The Satanic Verses

By: Salman Rushdie

Narrated by: Sam Dastor

Length: 21 hrs and 36 mins

Publisher's summary

Inextricably linked with the fatwa called against its author in the wake of the novel’s publication, The Satanic Verses is, beyond that, a rich showcase for Salman Rushdie’s comic sensibilities, cultural observations, and unparalleled mastery of language. The tale of an Indian film star and a Bombay expatriate, Rushdie’s masterpiece was deservedly honored with the Whitbread Prize.

The story begins with a bang: the terrorist bombing of a London-bound jet in midflight. Two Indian actors of opposing sensibilities fall to earth, transformed into living symbols of what is angelic and evil. This is just the initial act in a magnificent odyssey that seamlessly merges the actual with the imagined. A book whose importance is eclipsed only by its quality, The Satanic Verses is a key work of our times.

©1988 Salman Rushdie (P)2011 Recorded Books, LLC

Critic reviews

"No book in modern times has matched the uproar sparked by Salman Rushdie's The Satanic Verses, which earned its author a death sentence. Furor aside, it is a marvelously erudite study of good and evil, a feast of language served up by a writer at the height of his powers, and a rollicking comic fable." (Amazon.com review)

"A rollercoaster ride over a vast landscape of the imagination." ( The Guardian)

"A masterpiece." ( The Sunday Times, London)

writing in the purest form of magical realism

Speaks to all immigrants, regardless of faith or national origin. The narrator excels in character

Lyrical farce

Hypnotic engrossing long descriptions. I want to listen a second time. The second with more humor.

Not at all what I was expecting.

Captivating, fascinating, poetic, complicated, multidimensional. Somewhat difficult for me to follow, mainly due to my limited knowledge of the subject matter. Extremely well performed.

Dream-like and psychedelic

In reading this book, I quickly discovered the best way to take it in is to open up from Adam's apple to navel and take it in without trying to understand. The narrative is dream-like and psychedelic. I don't understand what happened in terms of plot, but I understand what the book means.

The fantastic imagery and piercing spiritual themes make this book stand out from anything I've ever read. It puts to shame most holy texts.

I also understand it's importance for free speech and freedom from religious oppression.

How glorious it is to see the world through Salman Rushdie's eye.

Astounding

I listened to it twice. Fabulous. Rushdie is notorious for pissing off the ayatollah in that notoriety. His genius has been ignored.
That’s a shame because this is a fabulous book

masterpiece all around

definitely one of the very best audiobook narrator performances of all time. So good. The writing lives up to the hype. the story was at times hard to follow, would have benefited from having a hard copy to reference, but I just went with the flow and overall it was a really wonderful experience.

Brilliant novel, brilliant reader

Any additional comments?

I can't answer any of the dumb questions Audible now wants to ask.

I first read the Satanic Verses in '92, wanting to see what all the fuss was about. I was astounded to discover a hilarious yet harrowing set of interlocking stories that upended my ideas about colonialism, Islam and India.

20 years later, it was just as great as the first time. I read my old copy at home and listened in the car to a great performance by a reader who does great Indian and English accents while conveying the tale's irony.

I still believe this is one of the great novels of the 20th century.

Confusing

Is there anything you would change about this book?

This book is fascinating at times but you better have wikipedia ready and, more so, a knowledge of world religions. Especially, as a listen, where you can't really (or at least on my little ipod shuffle) stop and linger over confusing passages, this book is very difficult to comprehend. For example, after the plane crash, when he shifts right to Jahilia, I thought I had literally lost my place in the novel.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

I really loved the twang of the various dialects. Rushdie is a genius of language and Dastor reads amazingly.

Which character – as performed by Sam Dastor – was your favorite?

I loved the way Jabril spoke to Saladin.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

If there was a movie of this book it would start world war three!

Any additional comments?

My incredible, life long educator, fiercely agnostic, grandmother, since past, was a great admirer of Rushdie. I wanted to try him out. For now I have no plans to go on reading him. I need folks like Franzen, Irving, TC Boyle, and Eugenedes. Maybe when I've reached a more scholarly level I'll get more out of the work of this brave and masterful writer.

If this book was at a party, it would too drunk!

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Salman Rushie is an extremely creative writer. His output is staggering and sprawling. It is not whether Satanic Verses was or wasn't worth the the time to read, but whether Rushie is a prisoner of the same cage of sexism he purportedly seeks to escape.

Would you be willing to try another book from Salman Rushdie? Why or why not?

I suppose I will have to give all his books a chance some day, because of the time and attention he has given to reading over the years.

Outstanding Performance!

Would you consider the audio edition of The Satanic Verses to be better than the print version?

I haven't read the text version but can only imagine imagine that the print version is far more superior.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Satanic Verses?

The book was very deeply layered and complex and can't say one particular moment stood out.

Which character – as performed by Sam Dastor – was your favorite?

Sam Dastor's performance was great for every single character and made the book possible for me to read. For me it was so complex that reading it on my own I would have taken weeks to finish.