Scan barcode
hungerford's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
norahbringer's review against another edition
5.0
Amazing story--a little slow going at points but definitely worth it.
faintgirl's review against another edition
3.0
Wow! I never thought I would see the day! A Salman Rushdie novel that is not physically painful to plough through, and in places, an actual joy to read. Okay, so occasionally he goes into over verbose mode, but these slips into lyrical doom mongering are kept mostly in the background during this tale of love, music, and human emotion. To be honest, I could do without the trademark Rushdie collapses into magical realism that occasionally pepper this book, as the central story, and the main characters are developed with a huge amount of humour and intricate detail. Their story is told by Rai, a photographer and friend of Vina and Ormus, two godlike characters who fall in love and start a band. But as always, the course of true love ne'er did run smooth, and the book details both their band's astronomical success and the astronomical fuck up they both manage to make of their lives. It's not quite gripping, but it's a fun read, and for once, Rushdie keeps the pretension to a minimum. And he's far better for it.
blueyorkie's review against another edition
3.0
That's a strange and overflowing novel that plunges us into the destiny of an imaginary rock group whose two leaders, united and torn by an incredible love story, will gradually change the face of the world.
The story is precious for the pinch of fantasy. The author has sprinkled it, the group's inspiration being in contact with a mysterious parallel dimension that gradually invades the story.
In the end, a book is worth the detour, especially for what we learn about India, but it is not always easy, especially in the last hundred pages, which drag on in length.
The story is precious for the pinch of fantasy. The author has sprinkled it, the group's inspiration being in contact with a mysterious parallel dimension that gradually invades the story.
In the end, a book is worth the detour, especially for what we learn about India, but it is not always easy, especially in the last hundred pages, which drag on in length.
rzh's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
my first rushdie ! at times it was a slog i can’t lie but i feel like this is one of those books that you can get a lot out of on rereading it. very dense and layered, both in terms of the actual prose as well as the narrative style. funny there is a toni morrison quote on the cover as a lot of the prose reminded me of jazz. loved all the interweaving references and styles and themes: feels like it was written effortlessly which is a very hard way to write ! just had to lower the star rating for how laborious i found it ngl
sarahside_up's review against another edition
challenging
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.0
trin's review against another edition
4.0
I read this book because I liked the song based on it that Rushdie wrote with U2. (Always a good reason!) The book is great, too: vast and heart-breaking. But it's the little details that really get me, Rushdie's hints of this-world-not-our-world. Brilliant.
whimsicalmeerkat's review against another edition
3.0
Meandering and fevered. I love this book. Salman Rushdie does his mixture of surreality and earthiness.
tara_pikachu's review against another edition
3.0
First Salman Rushdie book I read. Not as dense as his other books...light, smooth prose.
slichto3's review against another edition
4.0
The Ground Beneath Her Feet is a serious investment of attention and time. I started it by not really feeling that I would be into that. It's a methodical, meandering book, without a strong focus on plot. But damn, it really won me over! The feel and the world of the book got into my head, and it ended up being a compelling, enveloping, puzzling, thought-provoking, and altogether lovely story.
Because there's not a strong focus on plot, it's somewhat difficult to describe a lot of what happens in the book. It's told through the eyes of Rai Merchant. Rai grew up in Bombay, India (which because of this book I now know is called Mumbai!) with two close friends who ended up becoming gigantic rock stars: Vina Apsara and Ormus Cama. Rai tells the story starting from when they are children up until they're all into late middle age. Actually, the story kind of starts even before they are children, because it spends a lot of time diving in to the lives of the parents of our three main protagonists.
That's where I'd give a warning about this book: it meanders. You start off thinking: this is a story about rock stars! It's going to be a dramatic rise and fall of big celebrities! But then the book spends a long time talking about how Rai's parents met, how Rai's parents met Ormus's parents, how Rai first met Vina as a kid. And the book really does spend a lot of time on these other characters. So be prepared for the book to drift and seem to lack a bit of a focus.
At first, that haziness grated on me. By the end, though, I think it was absolutely beautiful and striking and more like real life than any other book I've read. Late in the book, when earlier elements of the story occur, I really felt that same sense of nostalgia and same echo of emotions that I've experienced when something in my own past pops up again. It's really extraordinary. And the meandering of the plot, upon reflection, feels so much like the meandering of the plots of real humans as well. Do you have a cohesive, straight-line narrative of your life? If you're being honest, of course not! We change course, we change focus, just like The Ground Beneath Her Feet.
Ok, maybe you're still not really sold, because it's not so attractive to know that a book doesn't have a classic flow of a story. But there are other standout qualities to the book as well. First, despite getting off track a bit, the focus of the book is almost always surprising and quirky. It feels fun going down the different rabbit holes of the various characters. And the author's writing reminds me of a gem - it is so multifaceted and shining and enjoyable to experience. I realize those aren't really descriptive words when you're describing writing, but, to me, the style felt unique - in a very good way. It bounces and has energy, it gets into history and drama while maintaining a sense of humor and flow. I wish I could learn how to write like Salman Rushdie.
To me, it did get dull at times. I got lost in certain passages, and there was a little bit too much diving into certain aspects or philosophizing/metaphorizing in others. And I do still find myself yearning for a more conventional rise of action / climax / fall of action structure to the book. Some of the references did lose me at times, too - it feels like a smart book that flew over my head at times.
On that topic, there's one thing I've been confused about when reading other reviews: why do people describe this as a retelling of the myth of Orpheus? I know that Orpheus/Eurydice are mentioned a bit, and that there are some parallels, but to me, this does not at all feel like that, and I think it is misleading for readers who haven't picked up the book yet. There's just so much more here - there's no way to boil it down to "modern Orpheus." That threw me when I started: I was expecting something more straightforward based on that description, then got stuck when I realized that we were going to see the whole history of parents before even getting to "the legend of Orpheus."
Another element to be ready for: the book starts out by feeling so grounded, but it does eventually start touching on the supernatural. I've now read two Rushdie books - the other is Midnight's Children - and they both do the same thing. We have real life and real places, and then there's supernatural powers or visions. It's cool, but it feels out of place and surprising. There's also not really a definitive conclusion about what anything means, or even about what exactly happened in certain cases. There are puzzles here.
I'd recommend The Ground Beneath Her Feet. You have to be along for the ride, but if you let yourself be taken by the current of the book, I think you'll ultimately enjoy it. And let me know if you figure out more how it connects to the story of Orpheus!
Because there's not a strong focus on plot, it's somewhat difficult to describe a lot of what happens in the book. It's told through the eyes of Rai Merchant. Rai grew up in Bombay, India (which because of this book I now know is called Mumbai!) with two close friends who ended up becoming gigantic rock stars: Vina Apsara and Ormus Cama. Rai tells the story starting from when they are children up until they're all into late middle age. Actually, the story kind of starts even before they are children, because it spends a lot of time diving in to the lives of the parents of our three main protagonists.
That's where I'd give a warning about this book: it meanders. You start off thinking: this is a story about rock stars! It's going to be a dramatic rise and fall of big celebrities! But then the book spends a long time talking about how Rai's parents met, how Rai's parents met Ormus's parents, how Rai first met Vina as a kid. And the book really does spend a lot of time on these other characters. So be prepared for the book to drift and seem to lack a bit of a focus.
At first, that haziness grated on me. By the end, though, I think it was absolutely beautiful and striking and more like real life than any other book I've read. Late in the book, when earlier elements of the story occur, I really felt that same sense of nostalgia and same echo of emotions that I've experienced when something in my own past pops up again. It's really extraordinary. And the meandering of the plot, upon reflection, feels so much like the meandering of the plots of real humans as well. Do you have a cohesive, straight-line narrative of your life? If you're being honest, of course not! We change course, we change focus, just like The Ground Beneath Her Feet.
Ok, maybe you're still not really sold, because it's not so attractive to know that a book doesn't have a classic flow of a story. But there are other standout qualities to the book as well. First, despite getting off track a bit, the focus of the book is almost always surprising and quirky. It feels fun going down the different rabbit holes of the various characters. And the author's writing reminds me of a gem - it is so multifaceted and shining and enjoyable to experience. I realize those aren't really descriptive words when you're describing writing, but, to me, the style felt unique - in a very good way. It bounces and has energy, it gets into history and drama while maintaining a sense of humor and flow. I wish I could learn how to write like Salman Rushdie.
To me, it did get dull at times. I got lost in certain passages, and there was a little bit too much diving into certain aspects or philosophizing/metaphorizing in others. And I do still find myself yearning for a more conventional rise of action / climax / fall of action structure to the book. Some of the references did lose me at times, too - it feels like a smart book that flew over my head at times.
On that topic, there's one thing I've been confused about when reading other reviews: why do people describe this as a retelling of the myth of Orpheus? I know that Orpheus/Eurydice are mentioned a bit, and that there are some parallels, but to me, this does not at all feel like that, and I think it is misleading for readers who haven't picked up the book yet. There's just so much more here - there's no way to boil it down to "modern Orpheus." That threw me when I started: I was expecting something more straightforward based on that description, then got stuck when I realized that we were going to see the whole history of parents before even getting to "the legend of Orpheus."
Another element to be ready for: the book starts out by feeling so grounded, but it does eventually start touching on the supernatural. I've now read two Rushdie books - the other is Midnight's Children - and they both do the same thing. We have real life and real places, and then there's supernatural powers or visions. It's cool, but it feels out of place and surprising. There's also not really a definitive conclusion about what anything means, or even about what exactly happened in certain cases. There are puzzles here.
I'd recommend The Ground Beneath Her Feet. You have to be along for the ride, but if you let yourself be taken by the current of the book, I think you'll ultimately enjoy it. And let me know if you figure out more how it connects to the story of Orpheus!