After a long few months, I finally finished Satanic Verses last night. Though a lot of the Indian cultural references went over my head, it was an incredible read. He sure has a way with words. Of course, the reaction to that book was wildly inappropriate, especially since the offending material was already well-known in other writings dating back to medieval times. I guess Rushdie was a convenient scapegoat at the time of the book's publication, and based on a little research I did, it seems like the ayatollah was looking for a way to increase his popularity. The fatwa against Rushdie was an easy way to accomplish that. All that being said, I think focusing on religion is unfair to this book since it's about cultural identity. The characters are caught between two culturally diverse worlds and are shunned by the people in both. I'm sure there are parallels between the book's themes and India's history because I hear Rushdie likes to do that sort of thing, but I don't know enough about India's history to make that connection. And I'm also sure parts of the book are semi-autobiographical (leaving India to go to a foreign country, coming back home, etc.). Overall, it's a great book, and now I know why many people think so highly of Rushdie's writing. I'm going to give myself a couple of months to recover from this difficult read, and then it's on to Midnight's Children.