Shalimar the Clown

Initially there is the first page judgement. You pick up a book and read the first few lines and see whether you get hooked. Then you read, over the course of that reading you may decide that a) this book is great, b) this book is pants or c) I’m not sure about this book. When you finish the book you return to the multiple choice question above. Next week, when you are still pondering over response a, b or c, you may slowly realise that actually this book is really rather good for having accompanied you this long. Next year when you are still recommending it as a ‘must read’ you realise it is really rather excellent. And in a few years time you realise there are parts of the writing that have reached inside of you and are now part of you.

I woke up this morning and decided that I would finish Shalimar the Clown a brief snippet here and a few pages caught there were no longer sufficient; it needed my full undivided attention. I hadn’t even given it the First Page Judgement. I saw that Rushdie had a new novel out and I wanted to read it. As I read it I vacillated between response a, b and c. Where was this book going? Why was the writing so different in each part? I wasn’t even sure that I liked any of the main characters. It’s a novel so full of violence, hatred and anger that by the end I felt desensitized and had almost forgotten that it began as a sensual love story. I felt I should be judging right or wrong, but didn’t even know where to begin and as I began to try and deconstruct and understand Rushdie’s aim I began to realise that he had achieved it: this is the story of Kashmir – beautiful and brutal.

So at present I give the book an a, only the test of time will tell whether it’s still an a next week, if I recommend it next year or whether it becomes a part of me.

Of course I do realise that this is my opinion and that you may completely disagree with me and that as a book review I’ve told you practically nothing about the book.