Displaying 1 of 1 1989 Format: Book Author: Rushdie, Salman. Title: The satanic verses / Salman Rushdie. Edition: 1st American ed. Publisher, Date: New York, N.Y. : Viking, 1989, c1988. Description: 546 p. ; 24 cm. Notes: 76360 c.2 Brodart 3/89 @ $19.95 (Gift: Eagles); 76361 c.3 76362 c.4 Brodart 3/89 @ $19.95 (Billings County) Dickinson Area Public Library LCCN: 88040266 ISBN: 0670825379 OCLC: 18558869 System Availability: 4 # System items in: 2 # Local items: 0 # Local items in: 0 Current Holds: 0 Place Request Add to My List Expand All | Collapse All Availability Awards Large Cover Image Trade Reviews Library Journal ReviewWhen a terrorist's bomb destroys a jumbo jet high above the English Channel, two passengers fall safely to earth: Gibreel, an Indian movie actor, and Saladin, star of the controversial British television program, The Alien Show . The near-death experience changes them into living symbols of good and evilSaladin grows horns, Gibreel a halo. From this fantastic premise Rushdie spins a huge collection of loosely related subplots that combine mythology, folklore, and TV trivia in a tour de force of magic realism that investigates the postmodern immigrant experience. (Why does an Indian expatriate feel homesick watching reruns of Dallas ?) Like Rushdie's award-winning novel Midnight's Children ( LJ 2/15/81), this invites comparison with the miracle-laden narratives of Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Highly recommended. Edward B. St. John, Loyola Law Sch. Lib., Los Angeles (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.Publishers Weekly ReviewBanned in India before publication, this immense novel by Booker Prize-winner Rushdie ( Midnight's Children ) pits Good against Evil in a whimsical and fantastic tale. Two actors from India, ``prancing'' Gibreel Farishta and ``buttony, pursed'' Saladin Chamcha, are flying across the English Channel when the first of many implausible events occurs: the jet explodes. As the two men plummet to the earth, ``like titbits of tobacco from a broken old cigar,'' they argue, sing and are transformed. When they are found on an English beach, the only survivors of the blast, Gibreel has sprouted a halo while Saladin has developed hooves, hairy legs and the beginnings of what seem like horns. What follows is a series of allegorical tales that challenges assumptions about both human and divine nature. Rushdie's fanciful language is as concentrated and overwhelming as a paisley pattern. Angels are demonic and demons are angelic as we are propelled through one illuminating episode after another. The narrative is somewhat burdened by self-consciousness that borders on preciosity, but for Rushdie fans this is a splendid feast. 50,000 first printing; $50,000 ad/promo; first serial to Harper's; BOMC alternate; QPBC alternate; author tour. (Feb.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved Librarian's View Displaying 1 of 1