The Satanic Verses has all the excellence that made {Midnight's Children} a publishing event: an epic sweep and feel for the larger currents of history reminiscent of Tolstoy, a comic genius for idiosyncratic characterization in polyphonic voices worthy of Dickens, together with the imaginative freedom of fabulation characteristic of Latin American fiction and its magical realism. ( )

Not a fan of magical realism ( )

Rushdie's subject is the immigrant experience, the feeling of being alien in a home you wish to make your own, or scornfully resist making yours. How you can make yourself at home, or think you have, only to have a single label make you other again. How you can believe you have left your old identity behind, only to have it recapture you without warning. As Rushdie wrote in his 2012 memoir, the experience "puts into crisis everything about the migrating individual or group, everything about identity and selfhood and culture and belief. So if this is a novel about migration it must be that act of putting in question. It must perform the crisis it describes."

There's a frequent blurring of the line in these pages between reality and fantasy, not just for the characters but for the reader as well. 'Magical realism' doesn't strictly apply, with everyone trying to rationalize the unbelievable or declare it madness. But fantastical things do occur in this story, as the mysterious narrator assures us. A man becomes an angel, and another becomes a devil, after surviving an impossible explosion and tumble through the air. A man relives the ancient past in not-quite-dreams, speaks to a ghost riding a magic carpet and influences the weather. Another man infests the dreams of others. No sooner is an unusual element dismissed as make-believe or madness than evidence appears that proves otherwise. Or does it?

In other words, this novel is 'performing the crisis' of the immigration experience, as promised. It isn't often that an author feels obliged to explain his novel after the fact; but then neither is it often that an author finds himself the victim of a death sentence issued by a foreign power, forcing him into hiding for a decade and having to remain vigilant thereafter, only to be wounded by a stabbing on stage at a live event in 2022. Reading this novel had zero negative impact on my outsider's view of Islam, for whatever that's worth. ( )

Era da un bel po' di tempo che I versi satanici giaceva non letto nella mia libreria. È uno di quei libri che desideravo leggere, ma ero frenata dal timore di non capirci una mazza. Mi dava l'idea di essere uno di quei libri cervellotici e allegorici che mi sarei stufata di leggere prima di capirne il significato.

In effetti, questo mio pregiudizio è in parte giustificato, in quanto I versi satanici non è quello che potremmo definire un romanzo convenzionale. In primis per l'uso disinvolto del realismo magico, che Rushdie non usa come un folklorico elemento fantastico, ma come un artificio letterario necessario a narrare la sua storia. In sintesi, succede roba strana in questo romanzo. Roba strana che ti induce a rileggere il passaggio per essere sicura di aver letto bene. Ma vi assicuro che il realismo magico si intreccia perfettamente con il suo significato e con il messaggio che ci vuol trasmettere l'autore: il risultato non è così oscuro come potrebbe sembrare a prima vista.

In secondo luogo, a Rushdie piace mischiare le carte. Gli piace prendere storie ormai consolidate nella nostra mente e rinarrarle per far sì che producano novità: nuove idee e nuove sfide. Per Rushdie, fossilizzarsi su una storia e diventare incapaci di rivederla e rinarrarla è una sconfitta e l'inizio della fine della propria libertà. Infatti, se non hai il coraggio e la capacità di rivedere le vicende del passato alla luce del presente, hai perso la facoltà di migliorarti.

Questo modus operandi ha procurato una fatwā al povero Rushdie, come oramai tutti sappiamo: il modo in cui l'autore ha rinarrato la storia dei versi satanici ha scatenato le ire di una parte dei musulmani, che lo ha accusato di blasfemia.

Ora, io non sono certo in grado di stabilire cosa sia o meno blasfemo nei confronti di qualunque religione, ma nel corso della lettura non ho avuto proprio la sensazione che Rushdie volesse insultare la religione islamica. Anzi, la questione religiosa, se così vogliamo chiamarla, è inserita nel romanzo solo come parte di un'altra tematica, decisamente preponderante: le difficoltà che deve affrontare lo straniero nell'integrarsi in un ambiente a lui totalmente estraneo. In queste difficoltà rientrano numerosi schemi mentali e certamente anche una diversa religione rispetto a quella predominante nel paese ospitante.

Difatti, se vorrete leggerlo, vi consiglio di focalizzarvi sul tema del migrante e di lasciar perdere le polemiche: scoprirete un romanzo sorprendentemente attuale e che offre numerosi spunti di riflessione sul mito dell'integrazione. ( )

Los versos satánicos
Salman Rushdie
Publicado: 1988 | 510 páginas
Novela Sátira

Los versos satánicos narra la historia de Gibreel Farishta y Saladin Chamcha, dos actores de origen indio. Farishta es una estrella de Bollywood especializado en papeles religiosos con un fuerte complejo de superioridad; Chamcha, un emigrante que ha roto con su pasada identidad hindú, trabaja como actor de voz para comerciales, experto en adoptar cualquier acento, lo que le ha ganado la fama del Hombre de las Mil Voces.

Al principio de la novela hay un atentado en el avión en el que viajaban, el Bostan 706, de India a Inglaterra. Sin embargo, sobreviven milagrosamente al caer cerca de las costas inglesas, transformados Farishta con una aureola angelical y Chamcha con unas nacientes protuberancias en la frente, respectivamente arcángel Gabriel y Shaitan.

Sus caminos se separan en la casa de playa de la señora Rose Diamond en donde son buscados por la policía acusados de ser inmigrantes ilegales, pero sólo es puesto bajo custodia Saladin Chamcha, puesto que Gabriel se les presenta a los oficiales irradiando la luz angelical de su aureola, convenciéndoles de su honesta estancia en el país sin tan siquiera decir una palabra. En cambio, a Chamcha, con sus ahora enormes cuernos caprinos que no solo lo delatan como extranjero sino que lo convierten en la viva representación de todo lo que es maligno y engañoso, los oficiales se lo llevan entre burlas y abusos físicos, a pesar de que afirma ser ciudadano inglés y ser sobreviviente del Bostan. Farishta lo observa todo como alejado, en trance, y no intenta siquiera ayudar. Chamcha nunca olvidaría el incidente.

A la par de la narrativa principal, se intercalan visiones soñadas por Gibreel Farishta, que lo representan como el mensajero de Dios. Una de estas visiones narra la historia de Ayeesha, una joven campesina hindú, quien dice recibir mensajes de Dios a través del Arcángel Gabriel. Ella encabeza una peregrinación a La Meca, a pie, a través de la India. Al llegar a la costa del mar de Arabia, los creyentes entran y se sumergen convencidos de que el arcángel separará las olas y les permitirá el paso libre, sin embargo todos se ahogan.

En esta visión es donde se hace alusión a los versos satánicos: Abu Simbel, líder de Jahilia y esposo de Hind, sacerdotisa de la diosa Al-Lat, le ofrece a Mahound un pacto: él admitirá a tan sólo tres de las diosas de Jahilia, como arcángeles de Alá, y le permitirá al pueblo su adoración y Abu Simbel (y por consiguiente, el pueblo) aceptará a Alá. Mahound atribulado sube al monte Cone, a pedirle una revelación al Arcángel Gabriel, obligándole inconscientemente a dictarle unos versos en los que se proclame la validez de las tres deidades.

Well I can see why Muslims were pissed as shit about this book, especially since, to paraphrase a line in the book, followers of Mohammad cannot stand wit, or insults.

( )

I've read and enjoyed a number of Rushdie's other novels and have been meaning to read this one for years. But sadly, this important and critical acclaimed, novel was a bit of a let down. There were flashes of brilliance, there's no denying that. But it simply wandered around way too much. Both the heroes were delusional and disturbed and I guess Rushdie wanted to bring that point across. But a novel needs a certain sense of ebb and flow, and this novel with it's herkie jerky plot, was sorely lacking in any type of flow. ( )

This was…a lot. It was very creative, and well written, like nothing I’ve ever read before. But at the same time it was very tedious and l, I guess, my lack of knowledge about Indian and British cultures, and the subcultures between the two, might have influenced my understanding and comprehension of the material. It definitely resulted in taking longer than usual to “get into” the book. By the end, while I was fully invested and interested, it also felt like a chore to complete. It was hard to reconcile… ( )

Por encima del Canal de la Mancha, un vuelo secuestrado estalla mientras está a gran altitud. Dos supervivientes caen al mar: Gibrel Farishta, un legendario galán cinematográfico, y Saladin Chamcha, el hombre de las mil voces, autodidacta y anglófilo furibundo.
Consigue llegar a una playa inglesa y notan unos extraños cambios: uno ha adquirido una aureola y el otro ve con horror cómo crece el vello de sus piernas, los pies se convierten en cascos y las sienes se abultan...

Very complicated, took maybe 200 pages before I felt like I was even beginning to get the general situation. The sentences were beautiful, a lovely writer. Very challenging book, an incredible amount of detail and I feel like 90% of it whizzed past my head. ( )

De twee hoofdpersonage - Djibriel Farishta en Saladin Chamcha - belichamen in zekere zin goed en kwaad. Djibriel is een gevierd acteur in India en Saladin is een talentvolle stemacteur in Groot-Brittannië. In het begin van het boek vallen zij uit een gekaapt vliegtuig en komt het boek erg abstract - magisch realistisch over. Je hebt enige hoofdstukken nodig om de stijl van Rushdie gewoon te worden en om in het verhaal te komen. Maar éénmaal die drempel gepasseerd leest het als een boeiend - bij momenten wel langdradig - verhaal met afwisselend momenten van droom en realiteit. Het is geen pageturner maar tegelijk wel een boek dat je wil doorlezen tot het einde niet in één grote leessessie maar in stapjes. Ik las het in ongeveer twee weken uit met elke dag een 40 tot 50 pagina's. Naar mijn mening meer geschikt voor de gevorderde lezer en beslist geen feel-good roman. Of het godslasterlijk is kan ik - door mijn gebrekkige kennis van de islam - niet goed beoordelen. ( )

"Now there was no demand for satires – the general fear of Mahound had destroyed the market for insults and wit." (pg. 362)

"Blasphemy, punishable by death." (pg. 102)

Given the context of The Satanic Verses – namely the savage and ignorant attempts to censor it, and the violent attempts to punish its creator, which have made headlines again this month in the latest semi-successful assault on Salman Rushdie's life – I dearly wanted, as a matter of principle, to love this book. Unfortunately, despite all my goodwill and my keen desire to wear its red butterfly cover as a badge of honour, I really struggled with this novel.

I'll try not to speak at length about the elephant in the room, about what's become known as "the Rushdie affair". Everyone should be of one mind in condemning the thoughtless, malicious mentality of those who have ruined this man's life over some obscure, minor criticism of a religion – and also in resisting the temptation to join the depressingly large number of their enablers and appeasers of every stripe. Even if The Satanic Verses was the disgusting cornucopia of apostasy that the killers want us to believe – it isn't, and I'd bet both bollocks that neither Ayatollah Khomeini or knifeman Hadi Matar have ever actually read it – it wouldn't mandate anything like the response it has received since its publication in 1988. A better man, one who lives right under God, would meet any offence taken here with only a shrug.

My own rather more moderate dislike of the novel came from something more mundane: I just didn't get it. I've always struggled with the genre of magical realism, which to me can be defined as banality made incomprehensible (and tangential), and the vast majority of The Satanic Verses confirmed me in this view. It's hard to hammer down a structure for the book, but it follows two modern-day characters, Gibreel and Saladin, who survive the explosion of a hijacked plane and tumble to earth. The story then dips in and out of a number of loosely connected dream sequences and metamorphoses, all delivered with the sort of verbosity and indulgence that, were it not for the Ayatollah, I'd be hellbent on avoiding. Somewhere in all this, I am informed, there is an acute exploration of the immigrant experience in Britain. Don't ask me where, though; my eyes too often became unfocused in the muddle.

And, of course, elsewhere in all this there is the dangerous stuff, the forbidden fruit that we really tramp through Eden for, the content the Ayatollah and his ilk wanted to nix, but which had the unintended effect of amplifying it. I had heard, not least in the current news commentary around Rushdie's attack, that the anti-Islamic content of the novel was such a small percentage that the fatwa was unfathomable, so it was something of a surprise when I read the book – having decided, as we all should, to determine the facts for myself – to find that Rushdie devotes significant ink from his pen to the matter.

The Satanic verses, for those who don't know the story, is when the Prophet Muhammad 'misheard' a divine revelation and decreed that the error had been caused by Satan. Muhammad supposedly received all his divine commands from God and his recitation of these was recorded in the Koran as immutable law. In the early days of Islam, when it was just one of many provincial religions and not the conquering monotheistic force it would soon become, Muhammad decreed, in one of his revelations, that three of the older (female) gods were to be accommodated alongside Allah. The cynic, of course, concludes that this was a nakedly political decision; the believer follows the tenuous logic which the Prophet himself later put forward: that Satan had put these words in his ear. It is one of the most sensitive aspects of Islamic theology, and for good reason. Not only does it hint at some cynical horse-trading with the local competition as the religion was established, but Muhammad's own explanation of it is out of sync with the theologically-essential assumption of the Prophet's perfection and infallibility.

Rushdie, in a decision which has had extreme ramifications for him ever since, is merciless on this point. At his most diplomatic, he describes the former businessman Muhammad as the "most pragmatic of prophets" (pg. 381). (Rushdie also makes the decision to use the name 'Mahound' rather than 'Muhammad' throughout the book, even though – or, more likely, because of – it is often seen as a slur.) Less diplomatically, he retells the whole story of Muhammad and the three female demi-gods as one where the prophet is calculating and self-serving. He is, as Rushdie tells it, a man making it up as he goes along, and claiming it was 'revealed' to him: "Salman the Persian got to wondering what manner of God this was that sounded so much like a businessman… Salman began to notice how useful and well timed the angel's revelations tended to be" (pg. 364). When Muhammad miscalculates – as in the case of accepting the three female demigods, which causes discontent among his followers – he takes it back and claims Satan misled him.

It's spicy stuff, and (to a non-believer, at least) a welcome change from all the middling magical realism that is so overpowering, like a bad scent, in the rest of the story. Rushdie, remarkably, doesn't even stop there. The above 'satanic verses' affair is relatively tame in the novel, relying on the way in which Rushdie tells the story, on insinuation and on the disquiet of the characters, to communicate his doubt about the Prophet. Where Rushdie really throws petrol on the fire he has lit is when he brings sex into it.

You see, the follow-up punch from Rushdie comes in a long sequence when Islam has now established itself in the region. It has all its restrictions in place ("rules, rules, rules, until the faithful could scarcely bear the prospect of any more revelation" (pg. 363)) and yet, in the picture Rushdie paints for us, the followers of this fledgling Islam are secretly covetous of their leader's multiple wives (or, as Rushdie brazenly phrases it, "God's own permission to fuck as many women as he liked" (pg. 386)). Consequently, when a whorehouse has each of its prostitutes imitate the wives of the Prophet, the place starts to do a roaring trade. I mean, a whore named after the Prophet's favourite wife – "if they heard you say that they'd boil your balls in butter" (pg. 380). As absurd and abominable as the fatwa is and what it represents, you do also have to wonder what Rushdie thought was going to happen. Because if he knew, and wrote it anyway, he's the bravest writer there's ever been. Swift, Nabokov, Voltaire, Bulgakov… none would hold a candle to picking this particular fight.

Certainly, Rushdie's initial response to the fatwa in 1989 was one of bravery: he said he wished he'd been more critical, not less. And though I found the book's criticisms tending towards the crude rather than the insightful, I wish he'd been more critical too, but for a rather different reason. You see, for me, these were the only parts of the novel which had any spice and which could retain my attention. When they ended and we returned to the wider frame story of Gibreel and Saladin in the present day, my struggles returned. Was there a connection, I tried to make myself think, between Mahound's regret about accepting the three demi-gods and the purported theme about immigration into Britain? Is it about trying to assimilate but recognising it as a mistake, too much of a compromise, once you are established? Is this why Rushdie made the fateful decision to colour his frame story with the episode of the Satanic verses? I don't know, and any time I tried to wrestle with the themes and purpose of the story it slipped away from me. In all the words spent on Salman Rushdie, there is a lot of sympathy for the writer's plight in the face of determined theocratic violence. But there is another facet which reveals itself to me, having struggled to find great value in The Satanic Verses. It's insignificant in the grand scheme of things, but alongside all the other trials, it must feel like a curse to be remembered only for your lesser work.

"Feelings of outrage… Baal was surrounded by angry men demanding to know the reasons for this oblique, this most byzantine of insults." (pg. 391) ( )

The Satanic Verses
By Salman Rushdie

#books #banned #bookerprize #Shortlisted1998 #fantasy #magicalrealism #religion #reviews #readingchallenge #readingcommunity

https://sravikabodapati.blogspot.com/2022/08/the-satanic-verses-by-salman-rushdi... ( )

I'm pretty late to the Salman Rushdie party, but he's as good as everyone says he is. The Satanic Verses concerns two Indian actors who miraculously survive a plane explosion and undergo subsequent transformations. One begins dreaming about his supposed past exploits as an angel of God, while the other physically transforms into a goatish devil and suffers a series of mishaps and trials. Both men grapple with their national identities, their relationships with women and each other.

One man finally stumbles his way to forgiving the world his disappointments and finding a sense of belonging in his own skin, but the other discovers things he cannot live with and his life culminates in a series of gruelingly tragic decisions. Rushdie is clearly an author you can love without always liking, as he sends several charming, likable characters to harsh fates, much like any hypothetical God does to his most innocent children.

The most compulsively readable sequence in the novel has to be the dream in which a girl prophet leads her village on a pilgrimage to Mecca, promising to divide the Arabian Sea that stands between them and their goal. Rushdie doesn't grant us the clearest or most satisfying conclusions, neither exposing the girl as the Devil she frequently rails against to intimidate her followers or invoking a miracle to lend reason to the characters' faith. Instead, we're left with a result that acknowledges the ecstasy of belief without denying its grim cost.

Knowing how the novel was banned in several countries prepared me for some of the "blasphemous" ideas in the novel, but not what irresistible humor and wit they'd come cloaked in. No wonder the book is considered so dangerous. ( )

This book gained serious attention when I was a teenager. I honestly believe most of it was hype. But true to the fact that people were hurt…even killed over it is sad. Now. Why was this book so controversial and why did the Muslim world hold it in such disdain? The story hem haws back and forth between fictional accounts of Muhammad’s up and coming. KEY WORD..FICTIONAL. The Satanic Verses was a very difficult and heavy read. But with that being said. It was a good story, a very good story. The relationship that develops with the two protagonists after their survival from an aerial terrorist bombing brings many things to light. Mental illness, self-worth, the meaning of life and everything in between. Some parts of seem almost like a Muslim version of a Monty Python skit. Be prepared to have your brain microwaved. I do not know yet if this book will deter me from reading any of Rushdie’s other books. I have to let the inflammation in my brain go down. ( )

Most people focus on the criticism of Islam, especially through the depictions of 'Mahound' and 'Gibreel' the archangel, but I think the meat of the book comes through its portrayal of immigrant and racial tensions in the UK at the time of publication. That's where the narrative shines, showcasing a reality beset by crises in racial, religious, and political identity.

Unlike others, though, I'm not going to call this a classic. It's a good read, highly enjoyable for what it's worth. It's also a good lens into that particular moment in British culture, and it's still (somewhat) relevant today in 2020. With that said, the message often comes across as heavy-handed, and of course, Rushdie has written better stories since then. ( )

Obra muito psicadélica constituída por uma sucessão de episódios, mais ou menos alucinados, por vezes sem relação alguma entre si. O fio da narrativa perde-se entre tantas personagens, tantas histórias, tantas cenas psicadélicas. O real e a alucinação fundem-se e confundem-nos. O livro vale mais por algumas imagens bem produzidas pelo escritor, pela crítica religiosa, política e social, do que pelo seu valor dramático, descritivo ou ensaísta. O estilo da escrita também varia, sendo por vezes muito semelhante ao de Saramago.
O conjunto da obra é fraco, pois não se consegue perceber qual a mensagem que o autor quer passar, se é que há alguma. Em conclusão, Rushdie deve estar muito agradecido ao Ayatollah Kohmeni e à sua fatwa, pois não fora essa publicidade gratuita este livro teria passado despercebido no Ocidente. ( )

I loved the writing in this book. I loved the difficult nature of his text. I understand that some people, some very literary people, despise his incessant amount of detail. I think it works, and works marvelously. This book is an experience and I found it wonderfully captivating. ( )

Një mëngjes dimri, pak para se të zbardhte, një avion i marrë peng shpërthen mbi Kanalin e La Manshit. Mes mbetjeve të gjymtyrëve, karrocave të pijeve, kujtimeve, mbulesave dhe maskave të oksigjenit, dy njerëz bien në det: Xhibril Farishta, ylli legjendar i kinematografisë indiane dhe Saladin Çamça, njeriu i një mijë zërave. Mbërthyer pas njëri-tjetrit, duke kënduar këngë të ndryshme, ata bien tatëpjetë dhe ngecin më në fund gjallë mbi rërat e mbuluara me dëborë të një plazhi anglez.
Shpëtimi i tyre është një mrekulli e dyshimtë. Xhibrili fiton një aureolë, ndërsa Saladinit, për tmerrin e vet, këmbët i bëhen leshatore dhe i shndërrohen në thundra, ndërsa në tëmtha i shfaqen zgjatime në formë brirësh. Xhibrili dhe Saladini janë zgjedhur (nga kush?) si kundërshtarë në ndeshjen e përjetshme mes së Mirës dhe së Ligës. Po kush është kush? Ndërsa dy burrat gremisen në kohë dhe në hapësirë drejt përballjes së tyre vendimtare, ne bëhemi dëshmitarë të një cikli rrëfenjash dashurie dhe pasioni, tradhtie dhe besimi.

way over my head.

Traster 4 - caixa 4

A interesting book, with plenty of thoughts to ponder. ( )

I found this to be a most compelling story. The author wove fantasy and feelings together in such a way that they became one. A story of good and evil, damage, forgiveness, revenge, psychosis. ( )

l romanzo è diviso in nove capitoli, in cui si alterna il racconto delle vicende di due musulmani indiani miracolosamente scampati a un disastro aereo, Gibreel Farishta e Saladin Chamcha (nei capitoli 1, 3, 5, 7, 9) e la rivisitazione romanzesca di alcuni aspetti della cultura islamica, contenuti appunto nei versi che danno il titolo al romanzo (nei capitoli pari). Simboli del Bene e del Male i due protagonisti si affronteranno in una lotta senza esclusione di colpi destinata a protrarsi in eterno, fino alla improvvisa apparizione divina del profeta Mahound.
l romanzo è diviso in nove capitoli, in cui si alterna il racconto delle vicende di due musulmani indiani miracolosamente scampati a un disastro aereo, Gibreel Farishta e Saladin Chamcha (nei capitoli 1, 3, 5, 7, 9) e la rivisitazione romanzesca di alcuni aspetti della cultura islamica, contenuti appunto nei versi che danno il titolo al romanzo (nei capitoli pari). Simboli del Bene e del Male i due protagonisti si affronteranno in una lotta senza esclusione di colpi destinata a protrarsi in eterno, fino alla improvvisa apparizione divina del profeta Mahound.