A review by faintgirl
The Ground Beneath Her Feet by Salman Rushdie

3.0

Wow! I never thought I would see the day! A Salman Rushdie novel that is not physically painful to plough through, and in places, an actual joy to read. Okay, so occasionally he goes into over verbose mode, but these slips into lyrical doom mongering are kept mostly in the background during this tale of love, music, and human emotion. To be honest, I could do without the trademark Rushdie collapses into magical realism that occasionally pepper this book, as the central story, and the main characters are developed with a huge amount of humour and intricate detail. Their story is told by Rai, a photographer and friend of Vina and Ormus, two godlike characters who fall in love and start a band. But as always, the course of true love ne'er did run smooth, and the book details both their band's astronomical success and the astronomical fuck up they both manage to make of their lives. It's not quite gripping, but it's a fun read, and for once, Rushdie keeps the pretension to a minimum. And he's far better for it.