Thursday, February 01, 2007

Shalimar the Clown by Salman Rushdie

I have read Rushdie before -- Midnight's Children and Satanic Verses (both of which are tough going) -- but this was a wonderful surprise. This is an epic novel in every sense of the word. A huge cast of characters -- all interesting -- world-wide settings -- India, Kashmir, Pakistan, London, Paris, California, New York -- and themes that cover all the bases -- love, hate, adultery, war, peace, politics, religion, intolerance, tolerance, and more! The interesting thing about this book is that I believe it to be an allegory about American Foreign Policy since WWII.The ending was exciting, and Rushdie leads you to the precipice, then drops, no pushes you over the edge! An almost perfect novel, I give it five stars.
-Chiron, 2/1/07

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