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Nov 29, 2017
In this novel Salman Rushdie brings together the mythologies of works such as "Arabian Nights" with contemporary American creations such as Graphic novels. He is a writer who lived and wrote with the oppression of a death threat because of a specific novel, described in detail in "Joseph Anton". Here he continues to celebrate the freedoms of literature, no matter the political situation. The conflict in the novel is, in case you missed when it happened, the Great Djinn War (or perhaps Wars - human vs Djinn as well as Djinn vs Djinn). However, contemporary religous struggles are not ignored. With a pointed examination of the construction of divinity, Rushdie has one of the Djinn there's only one word that justifies that as far as these savages are concerned: the word of this or that god. In the name of a divine entity we can do whatever the hell we like and most of those fools down there will swallow it." During this apocalyptic struggle, Rushdie sustains his post-modern slant: "It seemed that digression was the true principle of the universe, that the only real subject was the way the subject kept changing." And he sustains his wry sense of humor. Given the heavy testing Salman Rushdie has had to endure to write freely, this novel felt like a weight had been lifted from the author's shoulders. He has always utilized elements of cultures from the world. In "The Ground Beneath her Feet", he explored what if popular musicians from India became as large world-wide as Michael Jackson. In this work, elements of the graphic novel become entangled in a world-wide power struggle, and it is somehow fun. Toni Morrison praised Rushdie as a true international writer for the world. His position is unique, yet he continues to create that unique position with works such as this one.