I stumbled upon this book by accident. But, since I did like his Enchantress of Florence, decided to give it a try. For various reasons, it took me more than three months to complete the reading. I can only say that any other book and my patience would have been tested.
Its difficult to narrate the storyline and I am not competent to comment on other aspects of the book. So, can only share my overall impression of this experience of reading SV. And that is: its worth reading. All that has been said about this book is true. It deserves all the accolades and all the brick-bats. It deserves the Booker of Bookers and the fatwa also.
Rushdie is a great story teller and totally (and intentionally) disrespectful, almost blasphemous.
