A Book Review on Rushdie's Shalimar the Clown

contrary to it's title which sounds like the story of a clown straight from a children's book, rushdie's novels are never intended for children. his novels deal with the changing faces in postmodern societies which include cultural hybridity, liminal spaces, national identity, and sociopolitical stands which include Nehru's secular model as well as communalism which he dislikes.

if in midnight's children the hybrid space is his beloved city bombay, and in the moor's last sigh it's Palimpstine, then in shalimar the clown, the hybrid space is kashmir. he writes abt the beauty and the harmony that existed in kashmir as different cultures and religions co-exist, and the marriage of boonyi kaul with and shalimar the clown proves this. rushdie also speaks of elements which threaten the peace of kashmir - which include communalism and the arrival of mat sallehs.

the story ends in a morbid note though. killing secularism and the chances of cultural hybridity is the same like killing ourselves. may be that's his message. on a personal note, i dont quite like this novel for its morbidity. i prefer Midnight's Chiildren for its brilliance and exuberance. which, of course, won him the Booker of the Booker prize...