673. Grimus

Grimus
Salman Rushdie
1975
Around 315 pages

Ugh, we just got rid of Saul Bellow, and he's quickly been replaced with another author I don't like. Believe me, I would like to adore Rushdie, because he's pretty fearless and is still pumping out content, even after being stabbed in the eye. But I've never liked any of his books, which will you have to hear me say six more times.

Flapping Eagle, a Native American, becomes immortal after drinking a magic fluid. He wanders the world for 777 years, 7 months, and 7 days, before falling into a parallel dimension. Just like his later works, the novel is steeped in mythological and literary allusion.

Even Rushdie fans seem to disparage this one, but it felt consistent to me with other Rushdie novels. It was just as dense and taxing as his other works. It's a heavy read, and probably only enjoyable if you are a hardcore fan.

We are in a rough patch, and here's hoping somebody rescues us soon.

RATING: **---

Interesting Facts:

Brian Aldiss has claimed that he, Kingsley Amis and Arthur C. Clarke served on a science-fiction book prize jury at the time which identified Grimus as the best candidate for a science fiction book of the year award, but this prize was refused by the publishers who did not want the book to be classified as science fiction for marketing reasons.

UP NEXT: Correction by Thomas Bernhard