The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! 😌
rubiscodisco's review against another edition
5.0
SPOILERS ON THE WHOLE REVIEW
I cannot believe that it took me more than a month to read this book, but now I'm finally done, and I love it! Indeed it can be quite dense and dragging sometimes, but it was worth plodding on.
Very few readers would not fall in love with Vina, and Rushdie is amazing at making her the ideal of love. I think the themes of myth and music and love and change and conflict and collision are great.
Instead of gushing on about everything, I'll stop here and say only that this is a very wise and well written book. And also that Ormus and Vina are my OTP and that I dedicate this review to my favorite gay pirate, the illustrious John Mullens Standish.
I cannot believe that it took me more than a month to read this book, but now I'm finally done, and I love it! Indeed it can be quite dense and dragging sometimes, but it was worth plodding on.
Very few readers would not fall in love with Vina, and Rushdie is amazing at making her the ideal of love. I think the themes of myth and music and love and change and conflict and collision are great.
Instead of gushing on about everything, I'll stop here and say only that this is a very wise and well written book. And also that Ormus and Vina are my OTP and that I dedicate this review to my favorite gay pirate, the illustrious John Mullens Standish.
kdanielson221's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
marykgalli's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
lostinthefunhouse's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
4.0
raloveridge's review against another edition
4.0
So how long did this take me to read? 3 months? That's pathetic.
This book is brilliant. Rushdie writes in an amazingly textured voice here, creating an entire universe that revolves around the lovers. After reading this book, it's hard to believe that Vina and Ormus aren't international pop sensations. Only reason this book doesn't get 5 stars from me was that I felt that Rushdie's heart wasn't in the more "supernatural" (I use the term loosely) aspects of the novel; he just didn't own it, which made it seem a little silly. Other than that: muah, brilliant.
This book is brilliant. Rushdie writes in an amazingly textured voice here, creating an entire universe that revolves around the lovers. After reading this book, it's hard to believe that Vina and Ormus aren't international pop sensations. Only reason this book doesn't get 5 stars from me was that I felt that Rushdie's heart wasn't in the more "supernatural" (I use the term loosely) aspects of the novel; he just didn't own it, which made it seem a little silly. Other than that: muah, brilliant.
amelia555's review against another edition
4.0
I was attracted to this by the promise of a story about a fictional rock band — and I kind of got it, but not quite. Sure, the big part of this is a story about how powerful music is, and various made-up details about the made-up band called VTO, created by the central characters, are sprinkled throughout. But I got to say, David Mitchell's Utopia Avenue (the book I initially thought is stilted a bit and kind of faux rock'n'roll) is more about the music industry and musicians than this story.
This is one of those books that spends a lot of time establishing our main characters starting from their parents, and it takes many detours while doing so. This is a story about love, a modernised myth of Orpheus and Eurydice (and probably other myths I didn't recognise). Two worlds exist here, and the band is in a different one from ours. This side of the book was actually quite fun, it's entertaining to pick up all the differences (Watergate is only a novel in this world, Elvis Presley is named Jess Parker, but The Beatles are still The Beatles, etc.). Not quite the human world and the underworld of Hades though, just two different worlds. I'm sure if I dive into various articles about this book, I'll learn more about the mythological context of it all. But even without diving in, the surface was enjoyable enough to keep me interested even when I didn't like what the characters were doing. They are often unlikeable, but, with their backstories present, it's understandable why they're doing what they're doing.
Overall, I liked the book and its story more than I thought I would.
This is one of those books that spends a lot of time establishing our main characters starting from their parents, and it takes many detours while doing so. This is a story about love, a modernised myth of Orpheus and Eurydice (and probably other myths I didn't recognise). Two worlds exist here, and the band is in a different one from ours. This side of the book was actually quite fun, it's entertaining to pick up all the differences (Watergate is only a novel in this world, Elvis Presley is named Jess Parker, but The Beatles are still The Beatles, etc.). Not quite the human world and the underworld of Hades though, just two different worlds. I'm sure if I dive into various articles about this book, I'll learn more about the mythological context of it all. But even without diving in, the surface was enjoyable enough to keep me interested even when I didn't like what the characters were doing. They are often unlikeable, but, with their backstories present, it's understandable why they're doing what they're doing.
Overall, I liked the book and its story more than I thought I would.
jammasterjamie's review
5.0
This is simply one of the most beautifully written books I've ever read, and a prime example of the creativity and beauty that is Salman Rushdie. Part alternate-history of rock n' roll, part mythological tragedy, this book is a wonder to read, and then to read again.
dfwsusie's review against another edition
5.0
A beautiful book. I still find myself quoting the passages on love and wanderlust.
brian_loane's review against another edition
Salman Rushdie’s novel The Ground Beneath Her Feet is a window into the wild world of rock’n’roll in the 1950’s through the 1970’s. I am not a huge rock’n’roll fan, but Rushdie is my favorite novelist, and so this was one of the last of his novels that I read. This was a mistake. It is quite possibly my favorite of his novels precisely because of its ambition. In this story, Rushdie seeks to capture the sound and feel of rock’n’roll into the pages of a novel. He succeeds, and with this success comes a serious investigation of two huge themes: the feeling of belonging and relationship between art, love, and death.
There are always humans who feel that they do not belong to the place in which they were born. This feeling is often discussed as if it were not common, but Rushdie suggests that it is. Even if we do not believe that we belong somewhere else, our dreams betray our true desires. He writes, “Alone in our beds, we soar, we fly, we flee. And in the waking dreams our societies permit, in our myths, our arts, our songs, we celebrate the non-belongers, the different ones, the outlaws, the freaks…if we did not recognize in them our least-fulfilled needs, we would not invent them over and over again, in every place, in every language, in every time.”
This feeling of not-belonging is common to humanity, and Rushdie’s storytelling device demonstrates this. The Ground Beneath Her Feet is a reimagination of the famous Orpheus and Eurydice myth. In Rushdie’s take on the myth, his Orpheus is a Bombay-born singer named Ormus Cama, and his great love is the international star Vina Apsara. In the classic story, Eurydice dies, and Orpheus attempts to save her, so naturally this dynamic occurs in the modern story—Ormus tries to save Vina. However, there is also a story in Hindu mythology where Shiva reduces Kama—love—to a pile of ash, and his love Rati must bring him back to life. In Rushdie’s work there are moments when Vina saves Ormus, which echoes the Hindu myth. It is the same story from two different cultures. The fact that the same ideas can creep up into the same stories displays the fact that the feeling of un-belonging is common to humanity. Rushdie’s story then unites us further.
Rushdie’s other great theme is an exploration of the complex relation between love, death, and art. He explains that at the center of his story is a triangle, and on the points rest love, art, and death. His story, like the Orpheus myth, manipulates this triangle into every combination: love, through art, can overcome death; death despite art, will destroy love; or art can explain love and death. These interpretations all make sense, which displays the extraordinary depth of this novel. Orpheus’ music nearly saved his beloved Eurydice from the Underworld, but in the end he couldn’t. However, Rati was able to bring Kama back to life. Love triumphing over death, or art failing to save love? Rushdie displays a deep trust in the reader as he or she must decide individually what the story wishes to say. Rushdie asks the question but allows us to answer.
The Ground Beneath Her Feet is a grand novel in scope and size. Rushdie’s brilliance shines through every sentence, and his characters breathe life into his great examination of ideas common to humanity.
There are always humans who feel that they do not belong to the place in which they were born. This feeling is often discussed as if it were not common, but Rushdie suggests that it is. Even if we do not believe that we belong somewhere else, our dreams betray our true desires. He writes, “Alone in our beds, we soar, we fly, we flee. And in the waking dreams our societies permit, in our myths, our arts, our songs, we celebrate the non-belongers, the different ones, the outlaws, the freaks…if we did not recognize in them our least-fulfilled needs, we would not invent them over and over again, in every place, in every language, in every time.”
This feeling of not-belonging is common to humanity, and Rushdie’s storytelling device demonstrates this. The Ground Beneath Her Feet is a reimagination of the famous Orpheus and Eurydice myth. In Rushdie’s take on the myth, his Orpheus is a Bombay-born singer named Ormus Cama, and his great love is the international star Vina Apsara. In the classic story, Eurydice dies, and Orpheus attempts to save her, so naturally this dynamic occurs in the modern story—Ormus tries to save Vina. However, there is also a story in Hindu mythology where Shiva reduces Kama—love—to a pile of ash, and his love Rati must bring him back to life. In Rushdie’s work there are moments when Vina saves Ormus, which echoes the Hindu myth. It is the same story from two different cultures. The fact that the same ideas can creep up into the same stories displays the fact that the feeling of un-belonging is common to humanity. Rushdie’s story then unites us further.
Rushdie’s other great theme is an exploration of the complex relation between love, death, and art. He explains that at the center of his story is a triangle, and on the points rest love, art, and death. His story, like the Orpheus myth, manipulates this triangle into every combination: love, through art, can overcome death; death despite art, will destroy love; or art can explain love and death. These interpretations all make sense, which displays the extraordinary depth of this novel. Orpheus’ music nearly saved his beloved Eurydice from the Underworld, but in the end he couldn’t. However, Rati was able to bring Kama back to life. Love triumphing over death, or art failing to save love? Rushdie displays a deep trust in the reader as he or she must decide individually what the story wishes to say. Rushdie asks the question but allows us to answer.
The Ground Beneath Her Feet is a grand novel in scope and size. Rushdie’s brilliance shines through every sentence, and his characters breathe life into his great examination of ideas common to humanity.