The Satanic Verses: Salman Rushdie

This is an exquisitely written piece of literature, by a literary heavyweight of the first order. Once you read it, you will see for yourself, that those purporting to be outraged by the work, most probably haven't bothered to read it. It simply isn't really about what they claim it is. This is primarily a work about being lost between different cultural identities, and grasping for meaning - an angst many of us can identify with, at different times in our lives. The perspective of the book, is like someone prodding the ground with a pole, to test if it's solid, as they tentatively mark their way along an iced-up lake. The work conveys that sense of desperately trying to intellectually and emotionally connect, and the pain of doubt, yet also its importance.I would say this book is in the same class as Midnight's Children, which I personally feel is the Author's finest work, and an out-and-out modern classic. So, that alone should indicate how highly I rate this work.

Some 30 years after its publication, I picked up this book (second hand) to see what all of the fuss had been about in the pre-ISIS days of the Ayatollah Khomeini who had replaced the Sha of Iran (Persia).Before reading this huge rambling (but often amusing) 540+ pages; a difficult book. Do read the Wikipedia page on the Rushdie Fatwa resulting from this book and explanations of its origins. There was, as of 2016, still severe controversy relating to the author and the Muslim allusions in (and interpretations of) his story. It will also help to have an understanding of Indian cultural (and food) terms, the culture in Mumbai in the 1980’s and some of the historical friction between Christians and Muslims. The book is still banned in many countries with a significant Muslim population.To the average Western reader this may be seen as a simple (?) comical tale of the amazing survival of two Indian actors, blown out of the skies by a fanatical suicide bomber, then their experiences and escapades in England, supplemented by flashbacks to their historical development in India and subsequent interaction of Asians with UK culture at the time of the Thatcherite years (significant institutional racism and even racial violence).One survivor takes on the attributes of the angel Gabriel, the other the devil Saladin and we follow their escapades, lives and loves and their reversion to more human form. The story is constantly interwoven with actual and imagined historical events.Is it religiously offensive? Possibly to those of a strict Muslim upbringing and their religious leaders interpreting what is said alongside the Quran. I am sure than many decried the book without ever reading it – as happened with many other books/ films which attracted notoriety.Compared to the non-event Christian fuss over Monty Python’s “The Life of Brian”, there is a certain fantasy section relating to certain reported history of the prophet which could certainly be interpreted negatively by those of a strongly Muslim religious view (You need to read beyond 300+ pages to come to this section) – see also the Wikipedia review mentioned above.Is it worth reading? If the above does not put you off but intrigues you get hold of a library copy and see!

Why did no one tell me??? is what I thought when I started reading this. This isn't some shock-jock insult to religion. It's like reading James Joyce's Ulysses -- hard work, but such a masterpiece it's worth it. It definitely helps to have background on Islamic history, London, and Indian colonial history, and to be generally well-read in the Bible, English nursery rhymes and Dickens. But if you don't have that, just go online to the detailed (page-by-page) footnotes by Professor Paul Brians of Washington State University (he specifically encourages us non-students to read his website). Islam does come in for plenty of shots, but so do Hinduism and Christianity, and it soon becomes clear that what really pissed off the Ayatollah Khomeini back in 1986 was the middle section's poking fun at the Ayatollah Khomeini himself. The point of the book is to express the joy of mixing cultures and experiences. I do think Rushdie deserves the Nobel Prize. Stockholm, please catch up!

It took me 5 days just to get through the first 150 pages and then I just gave up. At no point did I feel any connection to the story or the characters. The style of writing really did just make it a bit of a chore to read. It's very tragic and disgusting what has just happened to Salman Rushdie but that doesn't change the fact that this book is really a bit of a bore fest. I wonder how many people who wish Rushdie harm have even read this book or know exactly what is supposed to be offensive about it. I certainly don't. I'll have to look it up on Google and my advice would be for others to do the same rather than wasting their time on this.

I wanted to read this book for a long time and was not disappointed. It is a fable, playing with magic realism and interwoven stories crossing different time periods. It plays with biblical stories but should not cause offense to anyone, if realised as a novel.Rushdie's prose is gorgeous. I want to read more of his books.

There are blocks of pages missing from this edition. I thought I had ordered the full edition. Nowhere in the ordering did it say I wasn’t. I am ordering from the UK where there are no restrictions on the selling of this book.

I wondered how Salman Rushdie could fill a book about the awful attack on him that would keep my interest throughout. I needn’t have worried, he writes in such a way that it is easy to ‘listen’ to (I had the audio version) and his use of language is beautiful, raw and effective. I immediately downloaded his other books.

Dull read. Difficult to follow with no real cadence to the story line. Very boring read to be honest, skipped the last ten pages just get it done