im reading it for a class right now, and i'm pretty awestruck. if i like this, what other rushdie should i read?
― swinburningforyou, Wednesday, 21 November 2007 16:27 (eighteen years ago)
Shame, Midnight's Children, The Satanic Verses, Haroun & the Sea of Stories. Thought Shame was particularly great, Satanic Verses a bit tedious (relatively speaking - it's still worth reading). Haven't read anything he's published since Haroun. No particular reason. Oh, and I love The Jaguar Smile, a nonfiction book about the author's experiences in Nicaragua during the 80s. Arguably propagandistic, but fascinating, thoughtful, very well written.
― Bob Standard, Wednesday, 21 November 2007 16:54 (eighteen years ago)
Bob's pretty much spot-on there. Satanic Verses has some great bits and some dull bits, but (I thought, anyway)the dull bits are made up for just by the interesting history of the book itself. But I enjoyed "Moor" the most.
You might want to avoid "Fury", which was OK, but hardly up to his previous standard.
― James Morrison, Wednesday, 21 November 2007 22:01 (eighteen years ago)
I think that like a lot of flawed novelists (Amis, Carter), his non-fiction might be his best work. Haven't read Jaguar Smile but I can believe it could fit that bill; some of the 1980s essays are at least interesting of their time. Midnight's Children is seamless, has its own kind of consistency, but I don't really like it - but I suspect it's the best novel. The Moor's Last Sigh and The Satanic Verses are both pretty awful, really.
― the pinefox, Thursday, 22 November 2007 15:31 (eighteen years ago)