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gardnerhere's review against another edition
3.0
Does anyone have more fun on the the page than Rushdie?
This is far from my favorite of his work, and I don't suspect these stories will linger with me long, but the page-by-page reading experience is still first rate. Each paragraph has some moment of wonder. "Free Radio" (a tricky blend of humor and pathos) and "The Prophet's Hair" (a distorted fable) are the standouts.
This is far from my favorite of his work, and I don't suspect these stories will linger with me long, but the page-by-page reading experience is still first rate. Each paragraph has some moment of wonder. "Free Radio" (a tricky blend of humor and pathos) and "The Prophet's Hair" (a distorted fable) are the standouts.
edith01's review against another edition
3.0
my favourite stories
1. the harmony of spheres
2. the courter
3. at the auction of the Ruby slippers
4. Good advice is rarer than rubies
the others I didn't rlly like tbh
1. the harmony of spheres
2. the courter
3. at the auction of the Ruby slippers
4. Good advice is rarer than rubies
the others I didn't rlly like tbh
blueboxreader's review against another edition
4.0
a very meloncholy book of short stories, but beautifully written
cooldwaters's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
skathic's review against another edition
3.0
I wanted to like these stories, I really did. Some of them were interesting...I don't know, maybe I'm not refined enough or something, but some of these stories seemed downright pointless. I would finish one installation and think "why did I just read that?" My dad suggested the book would be a good intro to Rushdie, and unfortunately, I might just not be a fan. =(
_clelia's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
anthofer's review against another edition
4.0
Some duds ("Yorick," "Columbus,") but most of these stories show that Rushdie could have a solid career as a short-story writer if he wants to give up the novels. As the stories stretch out, they do get better; "Chekov and Zulu" is quietly tragic and the line in "The Courter" about his mother and grandmother getting robbed by the Beatles is loudly funny. Overall the "East, West" stories are the best, the "West" stories aren't generally as good, and the "East" stories fall somewhere in the middle, which all makes intuitive sense.
chechilin's review against another edition
3.0
Thought the "East" portion of stories were very gripping and written quite nicely, but kinda lost me on the "West" portion, most notably with the Christopher Columbus/ Isabella fanfic??
ananyaraghavan's review against another edition
4.0
First book I’ve read by Rushdie, and definitely the first of many! Such a beautifully written collection of short stories showcasing different aspects of life in the geographic regions highlighted, and centering around Indian culture with many cultural and historical references. The range of people and experiences highlight the vast differences and yet unexpected parallels between the East and the West.
knewcamp's review against another edition
2.0
I’ll start off by saying that I’m not really a fan or avid reader of short stories, so this probably impacted my thoughts on the book. A few of the short stories were entertaining, but overall I kind of missed the point or the central thesis of all of the stories. Not a huge fan, but it was a quick read.