928. The Ground Beneath Her Feet

The Ground Beneath Her Feet
Salman Rushdie
1999
Around 580 pages

Salman Rushdie is not my taste, but I still feel bad about bashing his every entry on the List, as I know his writing offers value to the world. And I feel extra bad that he was attacked in my home state. How could something that awful happen in a state that produced Taylor Swift? There's no sense in this world.

It's always difficult to explain the narrative in a Rushdie novel but the main thread is a variation on the Orpheus and Eurydice myth. Characteristically, the story is packed with many contemporary references ranging from political assassinations to rock and roll.

Rushdie always makes me think of how Hamilton describes himself in the musical: "I'm a polymath, a pain in the ass, a massive pain." His intellect and range is undeniably impressive, but I find his novels an absolute slog to get through. I never even come close to clicking with the characters, and I much prefer Murakami's method of integrating parallel universes.

Only one more Rushdie to get through at least.

RATING: **---

Interesting Facts:

U2 covered the song in the novel with minor changes.

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