Shalimar the Clown is a masterpiece from one of our greatest writers, a dazzling novel that brings together the fiercest passions of the heart and the gravest conflicts of our time into an astonishingly powerful, all-encompassing story. Max Ophuls' memorable life ends violently in Los Angeles in 1993 when he is murdered by his Muslim driver Noman Sher Noman, also known as Shalimar the Clown. At first the crime seems to be politically motivated - Ophuls was previously ambassador to India, and later US counterterrorism chief ...
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Shalimar the Clown is a masterpiece from one of our greatest writers, a dazzling novel that brings together the fiercest passions of the heart and the gravest conflicts of our time into an astonishingly powerful, all-encompassing story. Max Ophuls' memorable life ends violently in Los Angeles in 1993 when he is murdered by his Muslim driver Noman Sher Noman, also known as Shalimar the Clown. At first the crime seems to be politically motivated - Ophuls was previously ambassador to India, and later US counterterrorism chief - but it is much more. Ophuls is a giant, an architect of the modern world: a Resistance hero and best-selling author, brilliant economist and clandestine US intelligence official. But it is as Ambassador to India that the seeds of his demise are planted, thanks to another of his great roles - irresistible lover. Visiting the Kashmiri village of Pachigam, Ophuls lures an impossibly beautiful dancer, the ambitious (and willing) Boonyi Kaul, away from her husband, and installs her as his mistress in Delhi. But their affair cannot be kept secret, and when Boonyi returns home, disgraced and obese, it seems that all she has waiting for her is the inevitable revenge of her husband: Noman Sher Noman, Shalimar the Clown. He was an acrobat and tightrope walker in their village's traditional theatrical troupe; but soon Shalimar is trained as a militant in Kashmir's increasingly brutal insurrection, and eventually becomes a terrorist with a global remit and a deeply personal mission of vengeance. With sweeping brilliance, Salman Rushdie portrays fanatical mullahs as fully as documentary filmmakers, rural headmen as completely as British spies; he describes villages that compete to make the most splendid feasts, the mentality behind martial law, and the celebrity of Los Angeles policemen, all with the same genius. But the main story is only part of the story. In this stunningly rich book everything is connected, and everyone is a part of everyone else. Shalimar the Clown" "is a true work of the era of globalization, intricately mingling lives and countries, and finding unexpected and sometimes tragic connections between the seemingly disparate. The violent fate of Kashmir recalls Strasbourg's experience in World War Two; Resistance heroism against the Nazis counterpoints Al-Qaeda's terror in Pakistan, North Africa and the Philippines. 1960s Pachigam is not so far from post-war London, or the Hollywood-driven present-day Los Angeles where Max's daughter by Boonyi, India Ophuls, beautiful, strong-willed, modern, waits, as vengeance plays itself out. A powerful love story, intensely political and historically informed, Shalimar the Clown" "is also profoundly human, an involving story of people's lives, desires and crises - India Ophuls' desperate search for her real mother, for example; Max's wife's attempts to deal with his philandering - as well as, in typical Rushdie fashion, a magical tale where the dead speak and the future can be foreseen. Shalimar the Clown" "is steeped in both the Hindu epic "Ramayana "and the great European novelists, melding the storytelling traditions of east and west into a magnificently fruitful blend - and serves, itself, as a corrective to the destructive clashes of values it scorchingly depicts. Enthralling, comic and amazingly abundant, it will no doubt come to be seen as one of the key books of our time. "The second portent came on the morning of the murder, when Shalimar the driver approached Max Ophuls at breakfast, handed him his schedule card for the day, and gave in his notice. The ambassador's drivers tended to be short-term appointees, inclined to move on to new adventures in pornography or hairdressing, and Max was inured to the cycle of acquisition and loss. This time, however, he was shaken, though he did not care to show it. He concentrated on his day's appointments, trying not to let the card shake. He knew Shalimar's real name. He knew the village h
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Seller's Description:
Fine in Fine, Not Price Clipped jacket. Book. Signed by Author(s) Complete number line from 1 to 9; signed on the title page by Salman Rushdie with no inscription; minimal wear; otherwise a solid, clean copy with no marking or underlining; collectible condition.
This book interweaves the stories of multiple characters around the love/hate story of its 2 main characters. The book begins and ends in California, but the majority of it occurs in India. The time spans pre-WW II until this century and includes time escaping the Nazi menace.
Rushdie writes in a lyrical style that contains passion, MUCH humor and deep insight into his characters. He also offers an original perspective on the contribution of JFK's philandering to his successful assassination.
You will be rewarded for the journey.
roan
Aug 24, 2007
better than the last two efforts
This was a good story, particularly the last quarter of the it. Rushdie's prose style is entertaining, though without a good story, it's harder to enjoy. Ground Beneath..and Fury both struck me as really lacking. Rushdie was working outside his normal setting---mostly in western, crossing to eastern, rather than eastern passing to western--and it didn't work. Here, there was the magical aspect ( toward the end) that helps the story transcend. I don't need to hear about rock and roll from Salman. I do need to hear about the cultures and language and imagery from someone who knows better than me, namely him. Sadly, gone are the mystic days of Midnight's Children and the Moor's Last Sigh. But Shalimar's walking on air builds the tension and excitement that reminds me of Shame, in which the crazed beast-girl circles into her target at the end. The pages almost seem to catch fire with the rush. Shalimar isn't quite there, but it's fairly good. As always, there seems to be some politics at work nearby...Rushdie discussed some of this with Fareed Zakaria, specifically the "unrest" in the Kashmir region. That conflict is the underlying setting for the novel.
lovemydogs
Apr 3, 2007
Worth it.
I am not a tremendous fiction reader, but i got the book for my son for whom it was assigned reading for his first year at Vassar. Before he got to it, I picked it up and was enthralled. It takes a while to get used to Rushdie's time-hopping, but the pay-off is worth it. Again, for me, fiction is only interesting if it can transport you to, and offer enlightenment on a different world. I am interested in Indian culture and history, and this book was so compelling that i went on to read three or four other books on the histories to which Rushdie alludes in the book.
The plot is complicated, and his genius is evident in how he ties it all up so brilliantly.
