Surreally cynical, flamingly controversial, and surprisingly touching, Rushdie's "The Satanic Verses" is a work of art. Structuring a frame narrative around the intersecting paths of two Indian actors as they flit between London and Bombay, Rushdie made me laugh, frown, ponder, and reflect as he told of Gibreel and Saladin's magical adventures. In its magical realism, opposing angelic protagonists, critique of religion and society, irrepressible rascality, and tender cleverness, Rushdie's book resembles Neil Gaiman's "Good Omens". "The Satanic Verses" actually precedes Gaiman's book by just two years (published in 1988). It seems like there must have been something in the air in London in the late 80's...

I immediately saw why the Iranians had issued a fatwa on Rushdie - he has an extremely cynical view of Islam (and organized religion in general) and depicts Mohammed and his wives with unabashed coarseness. But throughout the various levels story, Rushdie explores deeper questions about the nature of faith and its relationship to rationality and science. On one level, Rushdie meditates on the classic East/West divide as his characters travel between Bombay and London. And within each individual story, we can find examples of the reason/faith argument:

Mirza Saeed, worn-out and filthy, was in a state of deep frustration on account of his failure to convince more than a handful of the pilgrims that it was better to put one’s trust in reason than in miracles. Miracles had been doing pretty well for them, the Titlipur villagers pointed out, reasonably enough. ‘Those blasted butterflies,’ Saeed muttered to the Sarpanch. ‘Without them, we’d have a chance.’ ‘But they have been with us from the start,’ the Sarpanch replied with a shrug.

The sheer range of Rushdie's talents staggers me. Throughout the story, he jerks us around between humor and wonder, between absurdities and moments of touching sadness. I was particularly moved by the final chapter of Saladin with his father - and surprised that Rushdie could pull off such a scene of gentle emotional resonance.

This was a complex, difficult read that relied on a pre-existing knowledge of some early Islamic history (I'd recommend "After the Prophet") to fully appreciate. In fact, I'm not sure I quite fully appreciated the book this first time through - there are so many layers and intricacies to the story that it's difficult to know which parts are symbolic and which parts are just extraneous detail. But it's certainly worth a re-read at some point. If nothing else, there were a few sections (like Saladin's rhyming taunts: "I like coffee, I like tea, I like things you do with me") that had me laughing until I cried.

Full review and highlights at http://books.max-nova.com/satanic-verses/

The Satanic Verses - Likewise Book Reviews

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