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Shame

3.86 of 5 stars 3.86 · rating details · 4,746 ratings · 242 reviews

Omar Khayyam Shakil had three mothers who shared the symptoms of pregnancy, as they did everything else, inseparably. At their six breasts, Omar was warned against all feelings and nuances of shame. It was training which would prove useful when he left his mothers' fortress (via the dumb-waiter) to face his shameless future. As captivating fairy-tale, devastating political...more

Paperback, 287 pages

Published 1995 by Vintage (first published 1983)

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Oct 29, 2007 Lizzie rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Everyone

Shelves: alltimefavorites, twisted-life

I reread SHAME this weekend and was once again reminded why Rushdie is one of the greatest authors of our time. In Shame he addresses may levels but this last reading I focused on how he has intertwined the relationship of Shame throughout the levels of our human experience. He draws his characters so that there many layered motivations and convoluted histories speak to more than simply internal shame but also how actions on level produce effects that reach as broad as national politics and hist...more I reread SHAME this weekend and was once again reminded why Rushdie is one of the greatest authors of our time. In Shame he addresses may levels but this last reading I focused on how he has intertwined the relationship of Shame throughout the levels of our human experience. He draws his characters so that there many layered motivations and convoluted histories speak to more than simply internal shame but also how actions on level produce effects that reach as broad as national politics and historical change. He makes the very clear statement that shame is not necessarily tied to innocence vs. guilt but that external factors on a person produce the monsters of human emotion that cannot be reigned in by living a moral life. The absence of shame or an attempt to seclude one's self from the world and its shame make no difference in the human arena and create the same returning responsibilities to the soul and the world.

Rushdie personifies human emotions as physical entities and yet also bridges the parallels into macro-society. His context of bring the external and internal into a single overreaching view of humanity are brilliant. It is hard not to react to such clear and lucent observations.

A quote on the subject of Shame: "... But we are discussing an abstract, an entirely ethereal vending machine; so into the ether goes the unfelt shame of the world. When I submit, it is siphoned of by the misfortunate few, janitors of the unseen, their souls buckets into which squeegees drip what was spilled. We keep such buckets in special cupboards. Nor do we think of them much, although they clean up our dirty waters.
This is one of many times when Rushdie illustrates the transference of our guilt, shame, hatred and darker moments onto those around us in an effort to survive our pride. His vending machine metaphor is actually very well developed beyond this short quote and I suggest you look it up - it is about a page and brilliants demonstrates how we take what we can - and let the rest drip into society at large to create the personality of a generation. It is a lesson on owning up and also survival.

As usual, Rushdie's characters are one of a kind, vividly drawn and scented humans. Their stories are entangled, fascinating and dark.

Please take the time to read this book, it will move you in very different directions and take you on a journey through time, confluence and generational shame.(less)

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Nov 12, 2012 شادي عبد العزيز rated it 5 of 5 stars

كما توقعت لما تخذلني الرواية، وتظهر سمات مشتركة بينها وبين الرواية السابقة (أطفال منتصف الليل)

استخدام التاريخ كمادة حكائية، ولكن التاريخ عند سلمان رشدي ليس هو كل الحكاية، فقط هو أداة، جزء من بناء الحدوتة، والحدوتة ليست دقيقة تاريخيا بالضرورة، كما أنها ليست مشغولة كثيرا بسؤال الحقيقة، سلمان رشدي قادر على تقديم حدوتة جميلة، وإجبارك على تصديقهاـ كما أن التناقض بين معرفة القارئ بحدث تاريخي معين وما يضفيه عليه رشدي من خيالات مثير للضحك أحيانا، ومثير للخيال في أكثر الأحيان.

لكل شخصية في روايتي سلمان رش...more كما توقعت لما تخذلني الرواية، وتظهر سمات مشتركة بينها وبين الرواية السابقة (أطفال منتصف الليل)

استخدام التاريخ كمادة حكائية، ولكن التاريخ عند سلمان رشدي ليس هو كل الحكاية، فقط هو أداة، جزء من بناء الحدوتة، والحدوتة ليست دقيقة تاريخيا بالضرورة، كما أنها ليست مشغولة كثيرا بسؤال الحقيقة، سلمان رشدي قادر على تقديم حدوتة جميلة، وإجبارك على تصديقهاـ كما أن التناقض بين معرفة القارئ بحدث تاريخي معين وما يضفيه عليه رشدي من خيالات مثير للضحك أحيانا، ومثير للخيال في أكثر الأحيان.

لكل شخصية في روايتي سلمان رشدي حدوتة مسلية، لا يُستَثنى من ذلك حتى الأبطال الفرعيين، سلمان رشدي كريم في التفاصيل، قاسي في النهايات، ولكل شخصية إما قرين تكرر حدوتته بشكل من الأشكال، أو عدو تقليدي يصعدان معاً ويهزمان معاً، أو كليهما.

في الروايتين لا تنشغل كثيراُ بتوقع ما سيحدث، بقدر انشغالك ب (كيف يحدث)، سلمان رشدي حكاء ماهر، قد يلمح في بداية الحدوتة لمصير الأبطال، والتلاقيات بين الشخصيات، وقد تعرف بمقتل بطل الرواية على يد فلان في بداية الرواية، ولكن كيف ستصل الأحداث إلى هذه النقطة؟؟، هذا السؤال دائما في مركز الحدوتة، والحدوتة أقرب لحكاية شفهية مليئة بالاستطرادات، ولا تلتزم بالخط المستقيم والترتيب الزمني للأحداث إلا في أضيق الحدود.

للمرة الثانية يظهر احتقار سلمان رشدي غير العقلاني بالمرة للمتدينين من جميع الديانات، وكذلك استخدامه للتدين كمادة أساسية للسخرية، والسخرية أساسية في حكي سلمان رشدي، والبغض ليس خاصا بالإسلام تحديداً بقدر ما بغض عام لعقلية المتدين ومعتقده الديني.

رواية رشدي بناء هندسي من الشخصيات والأحداث، من المسلي تتبع العلاقات بينها ومحاولة توقعها أحيانا، والاستسلام للحدث وانتظاره في أحداث أخرى، وبرغم وصف هذا البناء ب(الهندسي) فهذا لا يعني بالمرة جفاف الحدوتة أو تقديمها كتاريخ معروف أو غير مسلي، هذا الرجل قادر على التسلية والسخرية والحكي.

مقطع من الرواية، راعيت فيه ألا أحرق أي أحداث على من لم يقرأها:
أين تُراها تذهب بحسب تصورك؟
أقصد المشاعر التي كان يجب الشعور بها، إنما لا يشعر بها أحد، كالندم على كلمة فظة مثلاً، الشعور بالذنب، الضيق، الاحتشام، الخزي، العار؟
لنتخيل أن العار سائل، لنقل إنه شراب غازي حلو تهترئ له الأسنان، موجود في آلة لبيع المشروبات، اضغط الكوب الأيمن يخرج لك كوب ينصب فيه جدول دافق من هذا السائل .. فكيف يمكنك أن تضغط الزر؟ ستقول: لا شأن لي به، كما لا شأن لي باختراع كذبة، أو مضاج
عة فتاة بيضاء لفتى أبيض، أو ولادة مولود من جنس غير مرغوب فيه .. إذاً بضغط الزر ستخرج العاطفة ذات الزبد متدفقة فتشرب ملء بطنك .. لكن كم من الكائنات البشرية ترفض اتباع هذه التعليمات البسيطة!
أشياء مخزية تجري، كذب، تحلل، عدم احترام للأكبر سناً، تقصير في حب الوطن، افتراع خاطئ في وقت الانتخابات ، إفراط في الأكل، خيانات زوجية، روايات تفضخ سيراً ذاتية، غش في ورق اللعب، سوء معاملة النساء، رسوب في الامتحانات، تهريب، رمي لاعب الكريكيت لمجموعة عصيّه في اللحظة الحرجة من مباراة اختيارية: وكلها تجري دون استحياء أو خجل.
إذاً ما الذي يحدث لكل ذلك العار الذي لا يشعر به أحد؟ ما الذي يحدث لأكواب ذلك الشراب المتدفق من الآلة الذي لا يشربه أحد؟ لنعد للتفكير مرة ثانية بآلة البيع تلك، الزر يضغط، لكن حينئذ تتدخل يد لا تعرف الحياء وتلقي بالكوب، أي أن ضاغط الزر لا يشرب ما طلبه، وهكذا يراق على الأرض سائل العار ليشكل بحيرة كثيرة الزبد حول الآلة.
لكننا نناقش قضية مجردة، آلة بيع وهمية تماماً، إذاً في الأثير يمضي عار العالم الذي لا يشعر به أحد، ومن ثم يمتصه القلة من سيئي الحظ، بوابو العالم غير المرئي، لتغدو نفوسهم سطولاً يقطر فيها من المماسح ما قد أريق من قبل، ونحن نحتفظ بهذه بسطول كهذه في خزائن خاصة لكننا لا نفكر بها كثيراً رغم أنها تخلصنا من مياهنا القذرة.

العار - سلمان رشدي(less)

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Apr 29, 2008 John rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: india

Although I always list Rushdie as one of my favorite authors of all time, it had been almost ten years since I picked up one of his books. So when I came across Shame in 12th Street books, I decided to dive back in.

I loved the way that the story kept leaping ahead of itself, rushing ahead like an impatient child to tell you things that wouldn’t happen until much later, and when they did happen how different they were from the expectations that had been seeded. The narrator of Shame, like many of...more

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Mar 22, 2009 Mary rated it 4 of 5 stars

I think Rushdie is one of the best writers of our time. He can describe a whole culture in two sentences. He provides an eye-opening glimpse into a society that is totally foreign and bewildering to me. Like "Midnight's Children," this novel is populated with characters who aren't like people you know, yet they're authentic.

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Apr 17, 2013 Tancredi rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: indiani, sfida-comodino, sfida-mondo, sfida-alfabeto

"E' tra la vergogna e la spudoratezza l'asse su cui noi ruotiamo; su entrambi questi poli le condizioni meteorologiche sono le più estreme, le più feroci. Spudoratezza e vergogna: le radici della violenza."

Dopo il successo del suo primo vero grande romanzo, Rushdie tenta di bissare l'operazione, narrando questa volta del Pakistan, di nuovo ricorrendo a elementi del realismo magico. Con risultati decisamente deludenti. Se in I figli della mezzanotte Rushdie è stato capace di costruire un romanzo...more "E' tra la vergogna e la spudoratezza l'asse su cui noi ruotiamo; su entrambi questi poli le condizioni meteorologiche sono le più estreme, le più feroci. Spudoratezza e vergogna: le radici della violenza."

Dopo il successo del suo primo vero grande romanzo, Rushdie tenta di bissare l'operazione, narrando questa volta del Pakistan, di nuovo ricorrendo a elementi del realismo magico. Con risultati decisamente deludenti. Se in I figli della mezzanotte Rushdie è stato capace di costruire un romanzo imponente, corale nonostante il predominio del protagonista assoluto, fondendo in un intreccio indissolubile storia politica dell'India, magia e storia personale, La vergogna è un romanzetto che esplicita la sua tesi, distaccandola da una storia confusa, ben poco allettante, sempre più noiosa e inconcludente.
L'esordio del romanzo è ben promettente e stimolante: una singolare triade femminile, una reggia- prigione, un figlio senza un padre e con tre madri. Ben presto però Omar scompare dalla scena, e con lui il sapore fiabesco, mentre Rushdie concede sempre più spazio alle vicende politico-militari del Pakistan e delle due famiglie più importanti: intrighi, giochi di potere e quant'altro che stritolano il lettore in una annoiata confusione mentre il senso sembra scivolare via inesorabilmente. Quando Omar ricompare sulla scena, lo si trova a fianco di Sufiya, una giovane bellissima ma ritardata, paziente di un Omar adulto e medico. Nella loro strana coppia, elaborazione tutt'altro che fiabesca di una pakistana La Bella & la Bestia, si ritrovano a incarnare gli spiriti contraddittori del Pakistan: vergogna e spudoratezza. E nemmeno questo è certo: perché se all'inizio non v'è dubbio che il sempre più grasso Omar sia la Bestia, ben presto la sola Sufiya si rivela essere volto doppio del Pakistan, Bella e Bestia insieme, posseduta da un male, uno spirito, o chissà cosa, che non è altro che la Vergogna stessa.
Nell'elaborazione della sua tesi della Vergogna, Rushdie è convincente, illuminante e disarmante. Singolare è la scelta, esibita per lo più nella prima parte, di interrompere la narrazione con interventi in prima persona, passaggi didascalici delle sue intenzioni, oppure autobiografici. Ma nella tendenza generale che vede la storia di intrighi prevalere su tutto, mentre il senso si va perdendo e annacquando, anche queste piacevoli e interessanti incursioni si fanno rare, fino a sparire. Ciò che resta è un romanzo, come detto, dalle buone premesse, ma che finisce con l'annoiare a morte il lettore. (less)

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Jan 10, 2008 Nicholas Hodler rated it 2 of 5 stars

The book is not bad and covers a very interesting topic in a fantasy Pakistan. However the fantasy world is pushed a bit too far and many analogies are a bit too self consciously explicit. By allowing himself to detach the story so far from "reality" it makes the thematic aspect of the book come out stronger, but at the expense of the narrative.

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Mar 12, 2013 Jordon rated it 4 of 5 stars

Rushdie has a very unique style to his storytelling; he narrates as a character outside of his tale, yet is wholly invested in it. His tone is casual, imitating the convolutions of an orally told story with not all the bits told in order. In this way, he plays with temporal and spatial linearity very freely, giving hints of the future in tantalising teasers- but still manages to surprise the reader. Shame is about politics, but it is also about families, and failures, and the fractures that can...more

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Jun 07, 2012 Kailash rated it 3 of 5 stars

What do you say about a writer who is brilliant at his work, but uses it to highlight and exaggerate the negative aspects of life? I say its a shame. Its a shame that someone with Salman Rushdie's exceptional writing skills can't employ them in constructive writing. Instead, he chooses to write about the problems in the societies he used to inhabit. This most depressing aspect of his writing is most evident in this book, titled quite aptly, Shame.

The book is an encyclopedia of everything that co...more

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May 06, 2012 Carl Brush rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shame is fantastic--not in the pop sense of high quality, but in the literal sense of worlds beyond reality. The book is filled with strange beasts and diseases. It travels through vast realms of soul, spirit, government, psychology, medicine, history, politics, religion, philosophy. It takes place in a country that is “not quite Pakistan,” and in a time that ranges from prehistory to the present. I am quite sure that those versed in Indian/Afghan/Iranian history find reams of allegory in the re...more

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Jul 24, 2011 Rebecca rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I absolutely hated the first half of the novel. It seemed to drag on and on, introducing characters that I didn't find interesting in the slightest. However, it is interesting to note that as the book progresses, as the characters become more deranged (and consequently, more fascinating), I began to devour the book instead of checking how close I was to the end of a chapter every few pages.

Rushdie's style is sometimes a bit verbose, especially if you're not paying very close attention. However,...more

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Feb 01, 2011 Sha added it

The controversy surrounding the reign and relationship of late Prime Minister of Pakistan Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and his Commander-In-Chief at the time, Zia-Ul Haq has captured the imagination of the world for a long long time. I had heard vague stories about this conflict as a boy but had never really understood what had ensued before and after the successful coup that Zia undertook, overthrowing Bhutto and becoming the President of Pakistan himself. This was one of the primary points of attractio...more The controversy surrounding the reign and relationship of late Prime Minister of Pakistan Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and his Commander-In-Chief at the time, Zia-Ul Haq has captured the imagination of the world for a long long time. I had heard vague stories about this conflict as a boy but had never really understood what had ensued before and after the successful coup that Zia undertook, overthrowing Bhutto and becoming the President of Pakistan himself. This was one of the primary points of attraction that led me to read Salman Rushdie’s book, aptly titled, ‘Shame’.

Released in 1983, ‘Shame’ revolves around the lives of similar characters with very identical stories with a good amount of ‘RR’ – Rusdhie Realism – thrown in. The book opens with the life of Omar Khayyam, a boy borne to three sisters who live in a fortress like mansion in Nishapur (interestingly the same place the actual poet Umar Khayyam was born) somewhere on the border of Pakistan and Afghanistan. The sisters have locked themselves away from the world and use a contraption known as ‘The Dumb Waiter’ to correspond with the planet outside for their daily needs – rice, vegetables et al. Growing up in a sequestered wall-fort like this one, Omar is fed with the strong sense of void and a bizarre sense of issues (including vertigo and lack of self confidence) by the 3 sisters – Chunni, Munni and Bunny – out of which no one knows who the real mother is. Despite the boundaries that confine this Mowgli of a fellow, he continues feeding himself all the literature, arts and science he can find in books lying around the dusty closets. He masters several languages and becomes a self-taught scholar but he knows, he just knows, that he will become an anthill if he continues to stay with his mothers. With great effort he finally retaliates and tells them he needs to get out, much to their shock and surprise.

"Horrified maternal gasps. Six hands fly to three heads and take up hear-no-see-no-speak-no-evil positions."

They reluctantly let him go out and attend school from where he moves on to pursue medicine and becomes an immunologist. It is when he reaches Karachi, that he befriends the playboy millionaire Iskander Harappa (Isky – Bhutto) who is married to Rani Humayun. Also in this mix is General ‘Old Razor Guts’ – Raja Hyder (Zia) is an army hero who is married to Bilquis Kemal. After a shocking stillbirth (where the baby is strangulated by the umbilical cord), Bilquis bears two daughters – Sufia Zinobia Hyder (also called ‘Shame’) and Naveed Hyder (also called ‘Good News’).

The theme of shame continues as Sufia suffers a brain fever as a child and is clinically labeled as mentally challenged. She, as it turns out, thus becomes the receiving pot of all the shamefulness and shamelessness that the family has to offer, absorbing all of it within her until that sleeping subconscious of Sufia becomes an uncontrollable beast that rips off heads of turkeys and attacks Naveed’s groom on her wedding day. To keep a check on her behavior, Raza takes Omar’s help who ends up falling in love with this woman with a child’s brain.

Elsewhere, an awakening is taking place. On his 40th birthday Isky decides to put past him the flamboyancy of his money throwing years and follows his call for the nation. He forms the ‘Popular Front’ (as in PPP) and is idolized by his daughter Arjumound Harappa (also called ‘Virgin Ironpants’ given her obstinate will to reject men forever).

The story then follows a similar pattern based on actual events. Isky becomes the Prime Minister of the nation and does everything possible to ensure that the diplomats, the ambassadors, the other attaches are kept under his strong thumb. An approach some see as being down right dictatorial. It is in such headiness that Isky promotes Raza as the CIC despite the fact that Raza has several seniors above him. Given Raza’s non-political demeanor, Isky’s calculation is that he will have nothing to worry about. And this is where, as we have seen, Isky goes horribly wrong. Plagued with the fathering of ‘Shame’ in his own house, Raza starts getting annoyed at the way Isky goes about handling the system. Isky’s rude obnoxious attitude and a mouth that can spew out several foul creatures at once soon starts getting on Raza’s army honed nerves. It is then, that he decides to impose Martial Law in the country by leading a coup against Isky. Isky is arrested on the charges of murdering his brother’s son (Little Mir) and is thrown into the most hideous prison cells in the world and tortured in ways unimaginable. After 2 years of this, Isky is sentenced to death by hanging although as it turns out, Rani Humayun and Arjumound do not see rope marks on his neck when they examine the body. It is revealed that one of the army generals had shot Isky in the heart thanks to Isky’s belligerent and never-say-die mind-set. A move that then heralds the beginning of a Pakistan that is headed by the base mantra of faith as Sufia prepares to finally be taken over by the Beast completely.

‘Shame’ documents a lot of facts with Rushdie’s usual tonic of magic realism. Everything from Sufia’s drastic transformation from being the blushing child-in-a-woman to the ghastly beast with yellow fire in the eyes is portrayed with chilling descriptions. At one point I actually thought of Sufia herself as being a representation of the country. Born normal – attacked by an infliction – left with an adult body but an immature brain – now looked at with suspicion and fear. A beast within a child’s soul. It was in this metaphorical tribute that I found ‘Shame’ most successful at.

What this also did, for my own sake of historical know-how, is forced me to read up whatever there is to know about the Bhutt0-Zia reign. It was interesting to see the palpating synergy Bhutto had in his speeches (videos on YouTube) and the calm composed almost regressive approach that Zia shows in footage. I sometimes found myself wondering, what indeed would have happened had Bhutto not promoted Zia up the order? Would Pakistan become a very different country from what it is now? Or was Bhutto’s approach to things so predictably askew that his downfall was only a matter of time to which Zia became a reason? I guess we will never know.

‘Shame’ is a must read for those who want to know about that critical phase which proved to be the maker/breaker of the country’s future.(less)

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Feb 04, 2010 Tracy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2010

I decided to go for a Rushdie twofer and followed the Enchantress of Florence with Shame. Shame is a fictionalized vision of Pakistan (although the narrator states that the country depicted "is and is not" Pakistan) and focuses on the inter relationships and rise and fall of two politically powerful families. I know less than nothing regarding the history of Pakistan, but did a little Wiki-ing after I completed the novel. The political characters and sub plots were heavily based on Zulfikar Ali...more

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Sep 06, 2010 Laura rated it 5 of 5 stars

Probably one of the best things I've ever been lucky enough to stumble across. The country that's 'Pakistan but not Pakistan' is an amalgamation of countries throughout history, - and events in Pakistan are still clearly the focus. It's an imaginative reworking of history in the style of magic realism, a polemic against theocracy and tyranny, with his main characters based on Zulfikar Ali Bhutto & Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq; and my God, it's brilliant. I'd do it a serious injustice if I attempted t...more

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Jul 12, 2012 Dan rated it 4 of 5 stars

I wasn't sure what I was getting into with this book. I had first heard of Rushdie in relation to the fatwa against him issued by Ayatollah Khomeini and later learned that, along with Martin Amis and Ian McEwan, is one of the most influential and powerful writers in England from our parents' generation.

At any rate, this novel dramatizes the independence of Pakistan from India, its disastrous war in East Pakistan that resulted in the creation of Bangladesh, and its troubled political history, ve...more

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Jan 06, 2012 Furqan rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: south-asia, british-literature, postcolonialism, novels, postmodernism

This was my first encounter with the obscure genre of magical realism and Rushdie himself. The book is set in a fictional town of Pakistan or ‘Peccavistan’, although Rushdie elucidates that it can be any country because no one is immune to shame, even the ‘shameless’. It is an uncomfortable part of human existence which insidiously haunts our lives.

The book’s central plot deals with the relationship between Iskander Harappa and Raza Hyder, which are allegorically based on two of most influential...more

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Jul 12, 2011 Ricardo rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Acabo de terminar las últimas líneas de la novela. La narración me pareció dinámica, lo suficiente para atraparme sin asfixiar. De pronto oscura y espesa, hasta lúgrubre. Luego llena de luz del folclor, risas y de la exoticidad de estar leyendo sobre las costumbres de un país que me resulta tan lejano y a la vez más cerca de lo que inicialmente pensé. Los conflictos que surgen por el dinero, poder y estatus social son tan lastimosamente similiares aquí en México como en Pakistán.

Siempre que leo,...more

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Jul 17, 2010 Dave rated it 3 of 5 stars

This is a fairly solid, typical Rushdie outing which is a lot of fun but is not as satisfying as some of his more acclaimed novels. A magically fictionalized account of 2 influential leaders of Q, a country that may or may not be Pakistan (but certainly is). I had to check wikipedia, but this parallels the story of Pakistan's Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and his military rival General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq.

The 2 "main" characters (oddly not the 2 political giants who take up most of the sto...more

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May 14, 2012 Gabriel Nita rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Publicat de Salman Rushdie în 1983, așadar cu mult înainte ca acesta să devină faimos ca victimă a decretului religios al ayatolahului Khomeiny, Rușinea este un roman pe care l-am regăsit la o a doua lectură la fel de nedumeritor ca și la prima. Zic nedumeritor pentru că e o carte care în multe rânduri te face să întrevezi un uriaș potențial narativ și imaginar, dar se autosubminează cu promptitudine. Și regularitate. Nu o face prin prea mult scris, cazul altor romane ale autorului – nu e deloc...more Publicat de Salman Rushdie în 1983, așadar cu mult înainte ca acesta să devină faimos ca victimă a decretului religios al ayatolahului Khomeiny, Rușinea este un roman pe care l-am regăsit la o a doua lectură la fel de nedumeritor ca și la prima. Zic nedumeritor pentru că e o carte care în multe rânduri te face să întrevezi un uriaș potențial narativ și imaginar, dar se autosubminează cu promptitudine. Și regularitate. Nu o face prin prea mult scris, cazul altor romane ale autorului – nu e deloc o carte masivă – ci printr-o intenționată deconstrucție a firului narativ. Nu există un punct central al romanului, autorul migrează deconcertant între trei sau patru personaje principale și de cel puțin două ori mai multe personaje secundare. În plus, Salman Rushdie nu se sfiește să intervină direct în carte, vorbind despre resorturile intime ale cărții, punând sub semnul întrebării un personaj sau altul, prezentându-și dilemele, justificându-se sau acuzându-se, după caz. La intersecția dintre realism magic și postmodernism defiant, romanul are însă de pierdut, personajele devin schematice, false, coerența narativă se face țăndări, poveștile se pierd pe drum.

Poate ca o justificare , sau pentru o preîntâmpina acuzele politice (și totuși, citesc că la publicarea în Pakistan romanul a fost premiat), Rushdie încearcă în schimb să transforme povestea într-una simbolică. Țara în care are loc acțiunea e Pakistanul, dar ni se spune că nu, ar putea fi o alta, asemănătoare, universală. În centrul cărții se află cucerirea puterii de către Zulfikar Ali Bhutto și apoi înlăturarea sa prin lovitură armată de către Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, două personaje reale ale istoriei recente a Pakistanului, dar ni se spune că nu, personajele principale ar fi un Omar Khayyám și o Sufiya Zinobia. Mai mult, ni se explică clar – Omar simbolizează lipsa de rușine, iar Sufiya dimpotrivă, rușinea care te mistuie pe dinăuntru pentru a izbucni în violență. La mijloc, diversele considerații ale autorului despre dictatură și religie.

Mi-au plăcut poveștile fantastice rătăcite în această carte (rămâne marcantă cea din debut, a celor trei surori care se rup de lume pentru a crește împreună un copil din flori asumat colectiv), mi-a plăcut și strădania autorului de a descrie, explica și umaniza cititorului neinițiat un Pakistan confuz și etern oscilant, cel puțin ca imagine externă, între Iran și India.

Însă pe ansamblu nu pot descrie cartea decât ca pe un roman ratat. Unul pe care mi-aș fi dorit să-l fi scris fie Marquez, fie Vargas Llosa: subiectul ar fi fost perfect pentru amândoi.(less)

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Apr 28, 2013 Dragos C Butuzea rated it 4 of 5 stars

după marea dezamăgire cu seducătoarea din florența, iată-mă redescoperindu-l pe salman rushdie cel din copiii din miez de noapte. scriitorul care îngemănează realismul magic, cu socialul, politicul și psihologicul, prin ludicul postmodern. pentru rușinea, rushdie a fost premiat în 1984 de francezi cu premiul femina pentru roman străin.

un roman de numai 300 de pagini, un „rezumat“ al copiilor... și la fel de reușit (este scris chiar imediat după). acțiunea se petrece într-o țară utopică, dar rec...more după marea dezamăgire cu seducătoarea din florența, iată-mă redescoperindu-l pe salman rushdie cel din copiii din miez de noapte. scriitorul care îngemănează realismul magic, cu socialul, politicul și psihologicul, prin ludicul postmodern. pentru rușinea, rushdie a fost premiat în 1984 de francezi cu premiul femina pentru roman străin.

un roman de numai 300 de pagini, un „rezumat“ al copiilor... și la fel de reușit (este scris chiar imediat după). acțiunea se petrece într-o țară utopică, dar recunoaștem ușor pakistanul. recunoaștem luptele politice intestine, teocrația și tirania, dar și mentalitatea orientală, atât de exotică pentru noi, occidentalii.

evident că rushdie începe să se pregătească pentru provocările sale romanești la adresa politicii pakistaneze și a religiei islamice, provocări culminate cu versetele satanice. deși „inventează“ țări, orașe și personaje, cunoscătorii politicii pakistaneze recunosc în principalii eroi ai cărții pe președintele pakinstanului zulfikar ali bhutto în iskander harappa și pe generalul muhammad zia-ul-haq în generalul raza hyder. a nu se uita fiica, benazir bhutto, în roman fecioara arjumand, alias chiloți de tablă, viitoare prim ministru. căci femeile joacă, poate, cel mai importante roluri în roman.

Au fost odată ca niciodată două familii, ale căror destine nici moaartea nu le-a putut despărți. Crezusem, înainte de a începe, că aveam de a face cu o istorisire masculină aproape în exces, o saga a rivalităților sexuale, a ambițiilor, puterii, dominației, trădării, morții, răzbunării. Dar femeile par să fi preluat controlul. (p.191)

un trio de surori nebune, ce se claustrează singure într-un palat ca să nască din când în când copii. un doctor obez și destrăbălat, lispit de rușine, dar cel mai bun imunolog din țară. o femeie iepuroaică ce începe să nască gemeni: dupleți, tripleți, cvadrupleți, cvinteți etc. o femeie ce brodează 18 șaluri cu poveștile, unele sângeroase, din cariera politică a soțului ei. camere ce dispar, oameni care dispar, puf! pești care fug din calea dictatorilor. și o fetiță înapoiată mintal, poreclită „rușinea“, ce se va transforma dintr-o dată într-o bestie ucigașă.

... Barbaria poate apărea pe un teren cultivat, sălbăticia se poate ascunde sub cămașa bine călcată a decenței. Era, așa cum spusese mama sa, întruparea rușinii lor. (p.221)

Noi, cei care am fost crescuți cu rușine și onoare, încă pricepem un lucru care li se pare de neconceput popoarelor ce trăiesc într-o lume ulterioară morții lui Dumneazeu și tragediei: și anume, că oamenii sunt dispuși să sacrifice ceea ce iubesc mai mult pe lume pe altarul implacabil al mândriei. Printre rușine și nerușinare trece axa în jurul căruia ne învârtim; condițiile meteorologice la ambii acești poli sunt extreme, feroce. Nerușinare, rușine: rădăcinile violenței. (p.127)

cum se înlănțuie toate acestea e meritul scriitorului rushdie, ce-și continuă și-și va continua epopeile orientale postmoderne, realist-magice. și mi-era dor de aceste jocuri postmoderne, de secol trecut 20. de complicitățile cu cititorul, de relativizarea realității și a ficțiunii, de inserțiile biografice, de ironii, auto-ironii și pastișe.

un „basm“ perfect, ce curpinde în mrejele sale file de istorie pakistaneză. dar în care personajele nu sunt personalitățile istorice, iar pakistanul nu e pakistan. iar rushdie nu e rushdie.
o bună dovadă de literatură bună.
(less)

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Dec 15, 2010 Praj rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shame is an undesired sperm that impregnates human psychic with acute guilt and discomfort to procreate a shameless fiend amid continual cerebral labor pains. Molded on a fictionalized caricature of Pakistan’s opinionated and influential communal strata it incubates the embryonic mesh of brutality resulting in social and personal turmoil.

Rushdie along with his emotive quandary constantly appears to be a lost child meandering on the South Asian political-cultural perimeter. With Satanic Verses an...more

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May 01, 2011 Marianne rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shame is the third novel by Salman Rushdie. The narrator tells us novel is and is not about Pakistan. The main characters are Omar Khayyam Shakil (who represents shamelessness), Raza Hyder (read Zia-ul-Haq), his daughter Sufiya Zinobia (who represents shame), Iskander Harappa (read Zulfikar Ali Bhutto) and his daughter Arjumand Harappa, the virgin Ironpants (read Benazir Bhutto). Once again written in magical realism, the plot loosely follows events leading up to the reign of Bhutto and then the...more

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Apr 14, 2009 Amy rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Picking up a Rushdie book after 5 years, as I did last month, is like reading a Shakespeare play after 5 years. It takes a few pages to re familiarize yourself with the patterns and rhythms of the prose style, to fully take advantage of the layered depths of meaning in each phrase. When the music settles into place, it is a breathtaking experience. Rushdie uses an interesting technique of speaking directly to the reader as himself, referencing his own history or the true history of Pakistan. The...more

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Jan 30, 2011 Nikola rated it 3 of 5 stars

First of all I'd like to say that this was my first encounter with the great Salman Rushdie and I can see why he gets the reputation he deserves. He has a great imagination interleaved with experience and good writing skills to boot.

But secondly... He lied to me!!

Rushdie started off with a very interesting story with some main characters (declaring one of them as the unlikely/unconventional hero) and it took me a little bit to get used to his style of writing which I actually found quite absorbi...more

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Jan 04, 2008 Leilani rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: magical-realism

i finished this book the same day benazir bhutto (aka arjumand "virgin ironpants", according to the observer) was assasinated, how fitting. now i am on my way to read "midnight's children"!

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Jan 10, 2010 Steve rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Rushdie provides a tale of characters who embody the titular emotion along a scale from the shamefulness of Sufiya Zinobia, who even blushes at birth at her father's disappointment at her gender, to complete shamelessness, in the persona of Omar Khayyam Shakil. The novel cleverly dissects the political history of Pakistan, with the author's clear intention to represent the two heads of families as literary treatments of Benazhir Bhutto's father and his rival General Zia-ul-Haq. The various means...more

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Mar 26, 2007 Justin rated it 5 of 5 stars

One of the hardest books I've ever read but really really really brilliant. Plus Rushdie's being hunted by da Islams, and he's a complete asshole to boot, which makes for a great trifecta

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Jul 08, 2011 Mitchell rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I had started Midnight's Children when it was published years ago, but bogged down in the dense plot and numerous characters, and I never finished it. I felt like I was heading in the same direction with Shame. It occured to me that I should do a little research into the history of Pakistan and perhaps that would make it more enjoyable. I read up a little on the lives of Bhutto, Zia and the model for 'Ironpants': Benazir Bhutto. While I am sure I still missed a lot of the references and satirica...more

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Jan 05, 2010 Bistra Ivanova rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: abandoned, fiction

не знам дали книгата е хубава или не, просто никога не можах да стигна по-далеч от 50 страница. за магическият реализъм ясно, че не ми понася много-много, но този път това беше преплетено с хилядите имена на героите и понеже я чета от две седмици, вече забравих кой кой е и каква беше връзката му с другите
така че - засега толкова, друг път може повече; на света има прекалено много книги, за да си губя времето с такива, които (в момента) не ми вървят

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Oct 04, 2007 Leif Erik rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: people who love alligorical tales of Pakistani history

Shelves: south-asian-lit, booker-short-list

This was a quite a good book and introduction to his writing style. His command of language and prose makes him one of the better living writers in English.

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Apr 04, 2011 César R. Luna rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites

No puedo decir que disfruté Vergüenza de principio a fin. Sin embargo, me dejó con una muy buena impresión de Salman Rushdie y su habilidad para imprimir en esta novela tintes muy diversos como el realismo mágico, el romance, el discurso moral y periodístico de un país ficticio que como bien lo menciona en su obra, no escribe precisamente sobre Pakistán, pero son países (El Real y El Ficticio) que ocupan el mismo sitio.

Al principio me pareció todo mágico pero casi al terminar la novela, mucha de...more

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About Salman Rushdie

Sir Ahmed Salman Rushdie is a novelist and essayist. Much of his early fiction is set at least partly on the Indian subcontinent. His style is often classified as magical realism, while a dominant theme of his work is the story of the many connections, disruptions and migrations between the Eastern and Western world.

His fourth novel, The Satanic Verses, led to protests from Muslims in several coun...more

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“Realism can break a writer's heart.” — 71 people liked it

“A man who catches History's eye is thereafter bound to a mistress from whom he will never escape.” — 16 people liked it

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