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A review by slichto3
The Ground Beneath Her Feet by Salman Rushdie
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!