Is it worth it?
I remember all the controversy over it but I was a little kid. Rushdie getting attacked last year brought the whole episode back into my head. If someone can be attacked over a 30+ year old book, I feel like it’s at least somewhat important to read.
But cutting through the noise – is the book actually enjoyable? Should I bother? What did you like or dislike about it?
by shinebrida
7 Comments
Reading it right now actually. It’s a good read, magical realism and all that. It’s funnier than I thought too. I’m halfway through and I like it so far.
I read it, but I only liked the “historical” parts that were more coherent. I think that without all the noise I would have stopped halfway, because it did not feel like a captivating read. I then bought his “Children of Midnight”, and dropped it after a couple dozen pages.
It’s fucking great. One of my favorite books. A wild ride of magical surrealism, and very funny.
I am of desi background, know Hindustani, know quite a bit about Hinduism and Islam and Indian history, so that helps I think. But even without that, I thought it was a fantastic novel that is worth reading for itself, separate from the “controversy.”
What I recommend when someone is on the fence with reading Satanic Verses is to find the first couple of chapters on YouTube. Listen to it, see if you like it, then decide if you want to carry on from there.
I read it as a high schooler, so I didn’t get every nuance, but I still enjoyed the heck out of it. Rushdie is a great writer. Quichotte is probably my favorite of his, although I also really like Victory City, his most recent novel.
I’ve read it to see what all the controversy was all about. I found the book kind of jumped all over the place compared to Quichotte, which made TSV harder to follow.
Honestly I liked Midnight’s Children better. But I’m in the minority on that one.