Shalimar the Clown Book Report
I've just finished reading Salman Rushdie's Shalimar the Clown. Mr. Rushdie's personal politics aside, I found the book truly riveting and engaging.
Shalimar the Clown tells a story of an actor/a clown in a band of village performers in Kashmir, who loses his wife to an American ambassador. The wife consequently has an affair with the American (it is actually more of a planned move on her part, she wants to get out of that village and explores the world, believing that her destiny is greater than what is being offered to her in that village called Pachigam.)
The whole story is told in four perspectives--the wife Boonyi Kaul's; the American ambassador to India, Max Ophuls'; Shalimar's and the daughter of Max and Boonyi, India/Kashmira's.
What I love about this novel is in its portrayal of Kashmir, and the description of its political situation with India and Pakistan at that time (Max is posted to India 2 years after the Kennedy's assassination; that's when he meets Boonyi. You can say that the story takes off from there although the characters begin their individual stories a lot earlier than that). It is a revenge story, but you'll also get to experience the political climate, the cultural tension and the individual perspectives. A good war/historical story, either fiction or non-fiction, often utilizes the first person's POV in telling the story--an individual's way of looking at things, instead of a generic conclusion made by those who only observe the event. It is this personalization that many readers are drawn to, and Shalimar the Clown does that quite brilliantly. I got to know the condition in Kashmir during that period in history, the catastrophe of Europe brought on by the German occupation during World War II, the invasion of Strasbourg etc.
We all know that there is not an essentially bad character. Each character has their own story, personal traits that are either good or bad, a unique personality and their own personal beliefs. All of the events in this novel are tied up into a single climax at the end and each character plays a significant part in the other character's story, and in some instances, even their deaths. There are plenty of exquisite cultural references, but one can't help but feel slightly disturbed while tagging along on the ride--it's a tale of beauty, but it creates a dark and disturbing atmosphere. I don't know how to properly explain this, but it's a lot like how I feel every time I sit and watch one of Scorsese's movies (Taxi Driver and After Hours come to mind). All in all, it's a great piece of literature, and almost as good as the Midnight's Children. It is more than just a thrilling story.
'It is a lament. It is a revenge story. It is a love story. And it is a warning.' - Observer.
Shalimar the Clown tells a story of an actor/a clown in a band of village performers in Kashmir, who loses his wife to an American ambassador. The wife consequently has an affair with the American (it is actually more of a planned move on her part, she wants to get out of that village and explores the world, believing that her destiny is greater than what is being offered to her in that village called Pachigam.)
The whole story is told in four perspectives--the wife Boonyi Kaul's; the American ambassador to India, Max Ophuls'; Shalimar's and the daughter of Max and Boonyi, India/Kashmira's.
What I love about this novel is in its portrayal of Kashmir, and the description of its political situation with India and Pakistan at that time (Max is posted to India 2 years after the Kennedy's assassination; that's when he meets Boonyi. You can say that the story takes off from there although the characters begin their individual stories a lot earlier than that). It is a revenge story, but you'll also get to experience the political climate, the cultural tension and the individual perspectives. A good war/historical story, either fiction or non-fiction, often utilizes the first person's POV in telling the story--an individual's way of looking at things, instead of a generic conclusion made by those who only observe the event. It is this personalization that many readers are drawn to, and Shalimar the Clown does that quite brilliantly. I got to know the condition in Kashmir during that period in history, the catastrophe of Europe brought on by the German occupation during World War II, the invasion of Strasbourg etc.
We all know that there is not an essentially bad character. Each character has their own story, personal traits that are either good or bad, a unique personality and their own personal beliefs. All of the events in this novel are tied up into a single climax at the end and each character plays a significant part in the other character's story, and in some instances, even their deaths. There are plenty of exquisite cultural references, but one can't help but feel slightly disturbed while tagging along on the ride--it's a tale of beauty, but it creates a dark and disturbing atmosphere. I don't know how to properly explain this, but it's a lot like how I feel every time I sit and watch one of Scorsese's movies (Taxi Driver and After Hours come to mind). All in all, it's a great piece of literature, and almost as good as the Midnight's Children. It is more than just a thrilling story.
'It is a lament. It is a revenge story. It is a love story. And it is a warning.' - Observer.
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