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I liked the story, the characters are very well built (it means Rushdie has described them in a so detailed way that the reader "forgets" they are fictitious and start to think of them as real people living and performing actions in the far places where the story takes place).
Rushdie critiques the Taliban again - and we can see that in many lines - but as far as I know this time he did not had to hide in many places among London. I did not read the "Satanic Verses" and I don't know if in this book from the 80's the critiques to the taliba are severer than in the Shalimar's one, but for some reason I don't think the Taliban is offering a reward for Rushdie's head this time. I don't know the answer for this difference btween the 80's situation and the nowadays'.
As I said, all the characters are very wekk created, their data is very detailed and this makes all of them interesting. But there is one of them that I became most interested, and this is not Shalimar. (Actually, Shalimar doesn't seem to be the central character of the tale. There are other characters that are more... how can I say... important. Yes.) But the one that I'm to wirte about is Boony, the Shalimar's ex-girlfriend. In the beginning of the she was a gorgeous girl and because of that she became to be estimated in her village. For me, every man wanted her, even tough she was 14, what is the first weird thing about her sotry. Anyway, Max wanted her too. She loved Shalimar, but he did not have money; and Max had a lot. So she chooses to spend the rest of her life whith the rich one. By this time of the reading, I started to think it would be another of those annoying love stories that the girl aways stays with the poor, good and young guy in the end. But It isn't. Shalimar never gets the girl back to him. And he did not even want to. The girl gets fat and unhappy. She gets so fat that they had to demolish the wall of Max's house to bring her out.
One bizarre thing is that before accepting to go live with Max, the girl tells him she would never fell pleasure with him. I can't understand how a man agrees to sleep with a woman that will not like the sex. Man usually hate when women fake. And Max knew she would be aways faking. That's a reason to be ashamed of to take a girl to bed and never be able to make she onjoy it. Poor Max, he loved (or not) the wrong girl for him.
The only thing Max had that she liked was the money - and the chocolates. She became to live in a apartment in Deli and, according to the deal she had agreed with Max, she could not go out. Never go out. She tough the money and the luxury would be enough to make her happy. But it wasn't. And all the pleasure she had in her miserable life after the deal was the chocolates. And she ordered a lot of it. So she got fat. And there was a time Max did not wanted her again.
She was an arrogant and annoying girl.
And she had to come back to Shalimar, her ex. So when this guy says he would never want her again I tough to myself: "oh, lol". And when he killed her I tough "that's a crazy man". If he wanted vengeance he would better let her live. But he didn't. He was a killed just before it, so... well, as I said he killed her.
I can understand why did this girl accept the deal: she wanted easy money. But what I can't understand is why did Max decide to sleep with her even tough she was an arrogant and bad-faking sex partner. That is an inexplicable thing. And I am not talking about love, but physical attraction. but love would feet this opinion too. She did not love or feel any attraction for Max.
8/10
