Rating: 
Summary: Pure magic
Review: The Satanic Verses has been dubbed (amongst many other things!) 'the most famous book most people will never read'. If true it's is a real shame, because at the centre of all the extreme opinion that surrounds the book, the condemnation, acclaim and analysis, is an incredible and accessible novel far greater than the sum of its few controversial parts. Gibreel Farishta and Saladin Chamcha 'crash land' together in England from India and are both profoundly transformed by the experience. Farishta begins to develop an angelic halo, while Chamcha metamorphoses into a cloven-hoofed devil complete with horns and bad breath. Both men suffer, in different ways, the brutality and indignity of their transformations in Rushdie's evocation of a tense and brooding London. Ultimately it is the 'demonic' Chamcha who finds fulfilment by returning to India, the 'angelic' Farishta is not so fortunate. Merging fantasy and reality, Rushdie uses the subversive excesses of 'magical realism' to explore the demands of migration and how those demands can destroy the fragile assurances of identity and belonging most of us take for granted. Farishta is haunted by the nightmares of his lost Muslim faith, Chamcha by the impossible dream of reinventing himself as an Englishman. Through these and the experiences of other often outrageously conceived characters, Rushdie reflects on how people suffer, and are made to suffer, for the sake of a little certainty. If it all sounds a little heavy, don't be put off. Above all this is a great piece of story-telling, funny, extraordinary and completely absorbing. Rushdie works his usual narrative magic, writing on a grand exuberant scale that takes in everything from sex and death to flying carpets and hot wax, but also the delicate intimacies of desire and despair. Poignant and staggeringly imaginative, The Satanic Verses explores continuing cultural obsessions with purity and stability in a world increasingly lacking in either.
Rating:
Summary: a WONDERFUL book
Review: This book is incredible. Rushdie has a unique, lyrical prose style that makes this book a joy to read. The Satanic Verses deals with two men who fall from a hijacked airpane and survive. After the fall, (hmm) they undergo a series of transformations: one man, Gibreel Farishta, is changed into an archangel, while Saladin Chamcha changes into a demon. The story also deals with immigration: the loss of one's homeland and the mistreatment and bigotry with which immigrants are treated. Beyond that, Rushdie is dealing with the intertwined nature of good and evil. Where the book has been accused of blasphemy are the passages in which he opposes the black/white polarization of good and evil in organized religion. I would not recommend this book to a devout Muslim, Catholic, or any unquestioned believer in any dogmatic religion. It questions many beliefs about God and about life. However, I do not feel Rushdie is an atheist, only a believer who does not want to be told what to think. This book is a great masterpiece, second only in Rushdie's catalogue to Midnight's Children. (Well, I haven't read Ground Beneath her Feet yet, but MC is the best I've read so far.) I highly recommend this book and Salman Rushdie. I would read Midnight's Children first if you're a Rushdie newbie.
Rating:
Summary: Read it; THEN draw conclusions
Review: I must first say that I am not a Rushdie connoisseur by any means, this being my second work (the first was Haroun and the Sea of Stories, which I also recommend) but I have to say that in this book, Rushdie has convinced me of his worthiness as one of the premiere writers of this generation; and beyond, frankly. I was actually thinking of a word to describe his writing and, interestingly enough, the first word that came to my mind was poetry. Poetry. Every word has its place; no words are wasted. His story is told with such precision and imagination that I found myself actually smiling at its ingenuity. The negative reviews have pointed to its randomness as a point of weakness, but I would argue that as one of its strengths. The nature of this book is such that these random anomalies add to its ethereal qualities of both the subject matter and avenue in which it is delivered. It was said above that this work represents an author at the height of his powers and in total control of his medium. I would agree entirely. I was very impressed with this book.Many people have arrived at this book only after hearing time and time again that its publication prompted the author's death sentence. That in itself is a powerful statement, and even in the most ideal of circumstances, would lead one to draw some conclusions as to the nature of this book. When the result isn't as shocking (or perhaps in some cases more so), the readers are left with the fantasy of what the book should be. This is what, to some degree, has prompted the bad reviews it has received. It is unfortunate that a political agenda has put this work under a beam of scrutiny (a subject which also comes into play in the story), because it deserves to exist without interference. Then its message would be more clearly understood (instead of sifted through countless arrangements of: It shoulda been like this; I thought it would be like this; what's all the hype about?). In the end, you read a book for what it is and what it gives you, what ideas it challenges, what thoughts it provokes, what it changes inside you. I would implore you to read this book (however much possible) with a clean mind and enjoy it for what it is, not what others have made it to be.
Rating: 
Summary: Overwhelming
Review: This one goes into my library of shame, among the very few books that I ever failed to finish. I tried hard but could not connect with the whole theme, topic and the message, whatever it was. It is not that I expected it to be a breeze, but still, Satanic Verses overwhelmed me completely. Too many allegories, symbols and chaotic scenes as his mind and writing jumps from past to fantasy to supernatural. It is a shame since the whole experience prevented me from picking up any other writing of his.
Rating:
Summary: A pleasure
Review: This is the only book I've read that I enjoyed just for the beauty of the language. I certainly did not understand all the allusions in the book, but Rushdie writes so wonderfully and paints such wonderful images that it was a joy to read. I did read just a little bit online about just what the "Satanic Verses" are, which was helpful. But I would recommend reading this book without trying to figure it all out. Maybe I'll go back and read it again someday, trying to understand it at a different level.
Rating:
Summary: Enjoyeable!!!
Review: I love the way he narrates the story, its satirical in a way. Enjoyable. I think Rushdie really had a very vivid imagination. It was like a watched a whole movie with so many visual effects just reading it. He is a master himself. Too bad some people gets discourage because it was too long to read, but some books are long for nothing.
Rating:
Summary: Maybe for some but not for me
Review: I am a Muslim but I'm not easily offended. I picked up this book to see what all the fuss was about. I did come to know that but that was it. I didn't enjoy the book at all. Its uneven and very hard to read. Others may have enjoyed it but I can't tell you why. There were some funny moments in the book and some thought provoking subjects in the dream sequences but my feeling, after finishing the book, was that if Mr. Rushdie wanted to express his thoughts about the incidence of Satanic Verses, he should have written a non-fiction. That would have been easier to digest. This was my first Rushdie but I'm not giving up. I'm told that this is not his best work but "Midnight's Childern" is. So, I'm going to read that book too and I hope its nothing like Satanic Verses. Do I want Mr. Rushdie killed for this book? Certainly NOT. Do I want a refund? Absolutely.
Rating:
Summary: for everyone who's heard of god
Review: Not only is this book, and all his work except Fury, amazing in its own right, as I have become more serious about studying the Bible, I have found it to raise and answer perceptive questions. I don't know if there are any Cliff notes yet, but it is crucial that a reader actually get input while reading this book. It is so thick and intellectual and hip and eastern pop culture all at once. When Melville writes "call me Ishmael" he is going back to all our religious beginnings in Abram. Although none of us can ever fully understand the past that has lead us to our present, Rushdie gives a very modern view of what it might mean to be from the wandering side of the equation. I read it in the 90's and it has colored and informed my understanding of heresy since.
Rating: 
Summary: powerful, moving, slightly depressing
Review: I finished reading this book for the second time in four years several months ago; it's impression has never left me since. There are so many complicated, tangled situations in this book, I'll only take a few of the most striking ones to examine here. First, the story of Mahund: very revealing, to me, of the history of the beginnings of Islam and the Koran. It's an odd, and perhaps foolheardy, not to mension ironic way in which to learn about this religion, but at least the bare bones of it have stood me in good stead. Next, the remarkable events surounding the pilgrimage of the village of butterflies: this was without a doubt the most powerful, and moving, section of the book for me. I could relate to almost all of the characters, sympathise with them, and feel all the emotions as they traveled, and experienced a miracle, one extremely to the Exodus parable. The only reason I awarded it 4 stars in the ending, more than a little depressing.
Rating:
Summary: The Satanic Verses
Review: Having read Midnight Children, one can understand why islamic fundamatilists view Rushdie as a blasphemer but since I am a Chrsitian rather than a Muslim I do not undersatnd why a leading Islamic cleric like the Ayatollah could put a bounty on the author's head. I suppose that Christians are not nearly as fanatical as their Muslim counterparts. Rushdie is first and foremost a very gifted writer. His 'pigeon english' dialogue is very funny and his prose can be very insightful. The Satanic Verses is a classic tale about good vs evil but it is hard to distinguish between the two. Two Indians, one an actor and one an ex-patriot, fall from the sky into the Engish Channel. One is the fallen angel turned actor Gibreel and the other a mortal, Salludin, who wants to disassociate himself from his native India. As the two transform, Rushdie deals with subjects such as superstition, racism, and short sighted religous ideologies. If the reader can open up their imagination the The Satanic Verses can be like a magic carpet ride.
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