NonFiction
Verdict: Read it
No readers, we are not done fangirling about Salman Rushdie. I suspect I will never be done with that. This book was picked up merely because Rushdie's name was on the cover. It turned out to be a bit different than I expected, but that's one of the joys (or risks, depends on perspective) of how I buy books. Imaginary Homelands is a collection of essays/book reviews that Salman Rushdie has written about other books. It was both difficult and fantastic at the same time. But then again readers, what else is to be expected of Salmon Rushdie?
Exploring into Rushdie's mind is always a fun adventure, and this was a different trip than going through one of his novels. We get to see not only what I am sure is a partial reading list from Rushdie, we also get to see what impresses him and what doesn't; the forces and authors who shaped him as an author. This is an exciting exercise for me, especially when the author is one I admire and is intelligent.
That being said, not all of the essays are easy to read (surprise surprise!) and some are boring. This actually made me mildly amused as it gives us a glimpse into Rushdie as a person. If you know anything about Rushdie, he is unapologetic about his opinions, even when they aren't popular and he sometimes comes off as extremely arrogant. This shines through in his writing of the essays as well.
I think my favorite essay in this collection has to do with Umberto Eco and Focault's Pendulum. Rushdie slaughtered it, saying it was over objectified and unnecessarily boring and odd. This was one book that my ex husband always glorified as being one of the pinnacles of intelligence if you could read and understand. We will of course not discuss his intellectual snobbery nor love of unnecessarily complicated things here. I of course had to try to tackle it. Yes readers, I am one of those. I also, of course, got bored out of my gourd and just figured I was punching way above my weight limit and just wasn't that smart. Reading what Salman Rushdie said put a huge smile on my face.
My second favorite essay(s) was the response at the end of the book to criticism and backlash to Satanic Verses. Satanic Verses was my intro to Rushdie (and what a hell of an introduction!) and I have a special place in my heart for that novel. I've since read it 3 times and am still finding things to understand about it. Reading about Rushdie's purpose and mindset reading has helped me understand the novel further, which I definitely appreciate. I'm now inclined to read it again.
Rushdie challenges people's views of many things and while it may be a frustrating endeavour to read him and understand all his intelligence and subtext, for a serious reader, these are good things rather than bad. Understanding the amazing writer's influences can help us become better writers ourselves and have better context to the world as readers.
Read it!
~Becky~
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