Review: Shame
Avis de journaliste - Kirkus ReviewsAfter Midnight's Children's helium giddiness of historical sweep and winning eccentricity, it isn't surprising to find Rushdie giving it another go in this fantasia manner; but now, through force of repetition, the result is far less buoyant. Instead of India, this new novel considers Pakistan--even if Rushdie plays peekaboo as to whether it is or isn't. (Likewise, to rather tiresome effect, he refuses to decide whether to present this as satire or bitter allegory, fact or fantasy.) Iskander Harappa is the Prime Minister we follow, along with his rival Raza Hyder, the President. And the grotesque, brutal, surreal situations applicable to both are continually braided: for instance, while Isky's monstrous, cold-hearted daughter Ironpants is the power behind the power, Raza's crazy daughter Sufiya--Shame--turns from imbecile to an avenging angel of slaughter-filled redemption. The final figure in the tapestry: Omar Khayam Shakil, son of three sisters who claim to jointly share his maternity; he's a fat doctor, a debauched sort, the eventual husband of Sufiya--and an emblem of all that's contradictory and outlandish about Pakistan. So Rushdie takes this quartet of characters through a series of pell-mell incidents, with pointed parallels along the way to the Bhutto and Zia eras of Pakistani leadership. Just like Midnight's Children? Well, yes and no--because this quasi-sequel, unlike its predecessor, seems effortful throughout, flogged on to ever-greater baroque, manic invention and exclamation. A hectic disappointment overall, though of obvious special interest to literarily inclined Pakistan-watchers.
Review: Shame
Avis d'utilisateur - Jordon - GoodreadsRushdie has a very unique style to his storytelling; he narrates as a character outside of his tale, yet is wholly invested in it. His tone is casual, imitating the convolutions of an orally told ... Consulter l'avis complet
Review: Shame
Avis d'utilisateur - Dan - GoodreadsI wasn't sure what I was getting into with this book. I had first heard of Rushdie in relation to the fatwa against him issued by Ayatollah Khomeini and later learned that, along with Martin Amis and ... Consulter l'avis complet
Review: Shame
Avis d'utilisateur - Mitchell - GoodreadsI had started Midnight's Children when it was published years ago, but bogged down in the dense plot and numerous characters, and I never finished it. I felt like I was heading in the same direction ... Consulter l'avis complet
Review: Shame (Picador Books)
Avis d'utilisateur - Timm Woods - GoodreadsFirst let me just say, I LOVE Salmon Rushdie. I love his sense of humor, his storytelling style, and the way he weaves unapologetic politics without sacrificing the story on the altar of commentary ... Consulter l'avis complet
Review: Shame
Avis d'utilisateur - Kailash - GoodreadsWhat do you say about a writer who is brilliant at his work, but uses it to highlight and exaggerate the negative aspects of life? I say its a shame. Its a shame that someone with Salman Rushdie's ... Consulter l'avis complet
Review: Shame
Avis d'utilisateur - Carl Brush - GoodreadsShame is fantastic--not in the pop sense of high quality, but in the literal sense of worlds beyond reality. The book is filled with strange beasts and diseases. It travels through vast realms of soul ... Consulter l'avis complet
Review: Shame
Avis d'utilisateur - Furqan - GoodreadsThis was my first encounter with the obscure genre of magical realism and Rushdie himself. The book is set in a fictional town of Pakistan or 'Peccavistan', although Rushdie elucidates that it can be ... Consulter l'avis complet
Review: Shame (Picador Books)
Avis d'utilisateur - Gary Varga - GoodreadsI thoroughly enjoyed this book but I am not sure why. The story drifted between being predictable and unpredictable. The characters were from a different cultural background and this sometimes made ... Consulter l'avis complet
Review: Shame
Avis d'utilisateur - Rebecca - GoodreadsI absolutely hated the first half of the novel. It seemed to drag on and on, introducing characters that I didn't find interesting in the slightest. However, it is interesting to note that as the book ... Consulter l'avis complet
