The classic story.
Boy meets girl.
Boy loses girl.
Boy becomes terrorist.
Once again Salman Rushdie transports us to India, this time to Kashmir, the home of his grandparents, once a place of idyllic beauty, and now torn by war and strife.
It's a fairly wide ranging tale, from the treacheries of WWII era france to the treacheries of post partition India and Pakistan. No lives are left intact through the course of this book. No endings are very happy and it weaves non-fiction seamlessly into an otherwise fictional narrative. Lots of names and places and events are recognizable but taken entirely from a different point of view and all used to tie together the history of simple performer from a small viallge in Kashmir to the larger world of violent extremism.
As far as Rushdie novels go, there is far less of the supernatural and thereby a more easily followed plot than either Satanic Verses or The Ground Beneath Her Feet. It contains his usual impeccable use of language and his incomparable love of India. A good book, and highly recommended, though I still would recommend SV or The Moor's Last Sigh first.
4 comments:
I'm intimidated about launching into a Rushdie book, from a time committment standpoint. Thoughts?
I am trying to read book titled Lake Wobegon Day by GK. I am just two chapters in, but it is a pleasant read. I am not a big reader at all. I usually read about two to three pages and I am then putting tooth picks inbetween my eyelids to stay awake. I just can't read long at all. Bless those who can.
I hope you enjoy the book. I believe that he is a very deep writer. Am I correct?
I've not read any his books yet, either. "Fury" (2002) was on my reading list at one point, but I'm with Dan, a little hesitant to launch into a Rushdie book...
It took me 6 weeks to get through this one, though I'm on a slow read kick, as opposed to my devouring of other books.
He's not a fast read either way.
Started Catch 22 by Joseph Heller. Another classic I never read.
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