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The Satanic Verses: A Novel | Salman Rushdie

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Finished the book but not the weirdly-shaped croissant. This croissant was a fraud, and disappointing. And that leads us to TSV because in this book Rushdie is interested in trickery, mimicry, acting, and the performance one puts on as an immigrant crossing borders. Performance as a form of survival and assimilation, in the case of one of the key characters here, Chamcha. (Long review ahead 😬👇)

batsy I think it's worthwhile for the questions it raises about creation in art vs religion, self-invention, assimilation, border-crossing. "What kind of idea are you?" is the central question in the book. His talent for vibrant language is obvious, if overdone in parts. But I wasn't persuaded by the overarching structure that interweaves the vast and diverse history of Islam into a novel of immigration and belonging. I asked "Is this it?" at the end. 7y

batsy I just wonder, for all the flash & bling of Rushdie's metatextual style, what was the point. To me, Chamcha seems to be a reflection of Rushdie. Thus it feels solipsistic, maybe reckless, that his story is interwoven with the history of a religion. There's more to Islam than Rushdie. In associating his novel with something that has grave consequences within Islam, the book incites, but to what end? It falls short of its own ambition in my opinion. 7y

batsy Veered between a pick and so-so, but I'll probably give it 3 stars on GR so it's a muted pick. If you're interested in the book and its ideas, it's worth reading I think. It helps to immerse oneself in it totally. I'll stop now! #Rushdieitis Thanks for reading this far. Thanks to #thesatanicversesbuddyread & the lively discussions & our hosts @LeahBergen and @vivastory. I wanted to read this & I'm glad there was the buddy read to get me going.
7y

See All 34 Comments

Moray_Reads Excellent review 👏👏👏 7y

ReadingEnvy Heh the croissant is a metaphor! 🥐🥐🥐 7y

saresmoore Fantastic! 🙌 I love your insights and intention in reading this—and finishing it, to boot! You are an exceptional buddy reader and reviewer. And hashtag creator. 😁 7y

TrishB Wow 👍 what a review, almost changed my mind - but not quite. Thanks for the thoughtful insight. 7y

vivastory Excellent review!! 7y

Ms_T I've seen this book on here a lot recently. It's not one I've ever thought of reading but my interest has definitely been piqued. Thanks for the review, it's certainly one to consider 👍🏻 7y

batsy @Moray_Reads @TrishB @vivastory Thank you! 7y

batsy @ReadingEnvy I know, it was too good to be true 😁 7y

batsy @Ms_T Thank you! Yes I think a lot of us had strong opinions doing the buddy read :) 7y

batsy @saresmoore Thank you so much 💜 My first buddy read, you guys were lovely to rant with 😉 7y

ReadingEnvy Not gonna lie, I'm more likely to finish a bad croissant than a difficult book. (I know this is my second response.) 7y

ValerieAndBooks Very good review and insights. That said, it'll still be a long time for me if/when I tackle this one. I bailed on Midnight's Children some time back! 7y

RohitSawant Props to you for finishing it! Your review is every bit as fantastic as I‘d hoped! I enjoyed it more than what little I read of the book. 😜 7y

BarbaraBB Great review. I loved the book when I read it years ago. But I read it along with

Muhammad

BarbaraBB That way it was more accessible for me (edited) 7y

LeahBergen Great review! I'm still working my way to the finish line on this one but I'm so glad you came along for the ride. 😘 7y

britt_brooke Excellent review! 7y

batsy @ReadingEnvy 😂 7y

batsy @rohit-sawant Hahaha, thank you so much! 7y

batsy @BarbaraBB Thank you for the recommendation, I was looking that up and decided I didn't have time to read it this month. But I will, I've heard good things about Armstrong. 7y

batsy @LeahBergen 💜 I look forward to your thoughts! 7y

batsy @ValerieAndBooks Thank you! A lot of them cite MC as his masterpiece. I have it, maybe someday I'll be ready to tackle it 😊 7y

batsy @britt_brooke Thank you ☺️ 7y

erzascarletbookgasm Great review, insight. Bravo for finishing it! I cannot get into Rushdie. 7y

batsy @erzascarletbookgasm Thank you! I'm not sure I get him, either 😂😵 7y

Gezemice Such a great review! Now I am interested! 7y

batsy @Gezemice Thanks :) 7y

Suet624 So much respect for finishing the book and providing such an excellent review. 7y

batsy @Suet624 Thank you! It's one of those books where I can respect what went into it, but I also marvel at the egotism involved 😁 7y

shawnmooney Catching up on your posts and enjoyed your review far more than—I am going to take a wild guess here—I would reading the novel under discussion. :-) (edited) 7y

batsy @shawnmooney Haha! Thank you :) Onward to all the rest of the books waiting for us! 7y

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