This is the story of Maximilian Ophuls, America's counterterrorism chief, one of the makers of the modern world; his Kashmiri Muslim driver and subsequent killer, a mysterious figure who calls himself Shalimar the clown; Max's illegitimate daughter India; and a woman who links them, whose revelation finally explains them all. It is an epic narrative that moves from California to Kashmir, France, and England, and back to California again. Along the way there are tales of princesses lured from their homes by demons, legends of kings forced to defend their kingdoms against evil. And there is always love, gained and lost, uncommonly beautiful and mortally dangerous.
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"This is one of those stories where the personal is intensely political. The story is told in reverse chronological order mainly through four main characters: a WWII French Resistance fighter who later becomes an ambassador to India, where he has an affair with a married Kashmiri woman, who has his baby; that daughter (who's least carefully drawn); the Kashmiri woman; and her husband, who becomes a terrorist after his betrayal. And Kashmir itself is another character, portrayed here (in a story I didn't know at all) as a borderland of great beauty between India & Pakistan. It's a very engaging book, but without the virtuosity of The Ground Beneath Her Feet." — Marvin (5 out of 5 stars)
"This is one of those stories where the personal is intensely political. The story is told in reverse chronological order mainly through four main characters: a WWII French Resistance fighter who later becomes an ambassador to India, where he has an affair with a married Kashmiri woman, who has his baby; that daughter (who's least carefully drawn); the Kashmiri woman; and her husband, who becomes a terrorist after his betrayal. And Kashmir itself is another character, portrayed here (in a story I didn't know at all) as a borderland of great beauty between India & Pakistan. It's a very engaging book, but without the virtuosity of The Ground Beneath Her Feet."
“Brilliantly invented…Shalimar the Clown is a powerful parable about the willing and unwilling subversion of multiculturalism.”
“[Rushdie’s] novels pour by in a sparkling, voracious onrush, each wave topped with foam, each paragraph luxurious and delicious.”
“To inhale Salman Rushdie’s richly textured, exotic prose is to realize the insipid nature of most contemporary fiction…Genius…A master of the global novel.”
“Rushdie’s most engaging book since Midnight’s Children. It is a lament. It is a revenge story. It is a love story. And it is a warning.”
“While readers might stumble over the Kashmiri, Indian, and Pakistani names and accents, Mandvi glides right through them, allowing us to engage with Rushdie’s well-wrought characters and sagas. Mandvi has a calm, quiet storyteller voice…leaving us to relish the sounds and images and rhythms of Rushdie’s language.”
“To characterize the novel as ‘rich’ seems inadequately broad as…a cogent descriptor of Rushdie’s sheer and magnificent talent. His beautifully metaphoric language and sly sense of humor keep his complex plot, with its layers of personal and cosmic meaning, tightly woven.”
“Vintage Rushdie…A magical-realist masterpiece that equals, and arguably surpasses, the achievements of Midnight’s Children, Shame, and The Moor’s Last Sigh. The Swedes won’t dare to offend Islam by giving Rushie the Nobel Prize he deserves more than any other living writer. Injustice rules.”
" most recent rushdie i've read. "
" It's good for Rushdie fans, especially those interested in the process by which Kashmir turned from paradise to hell. Entertaining reflections on LA also. "
" a delightful tale of revenge! "
" Be is beauty of Kashmir or just another beautiful master piece of Rushdie I loved the book. "
" Still love Rushdie! Beautiful writing and fascinating story. Always incredible the way he weaves history into the lives of his characters, so that you think it might really have happened that way. "
" This book is really special, beautifully written even in the most violent sections. "
" I have always wanted to read a book by him. This has lots of historical information about India. The story is told in flashbacks, beautifully written with great sensory details. "
" A dense read that you cannot put down given the compelling storyline. Evidently, this was Rushdie's literary response to 9/11 and his depth of knowledge about geopolitical and religious conflicts is impressive. This is a love story, a story of revenge, and a story of global politics. A great read. "
" This is a really great story. It helps that I heard Rushdie read aloud from the book, which brought the characters to life more because I could hear his voice, and the voices he gave them, in my head. "
" An interesting way to approach Kashmir, written in Rushdie's usual lyrical tone. It was missing the blurring of fantasy and reality as in Satanic Versus. Still, a really good read unless you hate description and want a lot of dialog, which is how I came to own the book. "
" What I think is that it takes me forever and a day to read Rushdie, but when I'm done, it sure is satisfying. "
" This was the first book by Salman Rushdie that I read, & I was pleasantly surprised! It was the type of thing when one can tell almost immediately, within the first 5 pages, that the author is uniquely talented. And he continued to please and surpass expectations until the end "
" Too much detail for my taste, kind of got bored. "
" Portrays a very dark, convoluted world ... where love is not strong enough to defeat evil ... but the human ability to hope just might be. "
" Intriguing piece of fiction concerning intertwined histories in India, America, and a dash of Europe. Works real events and public moods into the story quite well. As always, this is all about the characters and a variety of ways to approach life. Very entertaining, but harsh at times. "
" i have read it and can read it agn n agn...it keeps the readers grasping to the pages with it's blood twisting plots. "
" Another great one from Rushdie! I learned so much about the history of the Kashmir region and enjoyed the story as well. Visceral and gritty but completely engaging. "
" In the first two thirds of this book Rushdie does not disappoint. He weaves Kashmiri history and tradition using detailed narrative, a compelling plot, etc... I didnt love the ending but the work if beautifully written. "
" long, convoluted, at times i skipped several pages at a time, something i never do "
" Full of the political ideals on the area of India and Pakistan, the character Shalimar became very disturbing. Good book, not fun to read except for the language which I love. "
" It seemed like it would have an interesting premise, but moved too slowly and dreamily for me to get attached to the characters. Wasn't able to finish it before returning it to the library (quite overdue). "
" This book, I did not like... it didn't keep my attention and did not intrigue me at all. "
" I liked this book alot. It is very dense reading but worth it. I loved how the path of the characters mirrored the India-Pakistani conflict. It's really good! "
" May just be my favorite book I've every read. "
" Rushdie is an amazing storyteller. Note: there are some pretty crude portions to this book... "
" Rushdie is brilliant, as usual, straddling east and west, showing off his facility for language, nuance and irony. Not quite what I had in mind when I started reading it, but well worth the time it takes to listen to 15 CDs. "
" a strangely unique style of writing, some chapters are tough to get through but well worth it in the end. "
Salman Rushdie is the author of a collection of short stories, a collection of essays, and fourteen novels, including Midnight's Children, which won the Booker Prize and the Best of the Booker. He has also published four works of nonfiction and coedited two anthologies. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and a Distinguished Writer in Residence at New York University. A former president of PEN American Center, hewas knighted in 2007 for services to literature.
January LaVoy, winner of numerous awards for narration, was named a Golden Voice by AudioFile magazine in 2019. She is an American actress best known for her character Noelle Ortiz on the ABC daytime drama One Life to Live. In addition to working extensively in narration and television, including roles on Law & Order and All My Children, she has worked on and off Broadway as well as in regional theater.
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