The Satanic Verses – Salman Rushdie

Reading other reviews of this book, I found many people who did not like it. Usually they started reading it but quit shortly after. Like many books, I found that I had to get into it a bit before I was able to judge whether it was worth reading or not, and it was.

I suppose if you are looking for a piece of fiction with a traditional structure (more or less a continuous story with a beginning, middle and end) you might not appreciate this book. Also, I think the reason some people give up reading this book is because the author is rather creative with his language in the beginning and that may turn some people off.

Though I read the book in print, I decided that this would be a good book to read on my Kindle. Being unfamiliar with the Muslim culture, there were words with which I was unfamiliar and would liked to have been able to look the word up immediately by tapping on it (that didn’t work in the book). Maybe that was an issue for some people, too, but it wasn’t really a major stumbling block. Personally, I enjoyed the book. My interpretation is that it is a story of redemption and corruption.

The main reason I read this book was to see what all the fuss was about when it first came out. I mean, what the heck could he have written that incensed those of the Muslim faith so much that they would want the author dead? Even after reading the whole book, I still can’t figure that out, but I suppose it is because I am not a member of that faith and that I have been raised in a society where storytelling, even when it becomes rude and crude, is recognized as just that – storytelling. (And yes, I know, there are wackos in every society that want to burn some book or another, even mine.)

While this book doesn’t make it to the top of my recommended reading list, I certainly would say that it is worth reading. Before you do, though, consider reading it on a Kindle or Nook, or maybe just have a good dictionary on hand.

Finished 10/6/15