East, West: Stories

I picked up this collection of Rushdie's short stories mostly because it contained "The Prophet's Hair" which I hadread previously, and because I was intrigued by the suggestive story premises. A story about Yorick? Christopher Columbus? I am a fairly recent novitiate into the world of Rushdie (the only other novel of his I've read is"Midnight's Children"), and I must say I am continued to be amazed. Rushdie crafts believable worlds which, outwardly fantastic or not, suggest the possibility of elusive magic just out of reach but still quite tangible. He has an uncanny ear for dialogue; one is almost to be able to literally "hear" the words spoken by his characters, especially the Anglo-Indian spoken by characters from his homeland.There are nine stories in this volume, and though it is a quick read (I was able to read through the entire work in a single two hour sitting), the stories are immensely immersive. The stories are divided into three sections representing not only the locales for the setting, but also the cultural outlook of the characters described. The "East" stories blend the mysticism and political awareness I was familiar with from the previous Rushdie book I'd read, while the "West" stories reflect the fantastic madness of our Western culture. It's in the "East, West" section that Rushdie is his strongest. These stories deal with the collision of Rushdie's two backgrounds and the conflicts that arise from the struggle to maintain an identity between the confliction spheres of influence.This is perhaps a better introduction to Rushdie than "Midnight's Children". Not only did I have the cushion of reading a story I was already acquainted with, I did not have to struggle with the curious idioms of speech and political events that were unfamiliar to a child of the West. I still really liked "Children" and plan to digest more Rushdie, those seeking to begin their foray into Rushdie's polyglot world might do well to start with this crossroads of a book.

I'm torn on what to think about this book. It's a collection of short stories so some are awesome and some are okay. But a couple were completely confusing. There was one about Hamlet, kind of, and I didn't get the point whatsoever. It was such a quick read, however, that I quickly got through the stories that didn't appeal to me. Overall, I enjoyed the glimpse into a culture I know so very little about. I will read more by this author.

Very good short stories about the east, the west and all the people in the middle. Just to show that even if the context are different, people are all the same.Brevi storie sull'est, sull'ovest e tutte le persone che si trovano in mezzo. Il modo giusto per mostrare che, anche se il contesto é differente, le persone sono sempre le stesse.

I always get lost in his stories. His characters, words, his plots are enticing. I have always enjoyed his work.

Compilation of short stories written by Rushdie. Comparing and contrasting Western (Britain) experiences to Eastern (India). Some stories are funny, others are thought-provoking.

This book was both entertaining and thought provoking. Each story drew me in in different but equally exciting ways, and after each I mulled it over in my head.

I am not a big fan of Rushdie. I read this collection for my English class and found his works to be very confusing and hard to understand.However, the delivery was on time as expected.

I liked only 2 stories. I kept reading hoping the others would be like those 2. Could not finish some of them.

The question of identity; both in a geographical, cultural and personal sense, has always been at the heart of Rushdie's works, and nowhere more so, than in 'East, West'. Containing nine short stories (three from 'East', three from 'West' and three from 'East, West'), this is a book which deals with everything from immigration and religious fanaticism, to the identity of Shakespeare's Yorick, and Neil Sedaka songs; with the results ranging from sublime, to decent. The 'East' stories are of a more straightforward nature than their 'West' counterparts, but are also more successful - bringing together superb imagery, musings on tradition and religion, and creating some memorable characters; whereas the tales of 'West', whilst interesting to analyse and dissect, trip over themselves in a manner slightly too self-conscious and convoluted. That said, they still provide an interesting counterpart to the other two sections, and are far from being without merit, in and of themselves.The final of the book's three sections, 'East, West', is definitely the book's best; especially 'The Courter', the final and longest tale, which deals primarily with the unspoken love between the brain-damaged 'Mixed-Up', and the Indian migrant 'Certainly Mary', as well as it's narrator's own teenage heartbreaks, set to a soundtrack of Sam Cooke singles and Roy Orbison's soulful vocals. Fans of Rushdie will undoubtedly find much to like in 'East, West', even if it understandably lacks some of the epicly powerful scope and oustanding characterisation seen in longer texts, such as 'Midnight's Children' and 'Shalimar the Clown'. For the uninitiated, this is also a good place to begin with Rushdie's works, a book that is readable, thought-provoking, and characteristic of Rushdie's idiosyncratic style.

Some good reading but a bit difficult to relate to the Indian perspective/language of some of the stories. Otherwise, enjoyable enough

Rushdie y su East, West son una combinación de lo fantástico y lo real, de lo irreal y lo cotidiano ya que es un maestro de la incursión del diálogo que casi permite al lector entrar como sujeto activo en su coloridas historias, concretamente nueve. Fáciles de leer pues te permiten sumergirte en su mundo; se dividen en tres secciones que representan no sólo los lugares donde se producen, sino también el aspecto cultural de los personajes que las viven. Las historias del "Este" combinan el misticismo y la conciencia política del autor mientras que las historias del "Oeste" muestran la visión de occidente. En "Este, Oeste", Rusdhie muestra la lucha entre lo que vivió y vive y como ambos mundos entrelazados están en su interior. Buen libro de relatos cortos, efusivos, vibrantes y fascinantes de un autor como Salman que ya leí en el pasado y del que quería tener una copia en papel. Llegó antes de tiempo y en perfecto estado. Recomendado, por supuesto.

È una raccolta di storie brevi. L'edizione economica è stampata su carta leggera e di bassa qualità. L'autore utilizza spesso vocaboli forse indo-pachistani, per i quali sarebbe utile avere note esplicative.

An excellent read that is included the Harvard University course of Worldwide literature. The author immerses one into the life experiences that are enmeshed in the culture of the place and our times.