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A review by bibliophile_37
East, West by Salman Rushdie
4.0
A frequent question I receive as a bookseller was if Salman Rushdie is really as big a deal as he's made out to be. The answer was and is unequivocally that he’s a far superior writer than any of the sensationalism about him and the legendary fatwa would lead people to believe. If you’ve never read Rushdie, East, West is a perfect way to start. The book is a collection of nine short stories and it demonstrates his style in shorter snippets than the dense, voluminous novels he’s better known for.
Rushdie’s work always contains themes of alienation, displacement and rootlessness, the sort of themes that anyone who has ever lived or worked in a country different to their homeland would understand. As an emigrant from India living in Britain, Rushdie writes about the disillusionment of feeling alienated from the culture one has come from and equally as unsettled in the new one they are going to. Rushdie writes of the experience, “it felt as exciting as any voyage beyond rainbows. It may be hard to believe, but England felt as wonderful a prospect as Oz.” East, West frames this experience in three sections with three short stories per section. Each one is brimming with pop culture references, as well as alluding to the exoticism and influence of Indian culture in the West.
The collection always feels fresh upon every read and serves as a reminder of the power of visual media. For example, in a passage from At the Auction of the Ruby Slippers, Rushdie writes of the famous shoes worn by Dorothy in the film version of The Wizard of Oz (in the written story of the same name, Dorothy’s shoes were silver);
“High feelings are anticipated, and accordingly, in addition to the standard facilities provided for the comfort and security of the more notable personages, extra-large bronze cuspidors have been placed in the toilets, for the use of the physically sick, and psychiatrists of differing disciplines have been installed in strategically located neo-Gothic confessional booths, to counsel the sick at heart.
Most of us nowadays are sick.”
It’s a shame that The Satanic Verses is his most well-known work, beautiful though it is, it is also shrouded in notoriety, which can detract from the story being told. East, West was written in 1994, during which time Rushdie was living in isolation due to the fatwa placed on him by Ayatollah Khomeini of Iran. The collection serves as a reflection on a time where perhaps the loneliness of expressing oneself provided great creative output. The nature of a short story collection allows the reader more time for percolation too. For these reasons, East, West remains a comforting, colourful volume.
Rushdie’s work always contains themes of alienation, displacement and rootlessness, the sort of themes that anyone who has ever lived or worked in a country different to their homeland would understand. As an emigrant from India living in Britain, Rushdie writes about the disillusionment of feeling alienated from the culture one has come from and equally as unsettled in the new one they are going to. Rushdie writes of the experience, “it felt as exciting as any voyage beyond rainbows. It may be hard to believe, but England felt as wonderful a prospect as Oz.” East, West frames this experience in three sections with three short stories per section. Each one is brimming with pop culture references, as well as alluding to the exoticism and influence of Indian culture in the West.
The collection always feels fresh upon every read and serves as a reminder of the power of visual media. For example, in a passage from At the Auction of the Ruby Slippers, Rushdie writes of the famous shoes worn by Dorothy in the film version of The Wizard of Oz (in the written story of the same name, Dorothy’s shoes were silver);
“High feelings are anticipated, and accordingly, in addition to the standard facilities provided for the comfort and security of the more notable personages, extra-large bronze cuspidors have been placed in the toilets, for the use of the physically sick, and psychiatrists of differing disciplines have been installed in strategically located neo-Gothic confessional booths, to counsel the sick at heart.
Most of us nowadays are sick.”
It’s a shame that The Satanic Verses is his most well-known work, beautiful though it is, it is also shrouded in notoriety, which can detract from the story being told. East, West was written in 1994, during which time Rushdie was living in isolation due to the fatwa placed on him by Ayatollah Khomeini of Iran. The collection serves as a reflection on a time where perhaps the loneliness of expressing oneself provided great creative output. The nature of a short story collection allows the reader more time for percolation too. For these reasons, East, West remains a comforting, colourful volume.