The Moor's Last Sigh
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Amazon.co.uk Review
In The Moor's Last Sigh Salman Rushdie revisits some of the same ground he covered in his greatest novel, Midnight's Children. This book is narrated by Moraes Zogoiby, a.k.a. Moor, who speaks to us from a gravestone in Spain. Like Moor, Rushdie knows about a life spent in banishment from normal society--Rushdie because of the fatwa that followed The Satanic Verses, Moor because he ages at twice the rate of normal humans. Yet Moor's story of travail is bigger than Rushdie's; it encompasses a grand struggle between good and evil while Moor himself stands as allegory for Rushdie's home country of India. Filled with wordplay and ripe with humour, it is an epic work, and Rushdie has the tools to pull it off. He earned a 1995 Whitbread Prize for his efforts.
Review
"The most complete and gratifying work to emerge from Salman Rushdie's imagination...The Moor's Last Sign is an exotic story, in its setting, in its characters, in its punning extravagance, and in its deeply human core. It is an extraordinary family saga...full of wonderful characters, and the insight born of genuine reflection...A remarkable spell of creativity." --"Edmonton Journal
"A rich, wonderfully readable novel." --"Toronto Star
"One of the most wonderful works of political art I have encountered, a novel to rival Turgenev's "Fathers and Sons, or Dante's "Divine Comedy..."The Moor's Last Sigh is one of the most admirable novels I've ever read." --"Ottawa Citizen
"A rich, wonderfully readable novel." --"Toronto Star
"One of the most wonderful works of political art I have encountered, a novel to rival Turgenev's "Fathers and Sons, or Dante's "Divine Comedy..."The Moor's Last Sigh is one of the most admirable novels I've ever read." --"Ottawa Citizen
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I've read several Rusdie books before over the years - Midnight's Children first, then the Ground Beneath Her Feet, and also Fury. Despite enjoying all three thoroughly (well, less so Fury, which disintegrates towards the end) I've never felt the compulsion that you get with some authors to read the entire oeuvre. A lot of people tell me that they find Rusdie hard to get into, and often give up in the first 100 pages. To do so is a great shame, as they will miss some wonderful story-telling, but I can understand their reasons - particularly with the Moor's Last Sigh. Initially, it feels a little too much like a re-hash of Midnight's children - the family saga told by the child who - as a result of the cirumstances of their birth - experiences life in a strange and unique manner. With Midnight's Children it was the special powers conferred on those born closest to the clock chime of India's independence, with Moor's Last Sigh it is the double-speed existence for our narrator - a 4 and 1/2 month pregnancy, and each year being two in his body's development.
Similarly, for the union of the grand parents in Midnight's Children (the bed sheet with holes through which, as young suitors, the grandfather slowly pieces together the appearance of the grandmother) we have, in Moor's Last Sigh, the first sexual encounter between mother and father on the spice sacks in a warehouse of the family business. On both occassions the metaphors involved stretch beyond breaking point. There is no denying that Rushdie is a wonderful writer, but at times in the Moor's Last Sigh, it tests the patience. There is meaning in every insignificant detail and thåt meanning is described playfully, and - frustratingly - at great length. It wears you down. Everything is just so loaded with metaphor, that the good ones merge into the ordinary and the bad and overwhelm you. This is Rushdie on full throttle, and no editor appears to be on hand to tell him to apply the brakes. If this is your first Rushdie it may seem glorious - I don't know - but after having read others, I often found it irritating. Particularly as, in the last 150 pages, the writing tightens, the plot come to the fore, we are left with a wonderfully atmospheric and vivid climax. The story itself is rich and strong and the conclusion so well handled that I couldn't help but look back and wish the whole book had been written with such control.
Good book if you can get past the opening few hundred pages, but not a classic, and not one to re-read, because the writing smothers the reader as often as it soars.
Similarly, for the union of the grand parents in Midnight's Children (the bed sheet with holes through which, as young suitors, the grandfather slowly pieces together the appearance of the grandmother) we have, in Moor's Last Sigh, the first sexual encounter between mother and father on the spice sacks in a warehouse of the family business. On both occassions the metaphors involved stretch beyond breaking point. There is no denying that Rushdie is a wonderful writer, but at times in the Moor's Last Sigh, it tests the patience. There is meaning in every insignificant detail and thåt meanning is described playfully, and - frustratingly - at great length. It wears you down. Everything is just so loaded with metaphor, that the good ones merge into the ordinary and the bad and overwhelm you. This is Rushdie on full throttle, and no editor appears to be on hand to tell him to apply the brakes. If this is your first Rushdie it may seem glorious - I don't know - but after having read others, I often found it irritating. Particularly as, in the last 150 pages, the writing tightens, the plot come to the fore, we are left with a wonderfully atmospheric and vivid climax. The story itself is rich and strong and the conclusion so well handled that I couldn't help but look back and wish the whole book had been written with such control.
Good book if you can get past the opening few hundred pages, but not a classic, and not one to re-read, because the writing smothers the reader as often as it soars.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book is a bit difficult to get into at first , but stick with it for a couple of chapters and it begins to grow on you .
Contrary to the generally misleading aura of 'high intellectualism' that seems to surround much of Salman Rushdie's writing , this is an outwardly humorous book ; the publishers choose to dress it up as a 'serious novel ' , but in reality , at least in the earlier stages , it is more of a comical 'story book' for grown ups , which is stylistically something like a mixture of 'The Arabian Nights' and the 'The Complete Prose of Woody Allen' . Much of the writing is played deliberately for laughs , with contrivance after contrivance aimed squarely at 'the funny bone ' .
These earlier stages ( about the first two thirds or 300 pages of the book ) are like a collection of largely humorous chronological vignettes , which lead up to and set the scene for the last part of the book . The story told in the form of the vignettes describes the saga of an Indian / Jewish family's history up to the 'present day' . The final approximate third of the book has an additional hint of Raymond Chandler in its prose style , and reads more like a conventional novel , becoming slightly less humorous but rather more gripping .
Some aspects of the book may well be a subtle reply to his critics at the time ; other main themes include art , love , deformity and 'social power' .
Considering this book was written during the period when Rushdie lived under 24 hour surveillance due to the 'Fatwah' placed on his head by the Ayatollah Khomeini , it is a truly remarkable achievement .
.
Contrary to the generally misleading aura of 'high intellectualism' that seems to surround much of Salman Rushdie's writing , this is an outwardly humorous book ; the publishers choose to dress it up as a 'serious novel ' , but in reality , at least in the earlier stages , it is more of a comical 'story book' for grown ups , which is stylistically something like a mixture of 'The Arabian Nights' and the 'The Complete Prose of Woody Allen' . Much of the writing is played deliberately for laughs , with contrivance after contrivance aimed squarely at 'the funny bone ' .
These earlier stages ( about the first two thirds or 300 pages of the book ) are like a collection of largely humorous chronological vignettes , which lead up to and set the scene for the last part of the book . The story told in the form of the vignettes describes the saga of an Indian / Jewish family's history up to the 'present day' . The final approximate third of the book has an additional hint of Raymond Chandler in its prose style , and reads more like a conventional novel , becoming slightly less humorous but rather more gripping .
Some aspects of the book may well be a subtle reply to his critics at the time ; other main themes include art , love , deformity and 'social power' .
Considering this book was written during the period when Rushdie lived under 24 hour surveillance due to the 'Fatwah' placed on his head by the Ayatollah Khomeini , it is a truly remarkable achievement .
.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
'The Moor's Last Sigh' follows the story of Moraes 'Moor' Zogoiby, as he tells the tumultuous history of his family and the series of chaotic events that have taken him from Bombay on a desperate quest to Spain. One of the main focuses of the story is his mother, a powerful figure and talented artist who painted a series of pictures of 'The Moor', a character inspired by family ancestry and also somewhat based on her son. Through a string of personal tragedies and national events, the Zogoiby family has been torn apart, and Moor seeks to show the reasons behind this to the reader, giving explanations that veer between the mundane and the magical.
The beauty of Rushdie's writing is the way that he describes things in just the right level of detail (intricate enough to paint the scene perfectly, whilst not bogging the reader down), connects the comparatively small personal events in the lives of his character with what is going on in the world as a whole, and also his dark humour. Somehow he manages to make the characters in the book somewhat responsible or at least complicit in events that affect the whole of India or even the world. I also like the way in which the reader is never sure whether the highly unusual, even magical occurrences that Moor describes are supposed to be taken seriously, or if he is just using them as a way of justifying or excusing people's actions.
This is the second Salman Rushdie book I have read, the first being 'Midnight's Children'. My first impressions are that he certainly has a distinctive style, and that these two books are similar in tone, themes, and even share a couple of characters.
Like 'Midnight's Children', the narrator of the story is a man who has grown up with exceptional powers/ characteristics that have had a strong effect on his life. He has also grown up with an extremely interesting, chaotic and somewhat tragic family life and history, and has been continuously influenced by a string of powerful females who have come into his life and altered its course dramatically. Other similarities between the books are the continuous references to and connections with major events happening in India at the time the book is set in, the way in which the narrator seems to have omniscience that enables him to retell his family history in explicit detail, and also that the fact that the narrator is hurriedly trying to tell his tale before his life comes to an untimely end.
Similarities aside, the books are telling two quite separate tales and are highly enjoyable in their own right. However, if you happen to have both books on hand, I would recommend that you read 'Midnight's Children' first. This will give you the pleasure of recognising a couple of characters and events that are mentioned. I should also mention that another factor that will help you understand and enjoy this book more fully is a knowledge of the culture and history of India. Having said that, you could still enjoy the book immensely without such knowledge, you would just probably not notice Rushdie's little in-jokes that crop up every now and then, and perhaps the realistic way he uses Indian-English may be lost upon you.
Overall, I would definitely recommend this book. It is wonderfully imaginative, excellently written and completely compelling. I will definitely be reading more Rushdie in the future.
The beauty of Rushdie's writing is the way that he describes things in just the right level of detail (intricate enough to paint the scene perfectly, whilst not bogging the reader down), connects the comparatively small personal events in the lives of his character with what is going on in the world as a whole, and also his dark humour. Somehow he manages to make the characters in the book somewhat responsible or at least complicit in events that affect the whole of India or even the world. I also like the way in which the reader is never sure whether the highly unusual, even magical occurrences that Moor describes are supposed to be taken seriously, or if he is just using them as a way of justifying or excusing people's actions.
This is the second Salman Rushdie book I have read, the first being 'Midnight's Children'. My first impressions are that he certainly has a distinctive style, and that these two books are similar in tone, themes, and even share a couple of characters.
Like 'Midnight's Children', the narrator of the story is a man who has grown up with exceptional powers/ characteristics that have had a strong effect on his life. He has also grown up with an extremely interesting, chaotic and somewhat tragic family life and history, and has been continuously influenced by a string of powerful females who have come into his life and altered its course dramatically. Other similarities between the books are the continuous references to and connections with major events happening in India at the time the book is set in, the way in which the narrator seems to have omniscience that enables him to retell his family history in explicit detail, and also that the fact that the narrator is hurriedly trying to tell his tale before his life comes to an untimely end.
Similarities aside, the books are telling two quite separate tales and are highly enjoyable in their own right. However, if you happen to have both books on hand, I would recommend that you read 'Midnight's Children' first. This will give you the pleasure of recognising a couple of characters and events that are mentioned. I should also mention that another factor that will help you understand and enjoy this book more fully is a knowledge of the culture and history of India. Having said that, you could still enjoy the book immensely without such knowledge, you would just probably not notice Rushdie's little in-jokes that crop up every now and then, and perhaps the realistic way he uses Indian-English may be lost upon you.
Overall, I would definitely recommend this book. It is wonderfully imaginative, excellently written and completely compelling. I will definitely be reading more Rushdie in the future.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
My First Rushdie
This was my first Salman Rushdie novel, bought on a whim. Despite many tempting distractions I found it unputdownable.
Published on 28 Jun 2004 by Mrs. S. A. Thornley
brilliant
salman rushdie's mastery of the english language is second to none. His books are extremely clever and gripping from start to finish. Read more
Published on 5 May 2001
Absolutely Brilliant
A wonderful read from start to finish. Rushdie combines humour and tragedy in the most skillful of ways. Read more
Published on 28 Oct 1999
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