A review by kdawn999
The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie

2.0

This is a highly accomplished, imaginative work, but it is too long, and it didn’t win me over emotionally at the conclusion. I feel quite a bit about this book the way I feel about Beatty’s The Sellout—there are very clever political and literary references, but because the main mood of the book is satirical/whimsical humor and characters are thoroughly and ridiculously flawed, it’s hard to latch on to a takeaway. I think this kind of philosophical play might be more appetizing in a short story collection peering into facets of the themes of racism, faith, and homeland rather than the roiling, fractured format of a single novel. I feel strong echos of the magical realism of The Master and Margarita (though I liked that work better). In the end, I don’t think I can recommend this book to the average reader—or anyone I know, really. However, I’d be curious to hear classroom discussions over it. I’d read more by the author if there is a work of his that avoids what I feel to be tedious here.