to finish it so I could start reading something else. I kept reading, hoping that at some point " the child inside me " might wake up, but that never happened. Nevertheless, I'm saving the book for my children and I'm sure they are going to like it.
Not a waste of time, as it's so short, but next time I'll choose an " adult" book from the same author.

Taryn Simon: An American Index of the Hidden and Unfamiliar

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Taryn Simon Is Artistically All Over The Map, But This Book Confirms Her Status As One Of Our Most Important Photographers

Taryn Simon: An American Index of the Hidden and Unfamiliar

Manufacturer: Steidl
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 3865213804
Release Date: 2007-06-01

Book Description

In An American Index of the Hidden and Unfamiliar, Taryn Simon documents spaces that are integral to America's foundation, mythology and daily functioning, but remain inaccessible or unknown to a public audience. She has photographed rarely seen sites from domains including: science, government, medicine, entertainment, nature security and religion. This index examines subjects that, while provocative or controversial, are currently legal. The work responds to a desire to discover unknown territories, to see everything. Simon makes use of the annotated-photograph's capacity to engage and inform the public. Transforming that which is off-limits or under-the-radar into a visible and intelligible form, she confronts the divide between the privileged access of the few and the limited access of the public. Photographed with a large format view camera (except when prohibited), Simon's 70 color plates form a seductive collection that reflects and reveals a national identity. In addition to this monograph, there is also an exhibition of Simon's work opening at the Whitney Museum of American Art in March 2007.

Customer Reviews:

Taryn Simon Is Artistically All Over The Map, But This Book Confirms Her Status As One Of Our Most Important Photographers.......2007-05-05

Having seen the small exhibition at the Whitney Museum devoted to this body of work (It's currently on view there until early June.), I strongly believe that this book confirms what many people - myself included - have thought of fellow Brunonian Taryn Simon's work ever since she made her spectacular debut with "The Innocents" a few years ago. "An American Index of the Hidden and Unfamiliar" demonstrates that she has become one of our most important documentary photographers, stretching her artistic terrain to encompass much more than the fine environmental portraiture that she demonstrated so well in "The Innocents". Stylistically, Simon is indeed all over the map, but she still has made memorable color images which pay homage to work from the likes of Lewis Baltz, Richard Mishrach, Walker Evans and Richard Avedon to name but a few (I might add too that like most of these photographers, Simon works primarily with a large format camera, using availiable light only to photograph her subjects.). If there is a serious artistic criticism to be made of her latest body of work, then it's probably one related to her sequencing of images (It's a point that I've remembered vividly well from an intermediate photography course I had taken years before, which was taught by distinguished photographer Harold Jones, the founding director of both New York City's Light Gallery and the University of Arizona's Center for Creative Photography.) - though this may be more the fault of her editors than of Ms. Simon herself. If you're unfamiliar with Simon's memorable imagery, then "An American Index of the Hidden and Unfamiliar" is a superb place to begin your artistic journey.

Average customer rating:

More dimensions than the cosmos!
Dexterous manipulation
less than good storytelling
Another great artistic triumph from Rushdie
Shalimar the Clown

Shalimar the Clown: A Novel
Salman Rushdie
Manufacturer: Random House Trade Paperbacks
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Release Date: 2006-10-10

Book Description

“Dazzling . . . Modern thriller, Ramayan epic, courtroom drama, slapstick comedy, wartime adventure, political satire, village legend–they’re all blended here magnificently.”
–The Washington Post Book World

This is the story of Maximilian Ophuls, America’s counterterrorism chief, one of the makers of the modern world; his Kashmiri Muslim driver and subsequent killer, a mysterious figure who calls himself Shalimar the clown; Max’s illegitimate daughter India; and a woman who links them, whose revelation finally explains them all. It is an epic narrative that moves from California to Kashmir, France, and England, and back to California again. Along the way there are tales of princesses lured from their homes by demons, legends of kings forced to defend their kingdoms against evil. And there is always love, gained and lost, uncommonly beautiful and mortally dangerous.

“A commanding story . . . [a] harrowing climax . . . Revenge is an ancient and powerful engine of narrative.”
–The New York Times Book Review

“Absorbing . . . Everywhere [Rushdie] takes us there is both love and war, in strange and terrifying combinations, painted in swaying, swirling, world-eating prose that annihilates the borders between East and West, love and hate, private lives and the history they make.”
–Time

“A vast, richly peopled, beautiful and deeply rageful book that serves as a profound and disturbing artifact of our times.”
–San Francisco Chronicle

“Marvelous . . . brilliant . . . a story worthy of [Rushdie’s] genius.”
–Detroit Free Press

ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR
– The Washington Post Book World –Los Angeles Times Book Review –St. Louis Post-Dispatch –Rocky Mountain News

ONE OF THE BEST NOVELS OF THE YEAR
–Time –Chicago Tribune –The Christian Science Monitor

Download Description

Salman Rushdie is the author of 8 previous novels — Grimus, Midnight’s Children (for which he won the Booker Prize and the “Booker of Bookers”), Shame, The Satanic Verses, Haroun and the Sea of Stories, The Moor’s Last Sigh, The Ground Beneath Her Feet and Fury — and one collection of short stories, East, West. He has also published 5 works of non-fiction: The Jaguar Smile, Imaginary Homelands, The Wizard of Oz, Mirrorwork and Step Across This Line.

From the Hardcover edition.

Customer Reviews:

More dimensions than the cosmos!.......2007-05-13

In this book, Salman Rushdie not only tells a story about love, hate, revenge and murder, but he also draws connections with political and religious issues throughout history. The relationship between the characters in this book represent the relationships between India and Pakistan towards Kashmir. It also tells the tale of the imbalance between civilizations.

For example, the character of Boonyi, except from being the role of the female character of seduction and lust, is also the representation of the Third World. She at first is in harmony within her own innocent world (Kashmir), but then dreams of the things beyond her own village. The moment she deceives her own rural life and her own values, hell breaks loose. This storyline actually says that it is the greed of mankind, that causes devaluation and moral bankruptcy. The fact that Boonyi followed Max to the big city and allowed herself to be used in order to live in a neon-lit apartment where she starts overeating after admitting to herself her inability to excel in dance, reflects the seduction of the Western material civilization that exhausts and exploits the Third World in order to indulge in their own whims and desires. The fact that Boonyi devours all the food she can get her hands on shows how much the Third World has become disillusioned by the failure of their dreams by allowing their own exploitation. She eats and eats to fill the emptiness she feels inside that was left after she had sold her soul to materialism. Boonyi/ the Third World then becomes addicted to drugs/materialism that makes her weaker and weaker.

The second story line of Shalimar, who turns to Islamic terrorism as a revenge to Boonyi's deceit, actually is a result of Boonyi's deads. Shalimar who started out as a goodhearted and talented boy, dreamed of a peaceful life with his wife, but was crushed by her sudden infidelity. Shalimar represents the pride and honor of the Third World who want revenge for their stolen innocence. Shalimar's bloody revenge shows a desperate reaction of the embarrassed East who want to win back their honor by performing the ultimate honor killing.

Kashmira's vengeance on Shalimar represents the current generation of the Third World. They are educated, independent and strong. Their search for identity collides with their sense of loss. Her paranormal power to drive Shalimar insane shows how the only power today's generation has against the rage of madness: the power of thought and strong will.

This book has more layers and dimensions than the cosmos. A great and intelligent book.

Dexterous manipulation.......2007-03-25

Salman Rushdie's latest novel bears the fingerprint of its author: like his previous works, it is an expertly implemented, well paced story that swings dexterously between different times, places, and people, and yet maintains a continuity. I read the book quite rapidly, in a few long sessions. The novel certainly grips the reader.

Like always, Rushdie has done his homework well: the book is full of minute detail and paints a vivid and life-like picture of its multiple scenes. Yet, after completing the book I was dissatisfied. Why is that?

At surface, the book is a story of a triangle of people: a man, his daughter, and the mother's deceived and furious husband, Shalimar the Clown. A bit deeper it is a story of India and Kashmir, a lost paradise utterly devastated by both external and internal actors.

The man is one of the forces: while acting as the USA ambassador to India, he meets a Kashmir dancer and falls in love with her; thus, the daughter is born. Of cosmopolitan middle-European origin, the ambassador is painted a man of many admirable qualities: he is a hero of French resistance during WWII, he is an accomplished economist connected with creating the post-war western world from ashes, he is a star diplomat, he is a spy-master par excellence. Yet he also is an amoral womaniser whose love to the Kashmiri woman rapidly causes her ruin.

The subtext of the ambassador as a representative of the entire Western world is easy to read: his compassion and love to India and Kashmir, even if genuine, is shallow and ultimately empty. What puzzles me, nevertheless, is why the author chooses to call him Max Ophuls. I know who the real Max Ophüls was, and I know some of his work. I expect that those readers who are not movie freaks will not know the late 40's-early 50's movies of the German-French director, semi-obscure if influential as he was. So why this name? Is Rushdie under-estimating, or over-estimating the reader? I cannot see his point here, unless it is to create confusion in some readers.

The deceived husband, Shalimar, is the bête noir of the story. The actor-acrobat turns to an international terrorist who kills his targets with skill and vengeance. He is pictured as the mirror image of the ambassador, his eventual victim. He is fanatical, skilful, strong and dangerous. In his single-minded devotion, he is more like the Terminator character than a real human being. All in all, Rushdie makes little attempt to explain or understand Shallimar. Perhaps this would have been too much to expect from an author who was himself for years a living target of religious fanatics.

In my reading, the daughter, India Ophüls. also becomes more an amalgam of ideas than a real novel character. Cast in Los Angeles, the city with no center or sense of proportion, she is depicted as rootless and uncertain of what she is. Only after she reaches out to her hidden past, to her mother and Kashmir, does the find the strength to face Shalimar in the eventual and predictable showdown. To underline this, Rushdie makes her adopt the name her mother had whispered in her ear after birth, Kashmira.

Indeed it may be that Kashmir itself is the only genuine character of the novel: her nature and landscapes; her trees, flowers, and animals; her villages and customs; and her suffering people. Only here Rushdie is expressing real compassion and warmth towards his creation.

Perhaps there are more sophisticated ways to read Shalimar the Clown; I don't know. For me, nevertheless, the shallowness of its characters left a unpleasant feeling. They did not stand for themselves; instead, they stood for something else. I felt manipulated, and I do not like that feeling, irrespective of the direction I'm manipulated to.

I could not help comparing this reading experience to the recent novel of another popular and skilled author, the Until I Find You by John Irving. Like Rushdie, Irving too is a story-teller who likes to spread his novels over wide distances in time and space. However, Irving's characters, even if fantastic, are more complex and less easy to explain. More than that, I sense more warmth and compassion in his work. He likes his characters, and wants the reader to like them too.

less than good storytelling.......2007-03-18

I found that "Shalimar the Clown" was a bit, well, rambling really. He uses too many words and too many short sentences. It makes the reading experience less fluent and takes subtracts rather than adds to the story.

I haven't read any of Mr Rushdies other novels so I guess some of the blame for me not liking the book falls on me. I didn't expect the author to use this kind of language, that in my mind would better suit a different subject, say romance or such.

The story in it self, is interesting enough though and the characters are three dimensional and not far fetched. I just didn't care for the way it was told.

Another great artistic triumph from Rushdie .......2007-02-25

"Shalimar The Clown (STC)" is a great work of fiction and a clear artistic triumph, affirming unequivocally Rushdie's status as one of today's great contemporary fiction writers. His Booker Prize winning "Midnight's Children" which critics now refer to as the "Booker of Booker's" for towering head and shoulders over all other Booker winners, may have been the high point of his career so far, but STC shows that Rushdie has lost none of his magical touch, his ability to fire the reader's imagination with a sweeping transnational tale of love, lust, honour and murder that is no less intriguing as a personal revenge drama than as an allegorical take on how a once idyllic enclave (Kashmir) where Hindus and Muslims lived and co-existed peacefully with one another has become a tension ridden no man's land where competing political interests fight for dominance and influence.

The cuckolded Shalimar's murderous fixation on revenge to redeem his honour may be a personal mission but surely it taps into the same vein that turns those imbibing the teachings of the iron mullahs into terrorists. Then there's Max, the blue-eyed cosmopolitan diplomat and the sexually progressive but doomed Boonyi's seducer, whose Jewish-ness must seem like the proverbial vial of Molotov cocktail that sets the cauldron aflame, dragging the rest of the world into the threatening war of civilizations.

The three stories - all interlinked across different times and continents - are never less than compelling. Even the telling of Max's early years in Nazi-torn Europe, his escape to America and arrival on the world political stage fit hand in glove into the novel's narrative sequence. The characterization is full and believable, except perhaps for India - Max's and Boonyi's love child - who is a bit of a blank, neither likeable nor comprehending of the circumstances that led to her own beginning...but in a way, that's how it is, isn't it ? Thankfully, the young never truly understand nor see the past through the same prism as their parents. Otherwise, what hope is there for mankind ?

"Shalimar The Clown" is an exceptional literary achievement, a thing of enormous richness, breadth and beauty, one that resonates with truth, wisdom, insight and all the finest qualities you'd expect to find in a Rushdie novel. I count it among my top 3 reads in the past year.

Shalimar the Clown.......2007-01-16

This is a well-written novel but it is quite dark and is brutally ugly at times. Eventhough it kept my interest, parts of it were disturbing and difficult to read. I suppose the tenor reflects the subject matter, which involves the recent history of Kashmir. There are moments of beauty (and Kashmir is described as a paradise in the past) contrasted with an over-riding sense of the grotesque (as Kashmir is destroyed through war and political wrangling). I was bothered that there was no sense of mercy or humanity towards the end but this, perhaps, is indicative of the situation in Kashmir today. It is well-written with some powerful themes that echo some of our current events. However, it was different than I expected and I found it unsettling.

The Satanic Verses: A Novel (Bestselling Backlist)

Average customer rating:

I don't like Salman Rushdie
Piece of garbage
2.5 stars for this one... probably the most over-hyped book I've ever read.
er
The shipment came late

The Satanic Verses: A Novel (Bestselling Backlist)
Salman Rushdie
Manufacturer: Picador
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Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0312270828

Amazon.com

No book in modern times has matched the uproar sparked by Salman Rushdie's The Satanic Verses, which earned its author a death sentence. Furor aside, it is a marvelously erudite study of good and evil, a feast of language served up by a writer at the height of his powers, and a rollicking comic fable. The book begins with two Indians, Gibreel Farishta ("for fifteen years the biggest star in the history of the Indian movies") and Saladin Chamcha, a Bombay expatriate returning from his first visit to his homeland in 15 years, plummeting from the sky after the explosion of their jetliner, and proceeds through a series of metamorphoses, dreams and revelations. Rushdie's powers of invention are astonishing in this Whitbread Prize winner.

Book Description

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.

Customer Reviews:

I don't like Salman Rushdie.......2007-06-23

Okay, maybe that's harsh. I've never met the man, and he may be a fine individual. However, he comes across as smug and conceited in different interviews and comments that he has reportedly made. But, damn, he's one hell of a writer....I've only read two of his books - this along with Midnight's Children - and the man can write, that's for sure!

Piece of garbage.......2007-06-18

I read it in the late 80s in the height of the furor over the book. A good book, I'll read quickly straight through. This book took weeks. I read 5 other books while I was reading this one and finished all of those before finishing Rushdie. Without the fatwa, this book would still be selling form its first printing.

Awful.

Boring.

Without point or meaning.

Far too many better books out there to read than to waste your time with this.

2.5 stars for this one... probably the most over-hyped book I've ever read........2007-03-24

No Spoilers

Where to start. This could easily turn into a long review, but I don't want it to be so I'll try to keep it short. Also, I'll stay away from the religious views regarding this book and focus on the writing because religion is subjective and everyone can (and should) think whatever they want about their religion) Having said that, the one recurring thought I had about this book while reading it (and while thinking about it after completing it for this review) was that it is without a doubt the most esoteric and pedantic book I have ever read.

Now I'm not stupid, and I can appreciate the beauty of words and the importance of diction, but so much of this book was Rushdie writing in such a way to make sure that you had no idea what the hell he was talking about. There are times when you can be extremely metaphorical and lofty and times when you should just be blunt, but for Rushdie, there is no bluntness, and everything must be doused in the most stringy and free-formed words he can think of. Why? In some cases it adds to the story... in this, it doesn't. While there are some very good parts in this book, they are all surrounded by a lot of words that don't really say anything.

Bottom line: you can skip this book. However, those interested in religion and questioning said relgion will probably read it anyway. I would suggest you get a durable copy because you will want to throw it against the wall a few times.

PS: The best part of the whole book for me was towards the end in the scenes between Saladin and his father. If the whole book had been written like that, it would've been a pleasure.

er.......2007-03-05

It was great until I read 'The Master and the Margarita' a few months later and realised how blatantly Rushdie had pillaged it.

The shipment came late.......2007-02-01

K, besides the late arrival, the whole book was written in terminology in which I had to read over and over again before I understood the meaning. Its not like the book came with appendices right? Anyway, I do not know whats the huu haa about the book. It seems pretty fictional. Coming from a Muslim.

Average customer rating:

Compelling
Eclectic, entertaining mix of East and West characters!
Rushdie a master of the short story form
The best sociological study around
A mix of Rushdie

East, West: Stories
Salman Rushdie
Manufacturer: Vintage
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0679757899
Release Date: 1995-12-23

Book Description

From the Booker Prize-winning author of The Satanic Verses comes nine stories that reveal the oceanic distances and the unexpected intimacies between East and West. Daring, extravagant, comical and humane, this book renews Rushdie's stature as a storyteller who can enthrall and instruct us with the same sentence.

Customer Reviews:

Compelling.......2006-10-18

I loved this book by Rushdie. I was first introduced to it as a selection in a seminar course, and have found myself going back to a number of the stories to re-read them - something I almost never do. The first three stories take place in India and play greatly with Western readers perceptions of Indians and Indian culture. The second selection of three stories takes place in the West. Some are contemporary while one is actually futuristic, bordering on sci-fi. The last three are a fussion of these two worlds. The stories are rich in their imagery, and definitely multi-layered. They prove to be an entertaining read for the casual reader, as well as an extremely intriguing read for those who are involved in a book club or academic enviornment. While some stories are difficult because of the Indian dialect or else due to the point at which the reader is dropped into the story, I would encourage one to keep reading. It will untangle into perhaps one of the best short stories you will encounter, and they are written this way for a reason. With Rushdie, nothing is left to chance, and there is a reason for everything in these stories whether it be the starting point, the dialect, the time frame, a character's name, etc. Definitely get this book. It is worth every penny.

Eclectic, entertaining mix of East and West characters!.......2005-11-20

East, West is most readily accessible work of Rushdie. The stories are high entertaining, and each of the nine stories manages to create well-defined character sketches, as well as plots with interesting twists, myths and humor. The story about Columbus and Isabella is full of laughs, about Courter is full of sentimental exuberance, one about Chekov and Zulu delves into Indra Gandhi's assination and its effect on the friendship of a Sikh and a Hindu (very poignant for us who witnessed the tradegy), and there are others that deal with the charade of charlatan, the obsession of occult of some Cambridge students and so on. These stories reflect how well Rushdie captures both the Eastern and Western personalities and history and how he manages to combine them to make stories worth relishing.

Rushdie a master of the short story form.......2005-04-11

The stories in this collection present lighter reading than Rushdie's mammoth novels such as Midnight's Children and The Satanic Verses but they display just as many of his lavish, elegant and rich prose writing talents. The stories focus on various cultural aspects of Western and Eastern societies - the lifestyles, events, stereotypes and prejudices that affect people in these areas, especially those who, like Rushdie, migrate from one to the other.

The stories are vastly diverse - those in the 'East' section document important cultural events that are particular to Indian society - the woman seeking a Visa to travel West, the man who undergoes a vasectomy to get a free radio. Those in the 'West' section include a Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead esque reworking of Hamlet from the perspective of the minor characters and a whimsical portrayal of Christopher Columbus as beholden to the dominant whims of Queen Isabella rather than the pioneering bold explorer of legend.
The final stories 'East, West' tackle issues of East, West cultural commingling. 'The Harmony of the Spheres' is the story of an Indian undergraduate at Cambridge University who encounters a paranoid schizophrenic, obsessed with the occult. Chekov and Zulu, the code names of two diplomats, is a story set in the historical context of Indian politics and mixes Western popular culture images in the unfamiliar context of Asian political circles. The final story 'The Courter' highlights perhaps the dominant theme we associate with East, West migration, the difficulties faced by poor immigrant families in London and the prejudices they suffer. The final page deftly highlights the sensation felt, perhaps by Rushdie himself, and many other people who have crossed frontiers: 'I...have ropes around my neck, I have them to this day, pulling me this way and that, East and West, the nooses tightening, commanding, choose, choose. I buck, I snort, I whinny, I rear, I kick. Ropes, I do not choose between you. Lassoes, lariats, I choose neither of you, and both. Do you hear? I refuse to choose'. The stubborn proudness of the cross cultural traveller. East, West highlights these virtues superbly.

The best sociological study around.......2004-04-26

Well, you probably supposed that this in not some kind of boring sociological study (not to say that those things are boring, only some of them :)), you also probably guessed that this is a novel comprised of short stories. Wow, good guess, considering that all that is written somwhere around. Enough with the joking.
Well, having read most of Rushdie's work, I was finding myself, very often, suprised, about the fact that every educated reader in the world could find his work interesting. Or so the media tries to present it. As much as I do not appreciate his other work (including, Satanic verses and Midnight:Children) I must confess that these novels stand for the best ones I have ever read in my entire life.
When westerner tries to grasp struggle that is (and still will be) going on between East and West, he can't run from prejudices which he breathes by mere fact of being westerneer. Upon reading this book, one does find himself wondering, what the hell happened to the world...

These are the stories of prejudices, both East and West, stories of love and hate that exist in both spheres, told in language extraordinaire, stories that presents the world in his filth, and richness, in his sadness and loveability, stories that you'll remember long after the moment of reading has passed.
I can only but recommend this book....
(If you have any doubts, pleas call our emergency line at 1-800-HELP...j/k e-mail me)

A mix of Rushdie.......2003-03-30

"East, West" comprises of a selection of stories arranged into three sections, "East", "West", and "East, West". As with most short story collections, they vary in type and quality. Rushdie's method seemed to me to look at bits of life in India, and life in the UK as experienced by Indians living in the UK and British subjects of Indian descent. Especially, how are people coping with both cultures?

The "East" section roams from a story about the problem of getting permission to travel to the UK, the mass vascetomy programme, and a fantasy about a curse associated with a holy relic. "West" is essentially a critique of Western culture: a spoof of "Hamlet", a story about obsession with money, and an alternative history of Columbus's relationship with Isabella of Spain.

The last section, "East, West", is perhaps the best, containing stories both humorous and mooving, culminating with "The Courter".

Not bad, but a mixed bag.

Amazon.com

While Salman Rushdie has treasured The Wizard of Oz since his boyhood, the movie's idea of returning "home" has had a special resonance for him as an adult. In this lovely appreciation of the MGM classic, Rushdie does not dwell upon his continual flight from any "home" after writing The Satanic Verses. But his affinity for Dorothy and her predicament comes through in his analysis.

This is a marvelous little book, full of wonderful tidbits about the making of The Wizard of Oz. Rushdie also talks about the movie's contrast of black and white and color, order and disorder, good and evil. The volume ends with "At the Auction of the Ruby Slippers," a surrealistic short story in which Rushdie meditates on the value of fantasies like The Wizard of Oz.

Book Description

"The Wizard of Oz was my very first literary influence," writes Salman Rushdie in his account of the great MGM children's classic. At the age of ten he had written a story, "Over the Rainbow," about a colorful fantasy world. But for Rushdie The Wizard of Oz is more than a children's film, and more than a fantasy. It's a story whose driving force is the inadequacy of adults, where the weakness of grown-ups forces children to take control of their own destinies. Rushdie rejects the conventional view that its fantasy of escape from reality ends with a comforting return to home, sweet home. On the contrary, it is a film that speaks to the exile. The Wizard of Oz shows that imagination can become reality, that there is no such place like home, or rather that the only home is the one we make for ourselves.
Rushdie's brilliant insights into a film more often seen than written about are rounded off with a typically scintillating new short story, "At the Auction of the Ruby Slippers," about the day when Dorothy's red shoes are knocked down to $15,000 at a sale of MGM props.

Customer Reviews:

for a film class.......2006-12-25

I really enjoyed this book. I had to read it for a film analysis and aesthetics class, along with many other BFI books, and it was my favorite one. I would have read it even if I weren't in the class -- Rushdie offers a personal take on a classic movie, and his reading (one that says youth is constantly looking for a technicolor world far away from their grounding, drab home life) is one easily relatable. I recommend it to any fan of Rushdie's, The Wizard of Oz and/or film.

A wizard on "Oz".......2006-07-09

One of the first long pieces Salman Rushdie wrote after the fatwa issued against him by the Ayatollah Khomeini, this charming little 1992 study of THE WIZARD OF OZ is one of their most charming in the BFI catalogue, and tells us perhaps more about the workings of one of the most important living novelists (himself a kind of wizard exiled from home) as it does about the 1939 MGM classic. The monograph consists of two halves: an extended essay on THE WIZARD OF OZ itself, and Rushdie's by-now famous short story "At the Auction of the Ruby Slippers," a fantasia on the famous early 70s purchase of one of the many pairs of slippers crafted for the film for what was then the unbelievable price of $15,000. The essay on the film brings up all kinds of intriguing departure points for Rushdie: he emphasizes its importance to his own imaginative work (the depiction of the Widow in MIDNIGHT'S CHILDREN, he now realizes, owes much to the unforgettable appearance of Margaret Hamilton as the Wicked Witch of the West), offers surprising analyses of the film's treatments of exile and return, and compares it to the musicals of Bollywood. The essay disappoints only by being too short: you wish it would go on longer and tell you even more.

Great Oz, Great Rushdie book.......2004-02-22

A great book for Rushdie -- one can feel the limitations perhaps set by the editors on him -- usually Rushdie runs on, but here all of his insight and enthusiasm is pared down into an economical essay one can enjoy in less than an afternoon. Oh, it's a wonderful book on the Wizard movie, too.

Rushdie, as outsider/insider, helps one return to the joy of first seeing the movie; he also provides some of the more delicious gossip and facts about this movie -- unlikely as I am to ever read a full book the film, Rushdie captures surely some of its best behind-the-scenes stories (yes: midgets, sweating, original actors, and the slippers).

This book is a great read: the author is able to remind us how so many good elements (the visual storytelling, Garland's voice, the lyrics, the political incorrectness) bleed together into this wonderful movie.

A Beautiful Book.......2002-12-11

This is a beautiful and moving meditation on the meaining of The Wizard of Oz. Rushdie teases all the deep emotional resonances out of the film. The book is also visually stunning, with great stills. A great read. Thanks Salman Rushdie for sharing your thoughts and feelings.

BOLLYWOOD TACKLES HOLLYWOOD!.......2002-04-07

Most people don't realize that the film-making industry of India (called "Bollywood" by some Westerners) puts Hollywood to shame by sheer size and appeal. Having Rushdie, a student of Indian film and an infamous scholar, review "The Wizard of Oz" from his own unique point of view, is priceless. Rushdie spends more time than most going through the mythological meanings and symbolic imagery of the film, and leaves out much of the popular emphasis on MGM's prestige and the legacy of Judy Garland, which offers a refreshing perspective on the film. A highly recommended read, and one which will make you want to explore other BFI commentaries.

Average customer rating:

Commentry on FSLN with third worldian outlook
A Rich, Fascinating Journey.
Rushdie evaluates the Nicaragua of the Sandinistas...
Book, subject even more so, deserves reevaluation
How can Salman Rushdie "understand" Nicaragua?

The Jaguar Smile: A Nicaraguan Journey
Salman Rushdie
Manufacturer: Picador
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0312422784

Book Description

In this brilliantly focused and haunting portrait of the people, the politics, the land, and the poetry of Nicaragua, Salman Rushdie brings to the forefront the palpable human facts of a country in the midst of a revolution. Rushdie went to Nicaragua in 1986, harboring no preconceptions of what he might find. What he discovered was overwhelming: a culture of heroes who had turned into inanimate objects and of politicians and warriors who were poets; a land of difficult, often beautiful contradictions. His perceptions always heightened by his special sensitivity to 'the views from underneath,' Rushdie reveals a land resounding with the clashes between history and morality, government and individuals.

Customer Reviews:

Commentry on FSLN with third worldian outlook.......2007-03-26

A bit outdated, but still a very good read. This is probably one of Salman Rushdie's easier books to read :) Well, there is no magical realism here, just realism. A tiny book of 130 odd pages of Rushdie's travelogue of his 3-week Nicaraguan trip in 1986, on the eve of the 7-year anniversary of the revolution. He is not Nicaraguan and he would never be able to capture the complexity of Nicaraguan psyche. But I think he did a good job of observing the then contemporary Nicaraguan political situation through the eyes of a well-read/traveled literary intellectual. His immigrant out look comes through as well. His references to Benazir Bhutto, Indira Gandhi and other third-world political situations add another texture to the often seen political analysis of Sandinista movement.

Rushdie is obviously sympathetic to the revolution, but he maintains a healthy dose of skepticism. Even though he hangs out with the hotshots of FSLN (Frente Sandanista de Liberación Nacional), he is not afraid to ask the uncomfortable questions about the Contras, the shutdown of La Prensa, the economic collapse of post-revolution Nicaragua.

I think the book does a good job of summarizing the Nicaraguan political landscape in '86 through the eyes of an "internacional".

A Rich, Fascinating Journey........2006-12-31

"The Jaguar Smile" chronicles Salman Rushdie's trip through Nicaragua during the Sandinista years and U.S./Contra war against the revolutionary government. This is a work by Rushdie that has been somewhat forgotten under all the publicity of his later scandal involving "The Satanic Verses" and recent works like "Shalimar The Clown," but it is a book worth re-discovering as it shows Rushdie going to see for himself what the Sandinista movement was all about, something even more significant today when one considers the new revolutionary tide sweeping Latin America and even more noteworthy, the re-election of Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua. In wonderful detail Rushdie describes the lush landscapes of this beautiful country and it's peoples, from the government men to the indigenous populations. He interviews high-ranking Sandinistas and probes into the ideas and philosophies behind the uprising and chronicles the disastrous effects of the U.S.-funded Contra war on the population. The conclusions Rushdie draws are refreshing, he supports the overall revolution, believes some mistakes have been made, but is very impressed by the work and fruits of the movement and is angered at how obsessed the Reagan White House was with crushing this small country's will to be independent. "The Jaguar Smile" is also full of poetic moments, for Nicaragua is a country of poets we learn, and there are some wonderful pieces shared here, especially those reflecting on the revolution and the hopes of the people. There are moments of hilarious comedy between Rushdie and the locals, especially in his quests for good beer in a country ravished by shortages. Rushdie also draws interesting comparisons between his experience in Central America and his experiences in his native India and confesses that being involved in Indian revolutionary movements has caused him to feel genuine sympathy for the Sandinistas. Overall "The Jaguar Smile" is a fun read, and a sad one as well, as we see how U.S. paranoia funded a war that crippled a beautiful nation and it's hopes. A welcome departure from the typical "academic" work, "The Jaguar Smile" deserves to be read, and then read again.

Rushdie evaluates the Nicaragua of the Sandinistas..........2006-04-03

In 1986, while working on his famously infamous novel, "The Satanic Verses", Rushdie took three weeks off to visit Nicaragua. The country had a dramatic effect on him. Ineluctably inspired, he originally planned to pen a few articles on the subject and leave it at that. But the words inexorably grew into this small book, which ultimately delayed "The Satanic Verses" by six months. So what occurred in that short time span to cause Rushdie to shelf his hulking novel in favor of a diminutive political travelogue?

In the preface Rushdie confessed a long standing interest in the subject of Nicaragua. Especially following the Reagan Administration's disparagement of the alleged new Central American "red threat" (and subsequent funding of the counter-Sandinista force, the "contras" - which later fed into the Iran-Contra scandal). Apparently he felt an affinity with a small country against a giant (a la Gandhi vs. Britain) and "how it felt to be there, on the bottom, looking up at the descending heel." So he didn't visit carte blanche or on a whim. He wanted to know the workings of the force that had toppled Nicaragua's forty year dictatorial regime (the Somozas). And how this new Sandinista government (at the time in power for seven years) responded to the contra threat and to the needs of its populace. In Nicaragua, Rushdie unearthed some of the social and literary themes that pervade his work. This may explain his enthusiasm towards the subject.

The book outlines Rushdie's trip more or less chronologically. Starting in Managua Rushdie gives a brief history of the city and of the resistance to the previous dictatorship. This culminates in a biography of one of the most famous Nicaraguarans: Augusto César Sandino (from whom the Sandinistas took their name). Rushdie observed the abstract pictograph of Sandino's hat everywhere. This ubiquitous symbol nearly took on the role of the man himself. The hat equals the man; the symbol becomes flesh. As a guest of the Sandinisita Association of Cultural Workers, Rushdie had access to the highest levels of government. He traveled and dined with the new Sandinista élite. Most of who, surprisingly, had literary backgrounds. Accompanying the Vice President (and novelist) Sergio Ramírez, Rushdie witnessed a land re-allocation (from the state to the peasantry) in Camoapa. With the President (and poet), Daniel Ortega, he watched the first phone call from Nicaragua to Moscow and Havana (connections that in no way endeared the country to the Reagan Administration). But some signs of disappointment appeared during his conversation with Father Ernesto Cardenal the Minister of Culture (and poet). Cardenal talked about censuring the press during wartime as a "cosmetic" issue. This depressed Rushdie. He then traveled to Estelí and met the nine comandantes de revolución (the founders of the new government). But Rushdie also talked with campesinos (peasants) in the Enrique Acuña co-operative. Many found themselves displaced by the country's issues. Despite their poverty, they fed Rushdie fertilized hen's eggs (the "eggs of love"). He also talked with extremely young soliders in the Germán Pomares field hospital. Many of them remained ready for battle regardless of their injuries. And on the somewhat neglected west side of Nicaragua he found lots of rain, more poverty, and some disillusionment with the revolution. Lastly, Rushdie debated the widow of the assassinated editor of "La Prensa" (censored by the Sandisitas), Doña Violeta. He found her claims of rampant communism in her country insincere. Rushdie later concluded that "if Nicaragua was a Soviet-style state, then I'm a monkey's uncle."

Rushdie often asked people, whether high or low on the social hierarchy, very pointed questions - he and Doña Violeta really get into it. Sometimes he even called them when they dodge a question. In the end Rushdie found some things to like and some things to dislike about the Sandinista government. For example, he outright states: "It disturbed me that a government of writers turned into a government of censors." But he remained impressed by the government's land distribution program.

Like all of Rushie's work this one garnered a broad spectrum of responses (he can't seem to avoid politics, for better or worse). The supporters of the Reagan Administration obvioulsy didn't take kindly to it (which may reveal why George H.W. Bush provided no support to Rushdie during the "Satanic Verses" affair), and many praised the alternate view of Nicaragua that Rushdie portrayed. But some accused Rushdie of exemplifying petty bourgesois values (i.e., a rich westerner goes "slumming" in Central America and then returns to his privileged lifestyle). And some simply couldn't understand how Rushdie could possibly identify with the Nicaraguans. In the 1997 preface, Rushdie still defended the views espoused in the book, with some exceptions. For instance, he thought he hadn't expressed enough disappointment at the Sandinista's treatment of the indigenous Miskito population. But all in all he seems to stand by what he wrote.

Of course the book has dated somewhat since its 1987 publication. The spectre of eastern bloc communism no longer looms, and the Sandinistas were bloodlessly voted out of power in 1990 (internal party rifts and corruption contributed to their downfall). Not only that, the entire country no longer represents a political hotbed for the United States. Nonetheless, Rushdie paints some interesting pictures of this small country and its people at a moment in time. "The Jaguar Smile" remains worthwhile reading both as a study of Rushdie's themes and for the portraits of the Nicaraguan people that Rushdie recorded. He didn't find utopia, but he found enough to justify this little book.

Book, subject even more so, deserves reevaluation.......2004-01-17

I just saw a film on present-day Nicaragua, a country that's no longer flavour of the month, at least as far as the world's press is concerned. It's been at least 15 years since I've read this book. I liked it fairly well then, and feel that, though Rushdie might have been a bit too kind to the Sandinistas (who deserve much of the criticism they received) the fact that Nicaragua was robbed blind by Somoza (who stole relief money for the earthquake that hit Managua in the 1970s)and, it seems, by the penultimate president, Aleman (convicted of financial wrongdoings but certainly not jailed)gives the Sandinistas' programs (redistribution of land,literacy, and the equal participation of women in Nicaraguan life)some credibility.

How can Salman Rushdie "understand" Nicaragua?.......2003-09-10

Here we go again. In the mid-80s, Nicaragua was full of Internationalists, who were dedicated socialists and communists from wealthy countries with wealthy backgrounds, "sacrificing" by living in houses formerly owned by the upper and upper middle classes and stolen by the Sandinistas. They ran their Air-conditioners full blast, used expensive resources, and never had to pay a penny. All courtesy of the corrupt Sandinista government that was using them to help win the media war in the US, Canada, and Western Europe.

The "treatment", as it was known in Sandinista circles, was also applied to media dignitaries. Although they did not benefit from free housing, they were put up in the best hotel in Managua, chauffered around, and "given-access" to charismatic revolutionaries in exchange for favorable reviews.

Salman Rushdie, while a fantastic writer, is not an expert in Nicaraguan politics, or history. While mildly critical of the Sandinistas, he fell for the charm of some of their leaders. He gathered information that he felt represented reality in Nicaraguan life, and then wrote about it. Unfortunately, this representation is completely skewed, and misses the points of Nicaraguan history.

Canadians, how would you like to have Mr. Rushdie spent 6 weeks in your country, and then tell you how the country should split up?

Americans, how would you like Rushdie to spend 6 weeks in Washington and then tell you that you should not retailiate for the Sept. 11 attacks?

Book Description

Edited by Paul Auster, this four–volume set of Beckett's canon has been designed by award-winner Laura Lindgren. Available individually, as well as in a boxed set, the four hardcover volumes have been specially bound with covers featuring images central to Beckett's works. Typographical errors that remained uncorrected in the various prior editions have now been corrected in consultation with Beckett scholars C. J. Ackerley and S. E. Gontarski.

"A man speaking English beautifully chooses to speak in French, which he speaks with greater difficulty, so that he is obliged to choose his words carefully, forced to give up fluency and to find the hard words that come with difficulty, and then after all that finding he puts it all back into English, a new English containing all the difficulty of the French, of the coining of thought in a second language, a new English with the power to change English forever. This is Samuel Beckett. This is his great work. It is the thing that speaks. Surrender." — Salman Rushdie, from his Introduction

Average customer rating:

Lovely and Complex
Wonderful book
Simply magical
An Indian Dante
An Epic Read

The Moor's Last Sigh
Salman Rushdie
Manufacturer: Vintage
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0679744665
Release Date: 1997-01-14

Amazon.com

In The Moor's Last Sigh Salman Rushdie revisits some of the same ground he covered in his greatest novel, Midnight's Children. This book is narrated by Moraes Zogoiby, aka Moor, who speaks to us from a grave in Spain. Like Moor, Rushdie knows about a life spent in banishment from normal society--Rushdie because of the death sentence that followed The Satanic Verses, Moor because he ages at twice the rate of normal humans. Yet Moor's story of travail is bigger than Rushdie's; it encompasses a grand struggle between good and evil while Moor himself stands as allegory for Rushdie's home country of India. Filled with wordplay and ripe with humor, it is an epic work.

Book Description

Time Magazine's Best Book of the Year

Booker Prize-winning author Salman Rushdie combines a ferociously witty family saga with a surreally imagined and sometimes blasphemous chronicle of modern India and flavors the mixture with peppery soliloquies on art, ethnicity, religious fanaticism, and the terrifying power of love. Moraes "Moor" Zogoiby, the last surviving scion of a dynasty of Cochinese spice merchants and crime lords, is also a compulsive storyteller and an exile. As he travels a route that takes him from India to Spain, he leaves behind a tale of mad passions and volcanic family hatreds, of titanic matriarchs and their mesmerized offspring, of premature deaths and curses that strike beyond the grave.

"Fierce, phantasmagorical...a huge, sprawling, exuberant novel."--New York Times

Customer Reviews:

Lovely and Complex.......2007-05-07

THE MOOR'S LAST SIGH is the last confession of Moraes "Moor" Zogoiby, the last of a long line of sinners and saints. The title refers to both Moor's final confession and to a painting of the same name, created by Moor's mother, Aurora. Moor tells of the feuds of grandparents and great-grandparents, of the "pepper love" of his parents and the eventual breakdown of their marriage, and of his own struggles with love and with his darker, more violent side.

This is a novel of paradise and of hell. Moor's childhood home is associated with paradise, as is his mother, Aurora, an artist full of fantastical visions. Moor's father and his business are associated with hell. Abraham Zogoiby is, on the surface, a respectable businessman, but his real fortune comes from drugs and sex trafficking. In THE MOOR'S LAST SIGH, paradise is always an illusion: The Zogoiby home proves to be full of serpents and even Aurora's artistic vision becomes dark and morbid as she grows older. Hell is always real, and its inhabitants are invisible, powerless. Abraham's empire is a place where "an invisible reality moved phantomwise beneath a visible fiction.*"

Rushdie's writing style is difficult to pinpoint. During the first few chapters, dealing with Moor's great-grandparents and grandparents, I was reminded of the prose of Gabriel Garcia Marquez: lyrical, complex, and a bit exotic. I later changed my mind, finding The Moor's Last Sigh to be more epic than the work of Marquez. It seems a bit like an agnostic Bible (filled with feuding siblings, serpentine characters, family blessings, family curses, paradise, and condemnation) crossed with a Greek tragedy (characters larger than life, full of passion, and headed towards an unstoppable doom). While the span of the novel extends from India's colonial days to the nineteen-nineties and historical events, movements, and ideologies are woven into the story, The Moor's Last Sigh has a timeless feel to it.

THE MOOR'S LAST SIGH is beautiful, readable, and frequently funny. Its only flaw is the plot is, at times, too intricate, too tangled, making it easy for readers to confuse/forget the earlier events of the novel.

Wonderful book.......2006-06-09

One of the best books I've ever read, if not the best of them. Salman Rushdie at his best!

Simply magical.......2005-12-30

One of the best family sagas I read. Exceptional beyond measure.

An Indian Dante.......2005-12-23

The prologue to this brilliant book opens "in this dark wood . . . in what ought to be the middle pathway of my life." The reference to Dante is but one of a number of literary allusions crammed into almost every densely-textured page, but it turns out to provide a key to the curious structure of this ambitious work, which is basically a violent family saga with the even more violent birth-pangs of modern India as its background.

Rather than starting in the Inferno, the book quickly rises to a sort of Paradise, and holds the reader there, enthralled, for the first two-thirds its length. Rushdie's fictional Gama-Zogoiby family mingles ancient bloodlines--Portugese, Moorish, Jewish, Hindu--and they come together in a sort of nuclear fusion. He writes in language at once false and true, brighter than Technicolor, spiced with pepper and coriander, erotic, witty, wildly inventive, and rich with more references than this reader can count.

In its last third, however, the book somewhat loses its élan. First, it plunges its eponymous hero into the Bombay underworld as a kind of living Hell. Then, in the deceptively simple writing of its final section, it uproots him from India and wafts him to a surreal vision of an Andalusian village overrun by expatriates, to end in a stateless Purgatory. It is an unusual journey for this modern Dante, but (as others have commented) it may reflect the author's own life since his exile. One feels his grief for India, his lost Eden.

Rushdie's title, besides being a multilingual pun (dernier soupir / last supper), is the name of a painting by the hero's mother, a famous artist. If the book has any one overarching theme, I would say it is about art itself: its passion, its power to simultaneously define and distort experience, and (sadly) its ultimate impermanence.

[As a footnote, it is curious that THE MOOR'S LAST SIGH joins two other novels I have read recently in having a protagonist whose life-clock runs in an unorthodox manner. The hero of Andrew Sean Greer's THE CONFESSIONS OF MAX TIVOLI lives his life backwards. The hero of Audrey Niffenegger's THE TIME TRAVELER'S WIFE skips around freely in time. And the Rushdie's Moor, Moraes Zogoiby, ages two years for every one. Although this is the finest of the three books, I am not sure what purpose is served by the distortion of time, except that it parallels the headlong rush of Rushdie's writing, and perhaps his own tragic sense of leaving life behind faster than he can catch it up.]

An Epic Read.......2005-08-26

This is an epic read; it is long and involved and generational. Dozens of characters weave in and out of the story as it paints a picture of their perspective on life- the one they all seem to share. It's well framed by one of them who explains to the young Moor: "D= MC squared where D is for dynasty m is for mass of relatives and C, of course is for corruption, which is the only constant in the world".
The Moor, the one from the title, seems to be the only character with perhaps a different idea of life. But as he tells the story of his life he never does much rather than navigate the waves created by those around him. His world is a duplicitous one in which those who love you hurt you the most; your biggest weight is your liberator; in which your lover might be your murderer and your best friend eventually your enslaver.

This is one of the most magical novels I've read in a while. I like that about it, a lot. In many instances Rushdie creates his own words as he creates his own worlds. The story has great moments; sort of like movies have great scenes... so many memorable lines that offer up that perspective on life.. the one practiced by many of those that surround the Last Moor throughout his life. I'll use those to wrap this up. I think it gives a good idea of the mood of the book (which I think is the point of the book... the actual story is too intertwined and loosely held together to explain).

"Abraham Zoigby was assaulted by fear... a sudden terrible apprehension that the ugliness of life might defeat its beauty; that love did not make lovers invulnerable".....
"Rejoice in what gives you grief. That which you would flee, turn and run towards it with all your heart. Only by becoming your misfortune will you harness it."......"What matters most: Love or truth?"......"The past and the future is where we spend most of our lives. In fact what you are going through in this small microcosm of ours is the disorienting feeling of having stepped for a few hours into the present"....."How to forgive the world for its beauty, which merely disguises its ugliness; for its gentleness, which merely cloaks its cruelty; for its illusion of continuity, seamlessly, as the night follows the day, so to speak- whereas in reality life is a series of brutal raptures, falling upon your defenseless hands, like the blows of a woodman's axe"?

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