Reviews

This is a very difficult book to rate because I have such mixed feelings about its different aspects. I’ll preface this review with the fact that I started this book because of its banning in Iran and wasn’t well versed on Indian or Muslim culture and so did find myself a little confused at some points but I also feel like I have learned a lot in regards to this.

The book started with my least favourite of the three story threads, Saladin and Gibreel in the current day. This beginning was tough to get through due to its aggressive tide of words and lack of compelling story to get me interested from the start. Rushdie had a tendency to throw words together into a sludge of confusing English which I could not enjoy from a stylistic perspective (but I think that is very much a personal taste situation). I found all the characters in the modern story line to be intensely unlikeable and it made it difficult to enjoy their story, only Saladin eventually began to be slightly redeemed but even so, not to a point where I actually liked his character, it was just better than Gibreel. Though one redeeming factor of this story thread is that I felt I got to see parts of England from perspectives I have not seen in many places before, and Rushdie made some very apt subtle and not so subtle commentary on English society.

However, the other two story threads, the dream sequences, were where I think Rushdie’s story shone. These storylines carried most of Rushdie’s theological examination while also being so much more intriguing and gripping than the main story line and really saved the book in my estimation. I particularly appreciated how Rushdie criticised organised religion while still not shying away from using fantastical elements to present the idea that while religion could indeed be true, it is not necessarily always good.

The exploration into what is good/God and what is evil/Shaitan built up most of the book which I found to be an interesting but not particularly innovative theme. However, Rushdie excelled in his exploration of organised religion. I loved the allusion to religion beginning as a positive force of belief and faith in betterment of people and community and turning into a restrictive control mechanism used by the chosen few. Rushdie also looked deeply into the masses generally using religion for personal gain or to fit in, but also how it can instead lead to negative impact when their faith blinds them to reality and even morality and how organised religions have a tendency to chew people up and spit them out broken.

Overall, definitely worth a read for the exploration of religion and the fun dream sequences but be prepared to suffer through Part 1 and its hodge-podge attack on the English language.

useyourgoodeye's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional informative tense 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? Yes

4.0

This book took me FOREVER to get through. It had good moments so that's why it gets 4 stars.

jennieleigh's review against another edition

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5.0

yup. liked it.

maaartje's review against another edition

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4.25

Prachtig proza en een meeslepend, ingewikkeld verhaal (een boek waar je echt in moet komen), ondanks dat ik een duidelijk aanwezige diepere laag over (uit) de koran niet of nauwelijks begrijp.

sheherlock_holmes's review against another edition

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funny reflective tense slow-paced

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

4.5

a truly epic tale of encounter, identity and change I feel like I've read 50 stories each relating to the human experience in a profound way

johncenaskneecap's review against another edition

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challenging funny reflective medium-paced

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

4.25

deeb_reads's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny reflective slow-paced

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

3.5

A man who sets out to make himself up is taking on the Creator's role, according to one way of seeing things; he's unnatural, a blasphemer, an abomination of abominations. From another angle, you could see pathos in him, heroism in his struggle, in his willingness to risk: not all mutants survive. Or, consider him sociopolitically: most migrants learn, and can become disguises. (49)

The Satanic Verses is about a lot of things: migration, the social and psychological effects that come with it, love, politics, and religion. Rushdie is a lyrical and at times darkly humorous writer, and he tackles the complex themes of the book with cleverness and empathy. The book features an entire ensemble cast of complex characters whose lives and stories intersect in an increasingly tangled web. And that's not even to mention the dream sequences that weave in and out of the main storyline.

The main London storyline (of Saladin, Gibreel, and their associated friends and acquaintances) was the most interesting to me. While a nonlinear story structure can be confusing in other works, I found it to be well done and helpful in fleshing out the characters. I was less fond of the nonlinear storytelling when it came to the dream sequences, which sometimes seemed to pop up without super clear parallels or relevance to the main storyline. Even relatively minor characters feel fleshed out and even their most absurd decisions natural and in character. Also, the themes I personally found the most interesting (love, migration, assimilation, politics) featured the most prominently in this storyline.

I did not find the other storylines as interesting, perhaps because they were more religiously themed I am personally not well acquainted with Islamic history and religious beliefs. They were still well written, but I preferred the main storyline and found it a little easier to understand than the more fantastical elements of the other dream sequence stories.

I also really enjoyed the magical realist aspects of the novel. The fantasy elements don't take away from how grounded the story is and actually serve to emphasize the characters' struggles and conflicts. Additionally, the magical elements are not always clear allegories for things, making the story feel more complex and up to the reader's interpretation. And perhaps not all of the fantastical choices have to be symbolic-- sometimes they may just be whimsical or unsettling, and that's totally fine.

Despite the great literary quality of the book, I didn't rate it higher because I personally didn't find it as gripping or entertaining as other things I've read of similar thematic richness and writing quality. It felt a bit like a book I would enjoy reading for school and would make a strong source text for an essay, but pacing wise it seemed to drag and meander a bit. There would be times where sticking with the book felt a little like a chore because of its length and slower pacing.

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