I'm not up to this one--read 181 pp out of some 500--a crowd of characters, generations of families, and their odd characteristics. Told, not involving--couldn’t latch on to it. ( )

The Moor's Last Sigh is Rushdie's best book since Midnight's Children and is superior to The Ground Beneath Her Feet. Rushdie puts his spin on the multi-generational family novel. Like most such novels, it takes awhile to get the characters and families straight, but once you have the whole picture, you can begin to enjoy the magic that Rushdie is weaving through this genre. His first-person narrator ranges from funny to absurd to cruel, and Rushdie's playfulness with language is in full force here. As in Midnight's Children, Rushdie's characters are set in the context of India's turbulent history, and in typical Rushdie fashion, it isn't clear whether history is affecting the family or the family is molding history. The very end of the book seems a bit over-blown, but it's one of the few weaknesses in this very good novel ( )

...there's some mixed feelings there because it was a lot easier to let go than "Midnight's Children" - its counterpart in storyline and style. And whilst I was englufed in the story of the Zogoiby-Da Gama family, I was a bit more detached when it came to their last heir Moraes (Moor) Zogoiby, the narrator, whose own life experiences occupies about 50% of the book. He seems a rather unfinished, one sided character, defined by his double-speed aging process and his inner struggles (a reflection, I should think, of his multicultural descent, his lack of a firm sense of identity), while his mother, Aurora Zogoiby, accomplished painter and mediocre mother, is far more attractive, complex and alive.

In the end beautiful - beautifully written, it's typically rushdie-esque and much smarter people than I have commented on its themes, on the recurrence of India as a mother(land), on the recurrence of the witch woman - Parvati in "Midnight's Children", Uma Saraswati here, creator and destroyer, on the rise-and-fall story in a family, on the added realism, the accuracy of impressions on the life after The Independence. It seemes like it's all been done, but I don't think anyone does it better than Mr. Rushdie, simply because his prose, while slightly complicated and suffocating on first sight, draws you in and, once you're there, it's pretty hard to walk out. ...
there's some mixed feelings there because it was a lot easier to let go than "Midnight's Children" - its counterpart in storyline and style. And whilst I was englufed in the story of the Zogoiby-Da Gama family, I was a bit more detached when it came to their last heir Moraes (Moor) Zogoiby, the narrator, whose own life experiences occupies about 50% of the book. He seems a rather unfinished, one sided character, defined by his double-speed aging process and his inner struggles (a reflection, I should think, of his multicultural descent, his lack of a firm sense of identity), while his mother, Aurora Zogoiby, accomplished painter and mediocre mother, is far more attractive, complex and alive.

In the end beautiful - beautifully written, it's typically rushdie-esque and much smarter people than I have commented on its themes, on the recurrence of India as a mother(land), on the recurrence of the witch woman - Parvati in "Midnight's Children", Uma Saraswati here, creator and destroyer, on the rise-and-fall story in a family, on the added realism, the accuracy of impressions on the life after The Independence. It seemes like it's all been done, but I don't think anyone does it better than Mr. Rushdie, simply because his prose, while slightly complicated and suffocating on first sight, draws you in and, once you're there, it's pretty hard to walk out.

http://meerchant.wordpress.com/2007/1... ( )

Woah! This is a really challenging read and hard to stay with. It took me an age to get through this one but it was worth it. A good story, interesting plots and sub-plots, engaging characters, etc. just pretty dense. ( )

I bought this book after enjoying the Satanic Verses, hoping for a similar read. I wasn't disappointed, this book was perhaps a touch less complicated and ambitious, but the plot and the characters were just as well thought out, and the narrative as clever and deep, and enjoyable to read as I was expecting. He does the surreal very well, and this book didn't let me down in this aspect either, but it is done in a more subtle way than in the Satanic Verses for the most part. Despite this it still has the same enchanting illusory feel , it just isn't the one long hallucinogenic trip that the Satanic verses is. I would recommend this book if you enjoyed the Satanic Verses, and vice versa. They are both books I would consider re-reading in the future. ( )