The Satanic Verses

by Salman Rushdie

Hardcover, 547 pages

English language

Published Feb. 24, 1988 by Viking.

ISBN:: 978-0-670-81757-3
OCLC Number:: 926242191
Finna ID:: anders.2358

(3 reviews)

Just before dawn one winter's morning a hijacked jumbo-jet blows apart high above the English Channel. Through the debris of limbs, drinks trolleys, memories, blankets and oxygen masks, two figures fall towards the sea without benefit of parachutes: Gibreel Farishta, India's legendary movie star, and Saladin Chamcha, the man of a thousand voices, self-made self and Anglophile supreme. Clinging to each other, singing rival songs, they plunge downward, and are finally washed up, alive, on the snow-covered sands of an English beach. A miracle; but an ambiguous one, because it soon becomes apparent that curious changes are coming over them. Gibreel seems to have acquired a halo, while, to Saladin's dismay, his legs grow hairier, his feet turn into hoofs, and there are bumps burgeoning at his temples.

So begins The Satanic Verses, Salman Rushdie's first novel for five years.

Gibreel and Saladin have been chosen (by whom?) as protagonists …

So begins The Satanic Verses, Salman Rushdie's first novel for five years.

Gibreel and Saladin have been chosen (by whom?) as protagonists in the eternal wrestling match between Good and Evil. But which is which? Can demons be angelic? Can angels be devils in disguise? As the two men tumble through their tale, through time as well as space, towards their final confrontation, we are witnesses to a cycle of extraordinary stories, tales of love and passion, of betrayal and faith: the story of Ayesha, the butterfly-shrouded visionary who leads an Indian village on an impossible pilgrimage; of Allie, the mountain-climber haunted by a ghost who urges her to attempt the ultimate feat — a solo ascent of Everest; of murders, metamorphoses and riots in a London "visible but unseen"; and, centrally, the story of Mahound, the Prophet of Jahilia, the city of sand — Mahound, the recipient of a revelation in which satanic verses mingle with divine.

In this great wheel of a book, where the past and the future chase each other furiously, Salman Rushdie takes us on an epic journey, a journey of tears and laughter, of wonderful stories and astonishing flights of the imagination, a journey towards the evil and the good that lie inseparably entwined within the hearts of women and of men.

--jacket flap

34 editions

jon_bon@bookwyrm.social reviewed The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie

Helflippad, tar sig

4 stars

De två huvudkaraktärerna är Gibreel Farishta och Saladin Chamcha, Bollywood-stjärna respektive anglofil röstskådespelare.

I början, kanske första fiärdedelen av boken, är det nästan outhärdligt. Helflippat. Kanske som Liftarens guide till galaxen fast skriven på snobbengelska med absurt långa meningar. Man suckar.

Men sedan tar den sig. Man kommer mer in i Gibreels och Saladins lidanden och psykotiska upplevelser. Båda blir hundra procent ofrivilligt själsligt och fysiskt kidnappade så att de ska tilldelas rollerna som Ängeln Gabriel (Gibreel) och Satan (Shaitan). På vissa sätt speciellt jobbigt för Gibreel som blir offer för människor som helt enkelt bestämmer vad han ska säga, som Mahound. Sistnämnda är motsvarighet till profeten Muhammed och sannolikt en av anledningarna till att vissa muslimer har blivit helgalna. Ayatollor, fatwor mot författaren osv.

Sammanfattningsvis skulle jag säga att det går att komma in i de olika karaktärerna. Trots att det är rätt drygt med tidvis fyra kilometer långa …

De två huvudkaraktärerna är Gibreel Farishta och Saladin Chamcha, Bollywood-stjärna respektive anglofil röstskådespelare.

Sammanfattningsvis skulle jag säga att det går att komma in i de olika karaktärerna. Trots att det är rätt drygt med tidvis fyra kilometer långa meningar på någon sorts Oxford-engelska, så kommer man efter hand verkligen in i boken. Ovanligt lång startsträcka i den bemärkelsen.

Jay C. reviewed The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie

It's not a bad read

4 stars

I read this a number of years ago. I didn't fully understand it at the time, but I've had a lot of time to digest it. It's a critique on Islam and not always favorable.

Vasilis reviewed The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie

Review of 'The Satanic Verses' on 'Storygraph'

4 stars

I listened to a fantastic old audio book version of The Satanic Verses. Somebody digitised it from a series of old cassette tapes and put it on the internet (thank you). I am not sure if it is the voice of Salman Rushdie himself, whoever it is, I would like to thank him so much for this brilliant work. 22 hours of listening pleasure during my walks to and from work.
I always thought that this was a very serious book. But for most parts it is hilarious. It is also long winding, and I must admit that at some parts I dozed off, simply enjoying the very pleasant sound of the narrator’s voice.

Subjects

Koraani
intialaiset
islam
kuolema
moraali
rakkaus
siirtolaisuus
unet
uskonto (uskominen)