Thank you. That was a very useful review. I have been trying to decide for yonks whether to read this and now I will. The next time I'm in London or somewhere there are lot's of English language books I will look for it. Did I ever tell you how envious I am of your proximity to all those wonderful 2nd hand book stores in Brussels. I could cry!!!
Actually I find the Brussels range of English-language second-hand bookshops really rather limited. Of course I grew up in Anglophone countries, so have been spoiled, but I think you would get a better range in any town in the Netherlands, for example. Havign said that I did discover one not too far from the office a few months back; must visit it again and rate the current stock.
It's a matter of perspective. I live on an island where there are NO shops selling English language books - 2nd hand or otherwise, so when I was in Brussels last year, I thought I'd died and gone to heaven.
I remember reading it when it came out. I enjoyed the Muhammad bits, thought the magical realism bits were tedious, and loved the family stuff and return to India at the end. I keep meaning to read Midnight's Children, but haven't managed to yet.
Midnight's Children has much more India / Pakistan / Bangladesh, but also at least as much magical realism (and no Muhammad), so you will probably have a similarly mixed reaction! The book has romantic associations for me because I was given it by an ex-girfriend many years ago...
What I always found strange - though didn't object to - is that more wasn't made of his treatment of the British establisment, the police etc. Common cause might have been made between whiote British and objecting members of Islam. I recall a few comments at the time but very little along those lines.
I think Tom Stoppard was the one who emerged most credibly from the various statements in Rushdie's support - we shouldn't defend him because he's a writer, we should defend him because you can't go round demanding people should be killed.
I don't think I've read anything else by Rushdie I've liked - I started Midnight's Children for anniversary reasons but got sidetracked and was weirded out by Grimus, which I need to reread.
(I'm convinced he was hiding out at the ------ Hotel in Hull during the Fatwa, as I'm sure I saw him on the steps there. As I walked along nearby Salmon Grove at the time I tried meme-like to get people to call it Salman Rushdie Grove. This, sadly, failed)
I liked both Midnight's children and Grimus - not ecstatically, but enough that I would certainly have got around to The Satanic Verses sooner or later.
I think there's been a certain amount of non-Islamic backlash since SV - the later books not so well received, hence no sense of my needing to keep up with his work. But he also graduated to that Martin Amis gossip column level of fame where I can't be bothered to keep up. He's not exactly been portrayed in a flattering light (but I do suspect the racism of the British media is complicit in this - the snideness of the Daily Hate Mail, say, over the spending of the tax of hard-working etcs on his protection).
Must catch up but can't see it happening soon, though I've got a copy of Shame somewhere round these parts.
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Did I ever tell you how envious I am of your proximity to all those wonderful 2nd hand book stores in Brussels. I could cry!!!
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What I always found strange - though didn't object to - is that more wasn't made of his treatment of the British establisment, the police etc. Common cause might have been made between whiote British and objecting members of Islam. I recall a few comments at the time but very little along those lines.
I think Tom Stoppard was the one who emerged most credibly from the various statements in Rushdie's support - we shouldn't defend him because he's a writer, we should defend him because you can't go round demanding people should be killed.
I don't think I've read anything else by Rushdie I've liked - I started Midnight's Children for anniversary reasons but got sidetracked and was weirded out by Grimus, which I need to reread.
(I'm convinced he was hiding out at the ------ Hotel in Hull during the Fatwa, as I'm sure I saw him on the steps there. As I walked along nearby Salmon Grove at the time I tried meme-like to get people to call it Salman Rushdie Grove. This, sadly, failed)
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Yes, I think the Stoppard line is the right one!
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Must catch up but can't see it happening soon, though I've got a copy of Shame somewhere round these parts.
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