The Satanic Verses- Salman Rushdie Review (With Spoilers)

 'The Satanic Verses' by Salman Rushie is probably one of the most controversial books published in the 20th century, causing the Iranian religious leader to issue a fatwa (death sentence) against Rushdie. Recently, a horrific attack was carried out against him, causing him injuries he is still recovering from.  I have known about this novel and the controversy surrounding it for years now, and it was on the TBR list ever since I read 'Midnights' Children' during my post colonial course at university. The recent attack that I and many others have seen as an attack on free speech made me finally purchase and read it. Oh boy, what an adventure that was!

THIS REVIEW DOES CONTAIN SOME MAJOR SPOILERS!

Standing at over 500 pages, filled with long sentences (some taking almost an entire paragraph), Rushie incredibly rich prose and a plethora of characters and their points of views as well as dream sequences, it was definitely so much to take in. Rushdie does not make reading of this book easy and sometimes I was quite lost as to what I was reading. The context of the story is about two Indian actors Gibreel Farishta, the biggest star in India, and Saladin Chamcha, surviving falling from the sky from a plane hijacked by terrorists, and seemingly one of them turning to angel and the other to a demon. However, there are also stories of multiple characters going in and out of their lives as well as the story of a woman providing shelter from them when they first fall, and also a story of an entire village going to a pilgrimage to Mecca, not to mention the racial riots happening in London and the fictionalized story of the prophet coming to power. Rushdie is masterfully written all these stories and I did not feel like any of them lacked quality or strength of writing. I will say it was a lot to keep in mind, especially as some characters from different points of time had the same name, and the reader would have to find context clues to try to fully understand what is going on. I must admit I am not sure I have been always fully successful in that endeavor.

Rushdie is definitely a masterful writer and a master of magical realism, writing the angel's dream sequences so convincingly that I did wonder if this is a man who has mental health issues or did it really happen? Additionally, Saladin's transformation into a goat-like creature is also described so matter of fact, it was hard to fully grasp if this has really happened or was it metaphorical. I am still not fully sure either way.

 

Also, let's address the elephant in the room. Rushdie has been attacked because of his portrayal of the Islamic prophet-Mohammed (Mahound in the novel). I will admit that the prophet's depiction is far from sympathetic as he is shown as a power hungry businessman full of humanlike flaws. He is able to change his mind frequently to get his power, showing how calculated he is. Mahound is also quite violent at times, especially to those who dare question or criticize him. I am not Muslim and far from religious, but I can understand why a lot of devout Muslims would have an issue with this kind of depiction. I understand (and I think most people do as well) that this is a fictionalized account and I do not know Rushdie's full intentions behind showing the prophet in this way. Either way, I do have a huge issue with anyone calling for physical violence against any author. If the idea is wrong or offensive, I believe we should still fight it with better, less offensive ideas, not with fists and knives. Anyone of us has the right to criticize and offend those in power, especially those trying to impose them on people who are not interested in them through threats of violence of actual violence. In this case, it really is shocking what has happened to Rushdie and I hope he will recover enough to keep writing and keep being the voice he always has been.

In addition to this controversial character and his story, there are so many others that even if I started writing about all of them, I would still forget some of them and this review would be just about them. I must admit that I did not care too much about the female characters in the novel and their development felt more like an afterthought and there to give more character to the main duo. Their purpose was more about how their actions are impacting them and their journey than any real depth at all. The main duo is interesting, especially because throughout the novel, they are not really good people that treat people around them well, quite the opposite. They are quite selfish, self-centered and focused only on what they want. In fact, Saladin's journey is about learning to be good to and listen to others, evident in the fact he still went to see his estranged father on his death bed and made amends with him.

For me, Rushdie is the best when he is writing from the position of the postcolonial author and about the different attitudes of people from India towards the empire that they were once a part of. It is interesting that both Saladin and Gibreel are from India, albeit with different life stories and backgrounds and ideas of their national and personal identity. While Gibreel is an Indian movie star, Saladin through his ability to change his voice significantly, wanted to live his Indian heritage and become fully English. In fact, throughout the novel, he looks down on India and their customs and ideas and embraces Englishness. However, as 'the other', he is not fully accepted and is only a voice-over actor, not really allowed to show his face as he would not be accepted because of his skin color. I really enjoyed this discussion about the current relationship between India and England, after Indian independence and how that affects those living in India. Additionally, Rushdie is also honest about the internal turmoil in India, especially the horrific treatment of Muslims is shown through several incidents in which Muslims were treated horrifically, even murdered just because of their faith.

With all that being said, so much of this book flew over my head, especially the numerous references that author included in the book. At times, his prose became so convoluted that there were aspects I gave up on trying to understand. I am sure that the work is filled with wonderful metaphors and messages that were just inaccessible to me right now. In essence, this complicated narrative style and structure made parts (especially the religious discussion) is probably the biggest issue I had with it. 

I rated it 3/5 for this reason. I am planning to read 'Shame' and 'The Ground Beneath Her Feet' next by him. I have already read and loved 'Midnight's Children'.

Did you read Rushdie? Did you read 'The Satanic Verses'? What did you think? Let me know!