Word: novelization
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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Rushdie, whose 1989 novel The Satanic Verses provoked a worldwide controversy and a death sentence from Iranian leader Ayatollah Khomeini, read an excerpt from his latest book, The Ground Beneath Her Feet, published last month...
...golden voice, her beauty's beat. How she made me feel, how she made me real, and the ground beneath her feet." Salman Rushdie, the writer who is perhaps more famous for the price on his head than his literary achievements is back with his first post-fatwa novel. Titled The Ground Beneath Her Feet, Rushdie's seventh novel is a global rock-and-roll odyssey that soars through the post-colonial and India before stumbling into pop-icon America. Inspired at least partly by Rushdie's association with U2. Rushdie made a rare public appearance at a U2 concert...
...Ground Beneath Her Feet is Rushdie's first novel set primarily in America, though the main characters are Indian and a good chunk of the book takes place there. The first third of the book is a dense, atmospheric and compelling look at India during the beginning of British decolonization. The novel's featured three-some, beautiful Vina Apsara, musically gifted Ormus Cama and the narrator, Rai, are united early through friendships and tragedy. Vina, relocated to India from America after the murder of her family is adopted by Rai's parents, the Merchants. Soon, Vina meets Ormus Cama...
...novel loses a great deal of its magic and most of its charm when the focus moves to America. Rushdie's America is cold and empty, with a few discotheques and famous faces but lacking energy and life. The essence of America seems to slip through Rushdie's fingers, and a rich history of pop culture is reduced to a handful of amusing cameos. Narrator Rai becomes myopic in this foreign environment, keeping Vina and Ormus at a distance from the reader and failing to portray them as more than celebrated anomalies...
...reason why Rushdie's book feels incomplete is that although music is the focus of his novel, he does not infuse enough of this music into his language and text. Ormus' songs lie flat on the page, and Rushdie's descriptions of VTO's music often leave more questions than answers. Rushdie also fails to deliver completely on his promise to present a rock version of Orpheus and Eurydice. Though he invokes the myth to great effect at the beginning of the novel, the theme is ultimately neglected. Perhaps Rushdie stretched himself too much by venturing into the world...