So it was with this high opinion that I began one of his latest and less contriversal novels, and my soaring opinion of the man and his beautiful books only began to rise once I had completed this novel. There is no greater modern writer than Rushdie, perhaps with the exception of the magic realism master Marquez. It is evident in Rushdie's books that he feeds off Marquez, and he undoubtedly does so with his own fine balance of wit, humility and intellect, and this book is the finest example of Rushdie's continuing brillance against adversity and scrunity.
Rushdie indeed deserved the award for 'Booker of Bookers', however I wonder whether a better choice would have been the 'Moor's Last Sigh', which matches, if not overtakes 'Midnight's Children' in terms of enjoyment and brillance.
Wonderful, full and rich by an author who continues to astonish me and so many others.
The story itself is staged like a bad Bollywood film. While the novel does feature some intriguing characters (such as the hilarious Helsing, the detective Dim Mento who seems straight out of a dime novel and the insane Ima) that are fun and gleefully cartoonish (even for Rushdie!), the lengthy family history reads like a retread of Midnight's Children. Whereas Midnight masterfully tied in the events of the family into Indian history, the events of the Zogoiby line are simply actions of amoral characters that never take on the high drama Rushdie is aiming for. And while Rushdie does allow us to sympathize with the narrator, I felt that the lackluster plotline had me reading Moor for the sake of reading it. For the first time, I was unable to truly delve into the world that Rushdie was presenting to us.
Another problem lies with the formulaic tying-up of plot threads. Rushdie presents some intriguing religious dynamics early on (a man caught between several conflicting religions), but fails to pay it off, prefering to concentrate on a surprisingly formulaic stint with the underworld.
There are some interesting metaphors for the Western cultural invasion of India (Abraham in the COD tower reminded me of Howard Hughes). But ultimately Rushdie is too convinced that his story is of the utmost importance and it prevents his characters from becoming as organic as his previous works.
However, given some of the larger-than-life characters, it will be interesting to see how this develops in his future books.
Recommended for Rushdie fans only. Others should check out Rushdie's best work, Midnight's Children.
