Grimus : A Novel

Rating:
Summary: Tedious
Review: I read this only because it was Salman Rushdie's first novel, and I was curious. I was both disappointed with it, and bored - by the time I'd reached half way, I found that I was looking at the words rather than actually reading it. Sheer perseverance made me finish the novel - I didn't care about what happened in the story, or about the characters.

I struggle with this type of fantasy/pseudo science fiction writing, even when it is well written. I'll just have to admit that it does not interest me - but what was particularly irritating about this book was that the florid writing drowned any plot line that may have been there... I'm sure the style is very clever and that there were lots of smart allusions I missed, but so what?

Rating:
Summary: Grimus
Review: The first novel written by the now famed Anglo-Indic writer, Grimus is an amazingly simple story of immortals' quest for mortality. For a simple plot, it boasts very intriguing and playful sub-plots, typical of Salman Rushdie.

The central character in the story is Flapping Eagle, an Amerindian. Orphaned by the time he was a child, he was brought up by his sister, whom he looked up to and to whom he finally lost his virginity when he turned 21. Flapping Eagle eventually set out from his small town Calf Island, becoming first a gigolo and later a sailor, roaming the seas for hundreds of years as an immortal before eventually marooning back the Calf Island, where most of the story unravels.

In the Island, he is hosted by Virgil Jones, another immortal. Eventually, the two become best of friends in their climb towards uncovering the secrets of the Calf Mountain. They settle at town called K, inhabited by other immortals and this would be where the wonderful sub-plots of violence, romance, lust and betrayal take place.

Weaved within this sub-plots, is the Grimus and his effect; An effect which would weaken and cloud the minds of the immortals and could only be nullified by an obsessive or strong thought of something. It is to Grimus, that Flapping Eagle's quest would bring him.

Although Flapping Eagle is the protagonist in this masterpiece, he rarely articulates more than necessary. In fact, his character is often overshadowed by other characters as the story opens.

I never fully understood the Gorfs and their role in this some might say, science fiction. They were the higher beings who supposedly invented machines which were used by humans.

The finale was as down to earth as the beginning was mysterious. Grimus, who was the grand architect of the Calf Island, was eventually killed by the immortal townsfolks. Flapping Eagle, I think, eventually destroyed Calf Island by destroying the machine, which created it.

I had difficulty understanding the book at first, but it all made sense as I passed the middle of the book. A simple plot yet very much full of scientific fantasy and humanly follies, this book is good for a reader new to Rushdie's oeuvre. His later works would be far more monumental in literary technique, more magical in plot.

Rating:
Summary: Do not judge Rushdie's work by this one alone...
Review: The most obvious thing to say about Salman Rushdie's first novel is this: if you have read no other Rushdie, put it down now and return to it after you have read one of his other novels.

Grimus only resembles Rushdie's other work in a nebulous and tenuous way. It is not as complex, rich, or engrossing to read as his later work. That said, this book is probably best left to Rushdie completists; if you want to read absolutely everything he's written, then go ahead. Otherwise, approach this book with caution: it alone does not fairly represent the Rushdie that is considered one of the best writers of the current generation.

Not to say that this is a bad book. By no means is it bad. It just isn't exceptional. The writing is somewhat fumbling, and even a little clumsy and overbearing in places. Rushdie has said that he found his voice while writing his second novel, "Midnight's Children" and Grimus reads like someone who is searching for a path or a voice, not someone who is on firm footing; this novel provides direct evidence of Rushdie's statement.

The bizarre story deals with immortality, created worlds, other dimensions both inner and outer, and outcasts. Flapping Eagle, or Joe-Sue, or Born-from-Dead is an Axona indian who has a lighter complexion than the rest of his people; add to this that his mother died seconds after he was born and you get an outcast. He is not easily accepted, but his sister, Bird-Dog, protects him. She also presents him with the elixir of eternal life (in the form of a yellow liquid) and she disappears mysteriously from the land of the Axona. Flapping Eagle is then exiled from his people, and wanders the world for centuries before falling through a gate in the Mediterranean that leads to "Calf Island" while attempting suicide (he is also in the throes of searching for his sister, Bird-Dog, who has also drank the yellow liquid, and apparently wandered off with a man named "Sispy"). He floats under the rocking chair of Virgil Jones, who recognizes something in Flapping Eagle, and takes him in. Flapping Eagle gets Virgil to admit that he has seen Bird Dog on Calf Island, and decides to go up Calf-Mountain, but Virgil must accompany him because of the "Grimus Effect". This effect consists of a "whine" that pervades the mountain and, for lack of a better explanation, drives people mad who succumb to it for too long a time. At the top of Calf Mountain sits the town of "K", in which live people who deal with the effect by obsessing over various things. Here Flapping Eagle and Virgil part ways: Flapping Eagle goes to an upper-class type existence and gets intimately involved with two married women, and Virgil retreats to the "House of the Rising Son" (a brothel). When people begin dying in the town of "K" (which is doubly shocking because everyone in K has tasted the yellow liquid of immortality), they turn against Flapping Eagle, and he and Virgil decide they must join forces and face Grimus, who supposedly resides at the cloud-obscured summit of Calf Mountain. This leads to the novel's climax.

The specter of Grimus looms cryptically in the back of the plot; is Grimus a man, a force, a monster? The answer doesn't come until the very end of the novel, where the "goal" of Flapping Eagle's life comes to fruition: but did he choose his own destiny or did Grimus? Philosophical issues such as immortality, free will and determinism, suicide, and death are dealt with throughout the twisty tale. It is a bizarre read, and half way through the novel readers may wonder what they've got themselves into. Sometimes the text slips from third to first person (always the first person is the voice of Flapping Eagle), but so irregularily and infrequently it's jarring each time; at best the technique is only arguably somewhat effective.

Some feminist critics have lashed out at Rushdie for the depiction of women in this novel. It's not hard to understand why. Most of the women characters are either prostitutes or dizzy and demented with love for a man. One example is the character of Liv, who is a black-velied beauty who uses intimacy as a tool for revenge. Many of the women in this novel all come off as somewhat hollow, weak, and one-sided characters. This adds to the second rate and unexceptional tone that pervades the entire novel. This is something Rushdie has risen above in his later work, and judging him on this issue by this book alone would be a great injustice.

In the end Grimus is not a bad book, but as a book by Salman Rushdie it is disappointing. It is extremely hard to believe that about five years later Rushdie would publish "Midnight's Children" - which is as rich and dazzling as Grimus is mediocre.

Rating:
Summary: The seeds
Review: There are few living writers that gain immediate recognition as true artists in their time, along side Pynchon, DeLillo, and perhaps Vonnegut, is Salman Rushdie. Before The Satanic Verses and before the fatwa there was Grimus.

The first impression of this book, gleaned from the initial 50 or so pages is that we are face to face with an unrefined Rushdie. His penchant for dabbling in mythology, spirituality, canonical literal echoes, and Joycean word play are on full display. Being his first book, I was surprised that someone would pick up such chaotic prose as an author's debut. But trusting the author, I stuck it out. I'm glad I did.

Our protagonist, Flapping Eagle'who also goes by the names Born-From-Dead and Joe-Sue in the first handful of pages'essentially has been given the "gift" of eternal life. Staying the same age for hundreds of years, Flapping Eagle decides he no longer wants to live, but to finally die a mortal's death. He has to go to Calf Island and ascend Calf Mountain to meet Grimus, much like a mythological Wizard of Oz. That's the premise.

Along the way, Flapping Eagle befriends Virgil Jones and his lady, Dolores O'Toole. The disfigured couple are the first clue that something is dreadfully wrong on Calf Island. Jones the obese is with O'Toole the humpback. The two really are remarkable and Rushdie gets lots of mileage from the two, creating a sympathy for them that never ventures into pity.

A host of characters and themes are introduced, mythology has served Rushdie well and one gets the impression that Joseph Campbell would have enjoyed the playfulness and overlapping of Native American and Asian-Indian concepts. As we grip this overlap, Rushdie sends Flapping Eagle to find Grimus with Virgil Jones as his guide, echoing Danté.

Details quickly pile up and the writing veers in unforeseen directions. Any balance that we grasped in the first chapter is taken away in the second. The only thing that kept me reading was trust in the author. Lost as I was, I knew I was being taken on a voyage by a master, who, in his first novel, was clearly establishing himself as a master.

As obtuse as the second chapter was, then, the third chapter was very, very clear. Seemingly meaningless details from hundreds of pages prior came to make sense. Interruptions in the story, now had their place. Masks were removed. Tales were told. Resolution came into focus.

Reading Grimus is, in some respects, like putting together a puzzle. The first chapter involves turning all of the pieces face up so we see what we have to work with. The second chapter relies on our powers of observation to not only look at the pieces but, at least try to fit them together. The third chapter leaves us with about 50 pieces left of a well-defined picture and we can race to the finish line, putting everything in place. In the end, you should have seen it all along.

The greatest praise I can heap on this book is this: Rushdie teaches us how to read it. Like every great master, Rushdie has the ability to take us out of our own world, disorient us, and reorient us in a way that is not unsettling, but engaging. In the end, we feel smarter and more open minded.

Grimus should really, in hindsight especially, get a lot more attention than it does. Rarely does a writer enter the scene so accomplished and well rounded as Rushdie does with this work. Although it is his first, it certainly is better than some of his other fares, and that alone should sell you on this book.

Rating:
Summary: One of the strangest books I've read.
Review: This novel is unsettling, in the way that the short stories of Borges or Poe can be unsettling, but the increased length is matched by an increased degree. This reality, in which assorted characters pursue their perversities and obsessions, has melted a bit around the edges. The mystery and suspense elements keep it an interesting read. The integration of an extremely peculiar epistemology as a key plot element is clever, and not at all strained, as is so often the case when a book tries to deal with Big Ideas. The book is certainly not as well-polished and engaging as Rushdie's later works, but it is just as thought-provoking.

Rating:
Summary: Sublime Dream
Review: While I have to admit that the narrative is probably a little too loose for many readers, I thought this novel was incredibly beautiful. The imagery is crisp and powerful in a way that is only possible with a story that seems to have its origins in the surrealism of the subconscious. A great book and its imperfections only add to its charm.

Rating:
Summary: Tedious Fantasy
Review: While, yes, the use of language was quite good, the fantastical plot left me cold and unconnected to the characters, so much so that I left this book at page 90, tired by the effort.