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Please Note: I received an advance audio copy of this book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This did not influence the opinions in my review in any way.
Synopsis (from Goodreads):
In a tour-de-force that is both an homage to an immortal work of literature and a modern masterpiece about the quest for love and family, Booker Prize-winning, internationally bestselling author Salman Rushdie has created a dazzling Don Quixote for the modern age.
Inspired by the Cervantes classic, Sam DuChamp, mediocre writer of spy thrillers, creates Quichotte, a courtly, addled salesman obsessed with television, who falls in impossible love with a TV star. Together with his (imaginary) son Sancho, Quichotte sets off on a picaresque quest across America to prove worthy of her hand, gallantly braving the tragicomic perils of an age where “Anything-Can-Happen”. Meanwhile his creator, in a midlife crisis, has equally urgent challenges of his own.
Just as Cervantes wrote Don Quixote to satirise the culture of his time, Rushdie takes the reader on a wild ride through a country on the verge of moral and spiritual collapse. And with the kind of storytelling magic that is the hallmark of his work, the fully realised lives of DuChamp and Quichotte intertwine in a profoundly human quest for love and a wickedly entertaining portrait of an age in which fact is so often indiscernible from fiction.
Review:
When I think of Salman Rushdie's writing, words such as sweeping and epic already come to mind. Is it no surprise that his latest work, Quichotte, is loosely based on Don Quixote? With Cervantes' classic as a canvas, Rushdie brings together magical realism, pop culture, politics, and the opioid crisis to paint a picture of the ultimate road trip. With a variety of unusual characters, and a layered story, the author puts forth themes of isolation, regret, and our inherent need to connect with others. Prepare yourself for an exciting ride.
What I Liked:
Narrator:The narrator, Vikas Adam, does a wonderful job voicing all the characters. Whether it's the jaded author Sam, the slightly manic Quichotte, or the contemptuous Sancho, each character is distinct. This makes for a highly entertaining listening experience.
Story Structure:
The structure of the tale, a novel within a larger narrative, is complicated. It takes a while for the reader to catch on that some of the story is the novel that Sam is writing. But this layering helps us to accept the magical realism aspects of the book. We come to care about both stories equally.
Characters:
The main character in the novel, Quichotte, is a dreamer. Working as a traveling salesman for his cousin, his life revolves around staying in cheap hotel rooms and watching reality television. He becomes obsessed with a beautiful talk-show host (who reminds me once again of Rushdie's ex-wife Padma Lakshmi), and begins writing her increasingly romantic, stalker-like letters. This is a commentary of how delusional some men are about how their behavior should be received by women. They simply refuse to acknowledge that they are doing anything wrong.
Sam, the author, has a lifetime of regrets over a rift with his sister, who is dying of cancer. It is very moving that he looks back on his life and can see how small decisions actually add up to make a huge impact on his relationships.
Story:
I loved both the reality-based story and the novel Sam is writing. Sam's story is compelling because his reflections are so heart-wrenching.
Quichotte's journey is far more fantastical. He literally creates a son, meets people who turn into giant woolly mammoth, and deals with the end of the world. On top of this, his cousin, a pharmaceutical tycoon, is really running an elaborate opioid drug ring. All of the seemingly disparate points come together for the ultimate strange American road-trip.
Themes:
The book uses many different references to myths and novels to comment on how Americans use celebrity obsession, consumerism, and pharmaceuticals to distract themselves from reality. There is Sancho, a Pinocchio-like character who bitterly knows he's not real. His quest to become a real boy is punctuated with conversations with a talking cricket, and a blue fairy. Quichotte's own quest is often likened to Ahab seeking the white whale, always wanting things he can't have.
This is a book that was nominated for the 2019 Booker prize. It lost to two novels, The Testaments, by Margaret Atwood, and Girl, Woman, Other, by Bernadine Evaristo. I have read (and will review) The Testaments. While I also enjoyed that book, I think Quichotte is certainly more timely for today's culture. I highly recommend this book.
Rating:
Release Date: September 3rd, 2019
Author: Salman Rushdie
Audio Publisher: Random House Audio
Audio Length: 16 hours, 3 min
Narrator: Vikas Adam
Print Publisher: Random House
Page Length: 396 pages
Source: Random House Audio
Format: Audio Book
Recommendation: This is a highly entertaining book that speaks to how Americans use pop culture, and drugs to distract them from harsh reality.
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