Salman Rushdie - the paradox of Satanic Verses

[Fiend]

I was filling out my profile information on this forum and the question about favorite books reminded me of "The Moor's Last Sigh". This was the first Salman Rushdie book I ever read and it made me completely fall in love with the way he writes and the world he creates.

I soon proceded to obsessively read more or less everything he ever wrote (as one does when they find a writer they really like :-3 )

Half way trough my obsessive reading spree I found out that a fatwa was issued against him for writing "Satanic Verses". This, of course, piqued my interest and I rushed to the library to get a copy.

To my great surprise - I was disappointed. I absolutely loved all his other books, but the "Satanic Verses" was hard to follow, confusing, and generally felt unfinished and undone somehow.

This has kind of bugged me ever since I read it: Why would such an amazing writer put his life at stake to publish a book that... well isn't nearly as good as his other works?

My theories are that he either didn't expect things to escalate as much as they did, or that the "Satanic Verses" is actually, in other people's opinion better then I perceived it to be.

I don't get very heated about religious issues which are what made him a target for religious extremists, I just observed it as a literary work and found it less then amazing.

So I was wondering, if there are any Salman Rushdi fans here, what is your opinion on the "Satanic Verses"? Or any of his other books for that matter

[Bryn Mawr]

I tried Midnight's Children, found it meandering and fairly pointless so, unusually for me, I gave up on it and moved on.

[koan]

I've never read anything he wrote. First heard of him at the time of Satanic Verses and my English teacher said it wasn't a very good book so I didn't bother to read it. Will have to investigate his other stuff now.

[LarsMac]

I read Satanic Verses a long time ago.

It did trudge a bit.

[Fiend]

Bryn Mawr;1404281 wrote: I tried Midnight's Children, found it meandering and fairly pointless so, unusually for me, I gave up on it and moved on.
Strange, I entirely loved it. Though, I suppose it is a bit confusing, but by the time I read it I was already used to his style, and already knew what he was referring to in some of the less clear allusions so I found it fascinating.



koan;1404283 wrote: my English teacher said it wasn't a very good
LarsMac wrote: It did trudge a bit.


I guess I'm not the only one who thought this then

[FG-administator]

Fiend;1404319 wrote: Strange, I entirely loved it. Though, I suppose it is a bit confusing, but by the time I read it I was already used to his style, and already knew what he was referring to in some of the less clear allusions so I found it fascinating.I'd put myself in the same position as that - excuse an admin butting in but you need a bit of encouragement, being a newbie and all. Yes I very much enjoyed Midnight's Children both for its technical wizardry and the humanity of his approach to the catastrophic beginning to Independence on the sub-continent.

I've not tried his other three novels. For someone known as a novelist his output has been amazingly scant.

[Fiend]

FG;1404323 wrote: I'd put myself in the same position as that - excuse an admin butting in but you need a bit of encouragement, being a newbie and all. Yes I very much enjoyed Midnight's Children both for its technical wizardry and the humanity of his approach to the catastrophic beginning to Independence on the sub-continent.

I've not tried his other three novels. For someone known as a novelist his output has been amazingly scant.


I like it when people butt in

I suppose he hasn't written very many novels, but the ground it covers in them is just so vast, and the stories are so beautifully told that I'm almost amazed he managed that many.

The only other writer I've come across who did anything that felt similar was Gabriel Garcia Marques with "One Hundred Years of Solitude" and all ea managed was this one novel. All his other work I read didn't have much of the saga feel I got from Rushdi's work or "One Hundred Years of Solitude".

I suppose I'm just a big sucker for long tales of cursed families

[Vaishali]

Hi all,

my opinion about Satanic verses is as similar as your that there are nothing to this extend as people emphasize

and Government make it ban, I don't read because Its not available in my Country but i hear a lot about, and read a little bit in news paper,

Salman rushdi is one of my favorite writer, The midnight children and Joseph Anton: A Memoir is my favorite book which are written by Salman Rudhdi...:guitarist