The Satanic Verses

Rating:
Summary: Make the distinction
Review: First of all let me start by reviewing the book. Satanic Verses is a difficult, hilarious and severe work . Since I had a Pakistani friend translate some of the Urdu where most of the attacks against Islam are, I also have a pretty good understanding of its content. I am a muslim, and not a particularly religious one, but I feel ver compelled to point out the blatant rascism most of the world shows over this contrevorsy(rather than Mr.Rushdie), I view it as a good thing to critisize religion in general because for all its virtues over the years it has been responsible for more blood shed than any single conflict ever had. Yet most of the western press says that the "muslims" want Rushdie's head and even open minded jounalists like Roger Ebert the film critic who's reviews I grew up with says "Islam is a religion not comatable with our western culture , indeed the chilling death sentence show its limitation on freedom of speech." Let make this very clear, I and most of the other 1.3 Billion muslims couldn't care less what a sociopath like Ayatullah whatever says, I live in Tunisia and don't even speak his language, nor do I wish to be judged by what a moron like Louise Farakan says they don't represent me or any Muslim I know. Yet most of you know this yet when one of these idiots says something it is the muslims who are qouted. If you are going to critisize Islam( and there are grounds for that) read the scripture itself, which for the most part is very open minded. Many events such as the prophet having dinner with a Jewish family, and never once is the wearing of veil advocated in the Quran. Indeed of all organised religion Islam is probably the most open minded , a fact that is obscured by the people who practise it (mostly third world countries living under dictators, and it is this povertly and a certain illiteracy that is reponsible for the dogmatic appearance of Islam. In the Seventh and Eightth centuries Arabian authours regularly questioned God, how can religion cuase so much Bloodshed (Crusades, Middle East, Bosnia). indeed it fits Rushdie's discription a devil with angelic features. I am generally dis-illisioned with any sort of faith that makes people narrow minded and cold, I have a natural dis-like for people who follow religious law as a manual for life, and as an Individual of faith(any faith) I think God wants to be questioned and that is why he gave the ability to question and doubt, Mr.Rushdie's book is not a fan of Islam , but it is an elequent attack , and those who disapprove should respond with "elequent" attacks of their own .

Rating:
Summary: Wow.....
Review: I freely admit that from among all of the other highly recommended books out there, I chose to read The Verses to see exactly why Rushdie had a price put on his head by Islamic fundamentalists. From a personal level, the book dealt with a variety of complex emotions in a number of interesteing situations and relationships. At a higher level, the book questioned the absoluteness of good and evil as well as the ultimate purpose of religion. And hey, on top of all that the book was quite funny and very entertaining. Saladdin Chamcha was a character I won't soon forget (Spoono, ol' Chamch...). While you needed to keep track of a number of characters in both the real and dream worlds, I thought the writing style was light and easy to follow. I would welcome email from anyone who can fill me in a bit better on the allegories to Islam and why this story was offensive enough to warrant a death sentence for its author.

Rating:
Summary: Wow!
Review: All the notoreity and religious bigotry aroused by this book turned me off. For 15 years I put off reading it. I was the loser. This is the best novel of the twentieth century! Rushdie is the only writer I know who understands the multi-cultural/multi-racial world into which we are now stumbling. Rushdie loves his characters but not so much he cannot see their faults and gleefully but compassionately point them out. I've never met an author as honest with his/her characters as Rushdie. Having finished this book, I sat speechless for almost an hour. No book has ever done that to me before!

Rating:
Summary: It's nothing
Review: I received this book for christmas, and started to read it eagerly. I haven't finished the crap. I never will. One question: What is so grand about breaking the rule "Have the reader in mind." This is a book for the upper crust of an intellectual elite who knows the ins and outs of Islam but still holds their prejudices. They say Rushdie plays with words. What he does, is breaking the grammar because he wants to have a book only he understands. There is few other trhings to say about it other than: Boring, waste of time, uninteresting characters, a pain in the donkey. If you want to torture yourself, go ahead and read it. I wish I could give it no stars. Somebody might claim that I didn't understand it. They are absolutely right. That is what is wrong. Rushdie and his likes tries to make literature unaccesible to those who aren't Mensa members. Literature should be for everybody, and not just those who have an Iq above 210. And if you forget that literature should be accessible to everyone, you are on the wrong track. Furthermore, after reading what I managed to read, I understand the Ayatollah's fatwah too well. It really is blasphemy to the muslims.

Rating:
Summary: There is a veil on the hearts and eyes of some.
Review: There is a veil on the hearts and eyes of some people, which stops them from seeing it correctly. They see an error in what they think is wrong and all errors of theirs subdued.

Rating:
Summary: Just Fuggetabatit!
Review: Well, what can you say, Rushdie, the man himself, has done it once again. Scoring absolutely maximum out of his genius of truly brilliant imagination & fiction. Most of the disappointed readers are probably the ones who missed his marvellous allegoric & symbolic & sometimes literal meanings. Can't say more about this novel, for the language itself holds limitation to the fanstantic description that it deserves. It just plainly blew me away. The twists & turns & shocks & surprises & beyond-imaginative reality (of course, fabled) are too good to be missed and miscomprehended....well, I tell you, I am gonna read this book again & again till I swallow the entire meaning of this deeply thought book.

Rating:
Summary: The Best Book of the century
Review: You must read this book. It is Great for everyone. It opens your min

Rating:
Summary: Disappointing effort from a major talent
Review: Coming from an author who could dazzle us with 'Midnight's Children' and provide the pleasure of reading 'The Moor's Last Sigh', this effort is rather sad, sad because the writer has enormous talent and here has cranked out an unfocused, muddy, ungraceful novel. I have the overwhelming feeling that in this text he has tried to put to rest a number of personal ghosts, which would be fine if done with his usual wit and elegance, of which there is very little of either here. It is as though he had in mind a number character sketches of a wide variety and tried to shoehorn them between a set of covers, adapting a plot to fit. Rushdie is justly famous for charming bits of fantasy, but when fantasy loses it's light touch (the protagonist at one point and for a long time becomes a hideous goat) it loses it's whimsical appeal. The text is often tedious, nearly humorless, the metaphors dull,the book is far too long, the ending is clumsy and lame. There are flashes of vintage Rushdie here that saves the book from disaster, but I expect more. And he got a death sentence for this?

Rating:
Summary: Simply amazing!
Review: Salmon Rushdie has made a one-in-a-million book. It's filled with human compassion and every emotion you have will be tested reading it. I have done a lot of research on Islam and see how Muslims could get upset. But to place a death-sentance? I'm 17 and sorta understood things, but I am buying the book to read when I get older (and wiser!). I encourage everybody to read this book.

Rating:
Summary: It takes intelligence to truly understand
Review: A lot of people will read this and be sorry they did. I'm sorry that they don't have the intelligence to comprehend what is really being said. If for no other reason, buy the book to figure out why he recieved a bounty on his head for it.