The Ground Beneath Her Feet

It's almost not fair that I even post this recommend because I'm not even half-way through this book yet. However, it's one of the most enjoyable, entertaining, vibrant and clever books I've ever read.



This is basically a retelling of the Orpheus / Eurydice story, but set in the 1950's, 60's and 70's in Bombay, London and New York.

Everything about this book feels alive. From the very first few pages, you already have a clear picture Vina Apsara, the "her" in the title. Characters are revealed so vividly, that you instantly know each and every one of them. You can picture the fez on Darius Xerses Cama's head, and you imagine the dopey smile on his crippled son's face.

Rushdie so effectively conveys the passions, worries and fears of each character. Every character's entire personality is told in just a few sentences. And when Rushdie spends a hundred pages devoted to just a few main characters, you feel as if you've lived their lives a hundred times.

The other characters are the cities themselves. I've only been reading Bombay so far and am just getting to London, but I feel like I know Bombay and lived there for decades during a period of great change. Change is really what is at the heart of this story. Lives change, cities change and so does the world around them. Change occurs across generation, and affects politics, music, culture, families and individual lives.

I could describe this book forever and never quite explain it. Rushdie is a master of language in a way that Nabokov was.

I highly, highly, highly recommend this book. And if I finish it and that changes, I'll be sure to let you know. Just to help convince you that this could be awesome, here is a picture of Salman Rushdie.