Shalimar the Clown: A Novel | Salman Rushdie

Shalimar the Clown: A Novel | Salman Rushdie | My 1st book by the author

books:

Shalimar the Clown...

	Shalimar the Clown: A Novel Salman Rushdie Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2006 - 416 pages average customer review:based on 65 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Rushdie Rocks

One has to admire the research that Mr. Rushdie does to write his novels. It is sometimes easy to forget that you are reading fiction in the face of his ability to place the reader into a time period evoking memories which almost seem lived through. His love of language is a given, making the reader love the language he uses.
I found this book to be devastating. It is a true reflection on our times.
The courage of authors who write about topics that have the potential to make a reader uncomfortable, as well as Mr. Rushdie's penchant for stirring the pot has to be admired. Certainly his uncovering of facts that perhaps only the most well read news addict may know, and how he makes connections to historic events has always been one of the things I most appreciate about his writing. Shalimar the Clown is deep, sad, funny, and absorbing.

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My 1st book by the author

I'm gonna quote a paragraph from the book, please note - in no way can this paragraph tell you anything about the book or spoil it for those who havent read it.

" A woman left at home would close her eyes and the power of her need would enable her to see her man on his ocean ship battling pirates with pistol, her man in the battle's fray with his sword and shield, standing victorious among corpses, her man in a desert whose sands were on fire, amid mountain peaks, drinking the driven snow. So long as he lived she would follow his journey, would feel his elation and his grief, and if he died a spear of love would fly back across the world to pierce her waiting omniscient heart. It would be the same for him. IN the midst of desert's fire he would feel her cool hand on his cheek and in the heat of battle she would murmur the words of love into his ear : live, live. That was what the stories said about love. That was what human beings knew love to be."

Shalimar the Clown was about as good as I thought it would be. It definitely isn't the best book I've read this year but I must say Salman Rushdie's writing style captivates me nonetheless. In between the most relevant paragraphs, he says things that are unique and have a true stronghold on the reader's mindset. In this book, he mentions a quote, twice, which really caught my eye. "One doesn't know the questions of life until one is asked"

Another thing I noticed about the book is that the central character, Shalimar, is seldom mentioned. The book seems to hover around other dozen characters. Only in prison and in that one letter sent back to Kashmira does Shalimar's true character really come out. The second quarter of the book got immensely boring and I really despise how Max's character was written about. It was annoying, difficult to read, over-detailed and excruciating to read.

Boonyi was an outstanding character. So was the old witch and Boonyi's father. When Colonel Tortoise was mentioned in the book, I thought his character would prove of some consequence but nothing about yielded anything. One couldn't help but dislike Max's lack of integrity. Mythology is rather well written about in this book. Every 50 pages, a one page something would be mentioned including just the right amount of detail and words.

Conclusion -

While reading,time and again I would rage on to my friend about how superb the writer's grasp on the reader is. The writer knows his words,where to use them, he knows that he has a prodigious way of writing and he employed them better than ever. Maybe this book disappointed his core fans. Maybe it LACKED A SPARK enough to obilerate doubt.

All in all, I can say that Salman Rushdie has a wierd way of his own. His vocabulary is truly astounding. Maybe he is the most "learned" writer I've ever read, if not the best. Respect.

H.S Anand
-17th October'06 12.13PM

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A Marvelous Juxtaposition of Mystery and Modernity

A geopolitical saga that is a melange of magical realism, historical and contemporary commentary, and romance, Rushdie's newest novel delves into the root causes of terrorism, and explores colliding world views competing for the same space.

reviews: 1, 2, 3, page 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13

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