If you ask someone how to read Salman Rushdie, you would often hear that it’s going to be a hard task. That might be true. At the same time, it’s also true that the effort comes with rewards… and the rewards in this case are outrageously wonderful.
Rushdie is not just a storyteller. While telling a story, he uses his exceptional mastery of European, Anglo-American, Indian, Arabic, and Persian literary and cultural forms to cultivate a fresh register of English language that expands western literary traditions. Rushdie’s world can be overwhelming for some. Here every character speaks in its own way with its own vocabulary. The narrative is not usually one, rather, there are layers of myths and historical facts. The language is powerful – there’s humour, controversy, blasphemy, metaphors and a rich vocabulary. That’s where it gets fascinating, at times frightening.
So, how should one explore and read Salman Rushdie?
Some suggest that one should begin with his recent works — which aren’t that complex — and then move on to his writings from 1980s and 90s. That doesn’t help much and you’d find the same challenges when you go to those earlier works. Instead, I say suggest you to dive right into his finest books and find for yourself. This approach requires time and patience from the reader, which, I hope, you’d find.
Start with either his Booker-winning novel Midnight’s Children. It portrays India’s transition from British colonialism to independence and the partition of India.You may also start with The Ground Beneath Her Feet which is a variation on the Orpheus/Eurydice myth, with rock music replacing Orpheus’s lyre. Both are complex narratives and contain multitude of references. Take your time to absorb the story first. You may not get all the references in your first reading, but that’s okay. All you need to do is, pay attention. You cannot miss a sentence. At times, it may come across as too verbose, but give it some time. It will grow on you.
If you don’t want to jump into these challenging reads, you can be a little conservative and start with Haroun and the Sea of Stories, which is an allegory for several problems existing in society in the present day and especially in the Indian subcontinent. The book is supposed to be a children’s novel, but it’s no less enjoyable for the adults as well.
Once you read one or two books by Rushdie, you’d become familiar with his style. The language is rich and vivid, and the plot is woven by layers upon layers of narratives. Another key thing you need to keep in mind is that Rushdie adds a lot of value to the English dictionary, by importing countless words from various Indian languages. Be prepared for an exotic blend of vocabulary, where words would bombard you from all directions.
While Rushdie is mostly acclaimed for his novels, his non-fiction writing is worth exploring as well. A collection of essays titled Imaginary Homelands was published in 1992 and is worth a read. In fact, there are some people out there who have never read (rather finished) a Rushdie novel, but quite enjoy his non-fiction works. Let’s try to do better than that.
Kalampedia 