Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #30548 in Books
• Published on: 2006-10-05
• Binding: Paperback
• 416 pages

The Guardian, 19 October, 2006
'a dazzling workout for the brain'

Los Angeles Times
'Rushdie's greatest novel since 'The Satanic Verses'... There are few writers who can pull off such an act...transparent, extraordinary writing.'

Newsweek International
'This is masterful fiction, to be sure, but, also and especially, all too real.'

Customer Reviews

Rushdie at his best:
This is storytelling magic of the highest order: whirlwind story and characters that stay with you long after you have finished the book (hell, the character of Shalimar will burn a hole into your memory) weaved together into historical events of the last 70 years.

This is also a history of violence of mythological proportion. No glimpse of hope is offered. It relates how violence reappears throughout history everywhere in the world under different incarnations and, more specifically, how it entered and took control of Kashmir, seen as a paradise on earth. No place is safe from the madness. Our lives, whether in Kashmir, France, Los Angeles or Malaysia, seem to be in the hands of bloodthirsty demons. Salman Rushdie delivers us an important message: their god is not your god; theirs is one of violence and revenge, not of love and forgiveness. (I believe the author is picturing a certain relationship and dynamic of violence rather than expressing any judgment on any specific religion.) This is not the first time the message is given but never before with the force of this great, brilliant book. (On a minor note, I think the author is much better at describing the violence in Kashmir than the horrors of the Nazi occupation.)

A must read in addition to being the perfect introduction to the work of Salman Rushdie as people will probably find it easier than, say, Midnight's Children or the Satanic Verses.

Abandon all hope
This is the story of a serial killer driven by unremitting hatred for his wife, her lover and their child, set in the context of the destruction of Kashmir by the Indo-Pakistan conflict. If you like bleak and unmixed pessimism, perhaps you will enjoy this book, but if you believe there is a shred of goodness in people, then it is not for you. None of the main characters is the sort of person you would want to spend time with. As one expects with Rushdie, the style is clever - too clever - and a great deal of work has gone into linking the story with an improbably large number of newsworthy events. If you want an elegy for the lost harmony between Indian Islam and Hinduism, read instead Vikram Seth's A Suitable Boy, told in effortlessly beautiful English and conveying a belief in the human capacity for good.

A captivating narrative from the master of storytelling
I once heard someone describe reading Rushdie as like wading through treacle. I think this is an excellent description of his style. Dense and rich yet delicious and rewarding.

Shalimar the Clown was a fascinating read, both exciting and thought provoking. Rushdie's greatest skill is his ability to create a narrative world in which personal and global matters are inextricably tied.

Vast, epic and emotional, this book hurtles along towards a heartstopping climax.