Book Club: East West by Salman Rushdie

Author Sir Salman Rushdie is perhaps most famous as the subject of several assassination attempts and death threats, including a fatwa calling for his death issued by Ayatollah Khomeini, the supreme leader of Iran in the 1980s. These followed the release of his fourth novel, ‘The Satanic Verses.’

For this month, we’re reading Rushdie’s set of short stories set variously in Asia and in Europe. Some are set in both. Many critics believe that the central themes of each of his stories are drawn from his personal experiences as an immigrant in England during the time of the fatwa which threatened his life.

The book is divided into three main sections, entitled "East", "West", and "East, West." The first two contain stories from their respective geographical areas, while the "East, West" section draws on both worlds, influenced by each other.

Among the fabulous plots of these stories, a rickshaw driver writes letters home describing his film star career in Bombay; a mispronunciation leads to romance and an unusual courtship in sixties London; two childhood friends turned diplomats live out fantasies hatched by Star Trek; and Christopher Columbus dreams of consummating his relationship with the queen of Spain.

The stories themselves are written in a variety of styles, and different reviewers have called them “heartwarming,” “punchy,” “magical” and even “hilarious.” Let’s see what we think of them…!