Reviews

East, West by Salman Rushdie

adele_em's review against another edition

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reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

lostinthefunhouse's review

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medium-paced

3.5

naju's review

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Uni read - read the short story (rubies) and a couple more 

megabooks's review against another edition

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slow-paced

2.5

vlwelser's review against another edition

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dark funny medium-paced

4.0

melismatic's review

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challenging dark emotional funny lighthearted reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

azhogg2223's review against another edition

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fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated

4.0

ambershah's review

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fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

sterneti's review

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challenging reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

minxjda's review

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3.0

3.5

on the whole i actually liked these short stories, though definitely with a preference to the east and the east, west stories - the west stories began to lose me, with ‘yorick’ feeling especially uninspired and disjointed from the other works. unsurprisingly, rushdie pulls off magical realism incredibly well, though i found i most preferred the simple and honest story of 'the harmony of spheres', in which a man reflects on his relationship with a friend whose schizophrenia leads to his suicide.

my only, and rather strong, grievance with this collection came when i considered his intention behind some of his allegories more deeply - i.e. ‘the prophet’s hair’ was thrilling to read and yet it left an odd taste in my mouth once i’d finished it; was the point of the story to state that the introduction of islam into the household, through the mythical vial of the prophet’s hair, was the ultimately the fatal flaw that brought on the family’s downfall?

of course, contextually, it’s understandable why he was possibly harbouring some resentment - this was, after all, written post fatwa, attempts on his life and immigration to the uk to be placed under police protection - but i don't appreciate the fact that he chose to reflect this by generalising the orthodox muslim dynamic to be decisively abusive and oppressive.