by Salman Rushdie
Random House
$16.00
Reviewed by Mayanna Allen
I bought The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie a year ago. I knew a little about the fatwa that had been issued by the Ayatollah Khomeini. I figured I owed it to the renegades of the world to actually buy the book and read it. The title of the book has the word “Satan” in it! It all seemed so dark and mysterious. Plus the book is a whopping five hundred and sixty some pages long, what a feast. At the time I was pregnant and so tired that I couldn’t even pick the book up, let alone read it. When the baby started walking around asking for snacks, I figured it was time to get crackin’.
Admittedly I expected more evil than this book has to offer. You know, long black pointy fingernails, greasy poorly died black hair, and too much silver jewelry. I am ignorant as too much of the doctrines of Christianity, and even more so Islam. So, at first I assumed the fatwa was over the frustrating pace and intricate language. I had a mental picture of the Ayatollah Khomeini, all hot and sweaty by the pool trying to get through the first chapter of The Satanic Verses. He gets so pissed by the first thirty pages that he throws the book on the floor and yells “You can’t just make up words like that! Who does he think he is anyway! A Fatwa on his head!” He then stomps off to find a magazine.
Mr. Rushdie strings tiny words together making me feel rushed, and well, not so bright at times. I kept having to go back and re-read at first. Once I was used to it happening, it became a nice little mental surprise. It was the same sensation I remember having when I finally cracked the code to the Pig Latin my older siblings would use to communicate over my head.
This is book is the kind of reading project to take on if you are trying to quite smoking, or budget by staying in. It is immense, cluttered and rich. You should read it, people died so that it could be published. And if that paltry guilt trip doesn’t get you through first chapter, I don’t know what will.
Mayanna Allen is a daring reader of all things. Magazines, signs, minds, books of all sorts and on occasion, (with great reluctance) directions. She has read books in thirty two states and three continents. She lives in Portland Oregon with her husband and two small children.
