Two Years Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights

Two Years Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights by Salman Rushdie

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


*** Possible Spoilers ***

If you happen to be a writer, you've been told time and time again - don't tell, dramatize. This book tells, or, more accurately is narrative fiction. Think of a combination of John Irving and Terry Pratchett. The narration, however, is quite a bit slower and the satire more subtle. Still, it's all there.

The plot involves a war between the Jinn and humans - although some of those humans have jinn powers that they use to defeat the dark jinn. There are a number of love stories that come and grow. This book covers a LOT of time. In addition, it is written from a perspective a thousand years after the action occurs.

The author uses the bad guys to influence humanity and he likes to satirize various institutions by suggesting that they are under control of these entities.

Don't expect a fast read. The author crafts his story to be something like a dream. It proceeds slowly and carefully. In most modern novels the pacing is fast. Her it is slow - deliberately so. Although not poetic, Dylan Thomas might be a good reference.

The only problem I encountered was that the author covers so much ground I was unable to keep up with various aspects of the tale; nevertheless, I don't think I lost out on much and it was enjoyable. I highly recommend this novel.



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