The Satanic Verses Paperback - 1997

Name: The Satanic Verses
Price: 9.95 USD
Availability: InStock
Author: Rushdie, Salman
ISBN: 9780805053098

by Salman Rushdie

Browse more copies for sale ↓

About this book

The Satanic Verses is a novel written by Salman Rushdie, published in 1988. It weaves together multiple narratives and explores themes of identity, religion, and cultural conflict, including the idea of cultural hybridity and the ways in which individuals negotiate their identities in a multicultural world.

The novel begins with a fictionalized version of the true story of the hijacking of an airplane from Bombay to London, which ends with the two main characters, Gibreel and Saladin, miraculously surviving a fall from the plane. The rest of the novel takes place in a dream-like state that turns the work into a magical realism novel.

The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie was criticized by many conservative groups, which defined the book as blasphemous and offensive to Islam. Rushdie was even the subject of a fatwa, or religious edict, calling for his death. Due to the controversies that led to its publication, The Satanic Verses has been banned in several countries such as Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt.

From the publisher

Gibreel Farishta, India's legendary movie star, and Saladin Chamcha, the man of a thousand voices, fall earthward from a bombed jet toward the sea, singing rival verses in an eternal wrestling match between good and evil.

First Edition Identification

The Satanic Verses book was first published in London in 1988 by Viking. The first edition had a price of £12.95, and copies with the original wraparound band are very scarce. It was bound in blue cloth with lettering to the spine in gilt. The original unclipped dust jacket was also navy with lettering in red.