#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER "[A] torrent of endlessly inventive prose, by turns comic and enraged, embracing life in all its contradictions. In this spectacular novel, verbal pyrotechnics barely outshine its psychological truths."-- Newsday Rushdie's fifth and best-known novel, as relevant as ever --t he metamorphoses, dreams, and revelations of two men after their plane explodes in a hijacking over the English Channel. One of the most controversial and acclaimed novels ever written, The Satanic Verses is Salman ...
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#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER "[A] torrent of endlessly inventive prose, by turns comic and enraged, embracing life in all its contradictions. In this spectacular novel, verbal pyrotechnics barely outshine its psychological truths."-- Newsday Rushdie's fifth and best-known novel, as relevant as ever --t he metamorphoses, dreams, and revelations of two men after their plane explodes in a hijacking over the English Channel. One of the most controversial and acclaimed novels ever written, The Satanic Verses is Salman Rushdie's best-known and most galvanizing book. Set in a modern world filled with both mayhem and miracles, the story begins with a bang: the terrorist bombing of a London-bound jet in midflight. Two Indian actors of opposing sensibilities fall to earth, transformed into living symbols of what is angelic and evil. This is just the initial act in a magnificent odyssey that seamlessly merges the actual with the imagined. A book whose importance is eclipsed only by its quality, The Satanic Verses is a key work of our times. Praise for The Satanic Verses "Rushdie is a storyteller of prodigious powers, able to conjure up whole geographies, causalities, climates, creatures, customs, out of thin air." -- The New York Times Book Review "Exhilarating, populous, loquacious, sometimes hilarious, extraordinary . . . a roller-coaster ride over a vast landscape of the imagination." -- The Guardian "Fuelled by the author's roaring prose and negotiated via his own culturally divided self, the novel is a comedic wonder, at once silly and serious, generous and provocative. . . . One of the essential novels of the last century." -- The Globe and Mail
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I remember when this came out in 1988, and was excited to read it in 1999, when I had the time. I got about a quarter of the way through it, and had no idea of what the hell was going on. The only thing I could make out, was someone was falling from an airplane, and I had to read that section, twice. I doubt anyone can actually comprehend what this drivel is about, they just say its 'blasphemous,' because someone else said it.
Ya'want to read a crazy book, go read 'A Clockwork Orange.'
Aarrgghh
Mar 27, 2013
Forget the past and read this book now
This amazingly dense book shot to notoriety due to the "fatwa" pronounced against its author back in the 1980s for supposedly "insulting Islam." While a modest portion of the book is devoted to a nightmare the central character has about how the faith's origins might have played out, it comprises only a tiny bit of the overall sweep of its very compelling drama. This book must be read, and more than once, if the reader is to appreciate the full range of Salman Rushdie's astonishing imagination and ability to construct character, all within a framework of contemporary 1980s life in England. It is not his most accessible work, but well worth reading nonetheless.
Loren S
Oct 27, 2011
Satanic Verses Angelic
Good view from high heavens! Sheds a good deal of light on the extrememly complex interrelationshipa within the Islamic communities. Probably the Fatwah issuers didn't have the slightest comprehension of what the book was about. If they had, they wouldn;t have been so upset by it. On the other hand, people who wish to see things in terms of black and white, usually are upset when asked or forced to see all the shades of gray in betrween. There are not just two sides to every questions as we like to say, there are usually 22 sides to most questions.
Bill W
Jun 9, 2011
GAVE IT AWAY
The book arrived on time in the condition advertised but went downhill from there. I think it was about two men's dreams and thoughts who are destined to die in a terrorist bombing but don't and are reincarnated in-stead. If you enjoy moving between characters but didn't realize it; reading phrases, run-on sentences, non-sentences and having to read and re-read two or three times to understand what you read, this book is for you. I gave it away to a fellow who gave it away to the third "new" owner who is enjoying it.
Joseph V M
Jul 23, 2010
Worthless literature
If there was ever a piece of totally worthless literature, it is this book. Don't waste your time or money.
Better to read "The Critique of Pure Reason" by Kant. At least the Critique would give a good understanding of logic and would help to understand the stupidity and ignorance of middle east thinking.
