The Satanic Verses

[Doc]

I borrowed it from a friend, and it's an interesting read. Lots of hidden social commentary, and a huge back story of Islam and (I think) Hinduism. It's about "rebirth" and the way two men's lives have changed, and their faith, all told through dream sequences and crazy hallucinations.

The only thing that I don't like is the writer's style. The book flows very well, but the way it's written causes problems with having to read over parts again or losing track of a plot line if you read too fast, and his wording can get confusing.

 

[anagapesis]

The Satanic Verses is the title, I'm guessing. I'll have to look into that. Do you know if it's a new or old book and who it's by? Though, I guess I could look it up on Google...

But anyway. Why is it so confusing? Sentence structure? Too much description? Those details would be nice, you know. ;3
(I'm very picky about what I read. Of course, I should probably try it out for myself instead of taking someone else's word on it, no?)

 

[MenInTights]

Interesting. I have read about Salman Rushdi and the fatwa on him for years, but I never had a clue what the book was about. I didn't even know till recently that it was a novel. It caused such an uproar with Iran and Saudi, I assumed it was a non-fiction piece.

What is really crazy about Rushdi is he is sort of a short balding guy. His wife is some TV star and is stunning. Much taller. I never knew having a fatwa on your head made you so attractive to the babes.

 

[dDave]

It sounds good. Is it hard to understand because it's written in Old English or is it something else?

 

[Doc]

Now that I've finished, I have some time to reply to this.

The book was a bit difficult at first because I had to adjust to his style. He tends to use words in description that can effect the flow of his writing. What I hated the most was his complete ignorance to flow. The story was great, and he has a very unique style, but the flow between passages was very confusing at times, and threw off the whole book.

As far as story goes, it's very well constructed with lots of Anglo-Indian references, British Culture, and a few American references. Worth the pick up, but it might take some readers a little bit of time to finish it up.

 

[MegaMike]

I really enjoyed this book because of the underlying themes and story elements that you could really take a lot of time to think about and analyze. A lot of the book is left open to decide to the reader exactly what caused the events that took place. It was hard to get started reading at first because of Rushdie's writing style, but when I got used to it, I couldn't stop reading. I certainly wanted to see what would happen in this story. Important and interesting events kept happening right up until the last page, no exaggeration. I recommend picking it up, its a healthy sized read. Took me a week, and I read quite fast.

 

[Mirage]

What is the overall plot of this book, without spoiling anything?

 

[MegaMike]

It's pretty complicated. It's one of those stories that you have to read to get, and is difficult to explain. I'll just tell you what the book says on the back...

"Just before dawn one winter's morning, a hijacked jetliner explodes above the English Channel. Through the falling debris, two men --- Gibreel Farishta, the biggest movie 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, they proceed through a series of metamorphoses, dreams, and revelations."

Basically, the powers that be decided, for whatever reason, these two wouldn't die, and would be used in the eternal battle of good and evil. One turns into an angel, and the other into a demon. However, one of the characters is mentally unstable, and he is unsure if this divine state is real, or caused by his schizophrenia. Also, the narrator has a heavy bias, and this also casts doubts on the veracity of the events.

 

[Teorropy]

It kind of sounds good. I will have to look into it.

 

[moonshine]

i haven't read this book but i think i might now