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
A confounding, challenging book that leaves impactful philosophical impressions. This book is so many things: a weird odd-couple story that crosses the planes, a tale of the immigrant experience in England, and a fable about surrender to religion versus a rigorous adherence to secular science. I found the narrative to be lovely, especially the description of Jahilia's marketplaces, the sounds, smells, all those bright images.
Rushdie is working on multiple layers. Jahilia is also the state of ignorance of divine guidance, and it is here that the character Mahound (who is based on Muhammad) is tested. This depiction is one of the largest sources of controversy to this novel, which is supposedly sacrilegious, though it is actually not an attack on Islam or even religion at all. It's a story about life's experiences, and how our perception of the essence of life changes as we change.
Throughout the story, we …
A confounding, challenging book that leaves impactful philosophical impressions. This book is so many things: a weird odd-couple story that crosses the planes, a tale of the immigrant experience in England, and a fable about surrender to religion versus a rigorous adherence to secular science. I found the narrative to be lovely, especially the description of Jahilia's marketplaces, the sounds, smells, all those bright images.
Rushdie is working on multiple layers. Jahilia is also the state of ignorance of divine guidance, and it is here that the character Mahound (who is based on Muhammad) is tested. This depiction is one of the largest sources of controversy to this novel, which is supposedly sacrilegious, though it is actually not an attack on Islam or even religion at all. It's a story about life's experiences, and how our perception of the essence of life changes as we change.
Throughout the story, we are posed questions even by a God character about who and what we are and what we mean. Whether these are meaningful questions to the reader depends on your ability to be open or closed, as Mirza Saeed Akhtar learns. Sometimes it's better to hold one's breath and swim and sometimes not.
Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed the book, though I expected more controversy. I'm shocked that Rushdie is persecuted by expressing thoughts that are entirely beneficial to humanity. Questions are never bad. Doubt isn't bad. Answers, especially those that are so certain never to be questioned, will be our ruination.
The writing itself is dense and can be challenging, especially drawing from so many sources. Read it slowly and enjoy it.
That's it.
