1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910783756403321

Autore

Clark Roger Y (Roger Young), <1960->

Titolo

Stranger gods [[electronic resource] ] : Salman Rushdie's other worlds / / Roger Y. Clark

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Montreal ; ; Ithaca [N.Y.], : McGill-Queen's University Press, c2001

ISBN

1-282-94519-X

9786612945199

0-7735-6880-8

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (249 p.)

Disciplina

823/.914

Soggetti

Cosmology in literature

Fantasy fiction, English - History and criticism

Mysticism in literature

Mythology in literature

Religion in literature

Supernatural in literature

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Includes index.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references (p. [213]-219) and index.

Nota di contenuto

Front Matter -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Works of A.S. Rushdie -- Time-Line: History, Culture, and Rushdie’s Fiction -- A Jungle of Books -- When Worlds Collide -- Grimus: Worlds upon Worlds -- Midnight’s Children: The Road from Kashmir -- Shame: An Other World Strikes Back -- The Satanic Verses: Dreamscapes of a Green-Eyed Monster -- Post-Verses -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index

Sommario/riassunto

Clark's exploration of Rushdie's novels works on at least three levels. First, he clarifies and interprets Rushdie's often puzzling references to figures such as Loki and Shiva, settings such as the mountains of Qaf and Kailasa, and experiences such as the annihilation of the self and the temptations of the Muslim Devil, Iblis. Second, he demonstrates how otherworldy motifs work with or against each other, fusing or clashing with Dantean, Shakespearean, and other literary forms to create hybrid characters, plots, and themes. Finally, he argues that Rushdie's brutal assault on tradition and taboo is mitigated by his secular idealism and his subtle homage to mystical ideals of the past.



This novel interpretation, which presents Rushdie's first five novels as a heterogeneous yet consistent body of work, will challenge and delight not only Rushdie scholars but anyone interested in comparative religion and mythology, iconoclasm, and the interplay of Western and Eastern literary forms.