Banned in India before publication, this immense novel by Booker Prize-winner
Rushdie ( Midnight's Children ) pits Good against Evil in a whimsical and
fantastic tale. Two actors from India, "prancing" Gibreel Farishta and "buttony,
pursed" Saladin Chamcha, are flying across the English Channel when the first
of many implausible events occurs: the jet explodes. As the two men plummet to
the earth, "like titbits of tobacco from a broken old cigar," they argue, sing
and are transformed. When they are found on an English beach, the only survivors
of the blast, Gibreel has sprouted a halo while Saladin has developed hooves,
hairy legs and the beginnings of what seem like horns. What follows is a series
of allegorical tales that challenges assumptions about both human and divine
nature. Rushdie's fanciful language is as concentrated and overwhelming as
a paisley pattern. Angels are demonic and demons are angelic as we are propelled
through one illuminating episode after another. The narrative is somewhat
burdened by self-consciousness that borders on preciosity, but for Rushdie fans
this is a splendid feast.

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