If this weren't such a pain in the ass to read, I would have maybe given it more stars. Besides the writing, which sometime hindered me so far that it made me detest the entire book, the other aspects were quite extraordinary. Even though it felt like 2000 pages of reading, I was still impressed how it spanned the length of three full imaginary lives, and it's many acquaintances. For the realness of the characters' travels through life, and the absurdness of travels beyond reality, I'd say this book deserves at least thee stars.

And honestly, the last star is merely for my own enjoyment of reading those final pages, knowing I withstood the difficulties and made it to the final chapter.

"Možda je naš svijet samo vizija u nekom drugom oštećenom oku.
Postoji drugi svemir koji ne vidimo, a koji se oglašava. Kad izroni u našu stvarnost može nas oduvati, kao da nas nikad nije bilo".
***
"Mislim da smo svi dio neke veće rijeke i, bez obzira koliko je mutan ili zatrovan svaki pojedinačni dio, čovjek uvijek može da osjeti snagu glavnog toka - te moćne i nezamućene rijeke".

Тази книга спокойно можеше да бъде около 300 страници вместо 530. Излишното многословие на Рушди на моменти му играе лоша шега и съм убедена, че би отблъснало немалко читатели.

Иначе от романа могат да се научат доста неща, както от повечето книги на автора, но той изисква известно мозъчно усилие от началото до самия край.

The ending made me cry, so I almost bumped my rating up to three stars, but "it was ok" is right for me on this one. I probably would have rated it higher if I hadn't already read and loved some of Rushdie's other stuff (Midnight's Children, Satanic Verses) and if Ground Beneath Her Feet didn't fail in ways so similar to how those books soar.

"Self-indulgent" is not a criticism that often pops into my reading head. I mean, ultimately, you could say any writing is self-indulgent. "Here are some thoughts I had, some words I put in order, and you should put them into your brain" - right?

But I don't find most writing self-indulgent. I found Ground Beneath Her Feet self-indulgent because I know that with some editing this could have been a much better book. Rushdie makes the reader sit through his well-worn screeds about religion and sacred cows and blah blah blah more than once, and in other places it seems like he's writing just for the sake of hearing his own - admittedly pretty - literary voice. Which all contrasts unfavorably with both the simplicity of the underlying myth of this story, and how well this verbose style works so in his other, better books.

I almost gave up on this one, and I guess I'm glad I didn't, but I'd place this pretty low on any list of suggested Salman Rushdie reads.

I couldn’t do it. I read 100 pages and really did not feel a whit about any of the characters. And the sentence structure? So convoluted. I enjoy challenging books but this one was a big meh.

Le cuesta entender cuándo tiene que dar por acabada una buena novela.

4.5 stars

This was exceptionally well done. A+ for plan and execution Mr. Rushdie.

Reading Salman Rushdie makes me want to take an advanced mythology class. He really uses it well. According to Wiki, it is a variation on the Orpheus/Eurydice myth with rock music replacing Orpheus' lyre. The myth works as a red thread from which the author sometimes strays, but to which he attaches an endless series of references. I feel like I maybe got half the references. Thanks to my recent read of The Sandman series I was pretty familiar with the Orpheus/Eurydice myth.

I especially liked the way he used music and mashed up songs. This was my second novel by this author and I'm planning on my third next month. I hope at some point to reread this one because I think there is still lots left to explore.

Having only read Midnight's Children by this author before, I was actually a tiny bit terrified of trying this one, especially on audio. It wasn't nearly as hard to follow so the audio ended up being an excellent option.

The story is told by a man named Rai and covers the time from his first sight of Vina until after her death. It tells the story of two lovers, Vina and Ormus, whose music is so compelling that it changes the world. Throughout the story we also know that Rai is in love with Vina and has been from when he first laid eyes on her. We get his personal view of these famous lovers and their triumphs and tragedies. It starts with Rai at the age of 13 and tells the stories of the families as well. We get to know them as teens and we learn their life story from well before their musical talents were known.

The story is supposed to be a retelling of the myth of Orpheus, and after a review of Wikipedia, I can see where those elements come in. Rushdie turns it into a very compelling story of love and loss, and a world that got broken along the way.

THE GROUND BENEATH HER FEET is a sort of postmodern retelling of the Eurydice and Orpheus myth. Rock music replaces, in this novel, Orpheus's lyre.
No brief summary can hope to convey all the historical, religious, mythological and pop musical range of references of this ambitious, original and extremely long novel. There is an epic love story, a story of emigration, but, above all, it is a fictive history of rock music.
Despite Rushdie's amazing talent as a writer, this novel was rather disappointing. Maybe the subject left me cold, or maybe the many -too many - extended meditations on love, death, art and the infinite number of digressions conspired to make me unable to feel immersed in the narrative. I found it a plodding chronicle of the lives of the three main characters which did not work as a seamless whole.
This novel lacks the magic and panache of Rushdie's previous books. I wouldn't recommend it it unless you are a fan of the history of rock and roll.

Not the best. I found the main characters dull and the story underwhelming, not the myth-inspired love story and epic paean to mid-to late 20th century culture and sociopolitics I think it was aiming for. It started somewhat strong with the introductions of Ormus, Vina, and the protagonist, Rai, in an alternate-universe Bombay, but halfway through, after they start their careers, it really just reads like a pop music biography with way too many crazy quirky fictional and semi-fictional characters thrown in and some descriptions of the alternative universe rock era pop culture and counter culture.The actual worship and gushing over the character of Vina never let up, and while you can attribute this to the narrator being in love and having rose-colored glasses on, it feels more like the author trying to convince the reader that this character really is epic & extraordinary. Ormus and Vina's great romance was emphasized in bombastic terms over and over in the novel but there was very little on the page to make you connect with them or believe that they have any sort of bond, beyond being told repeatedly that they do. The author's ambition is praiseworthy but the actual product is tedious despite the attempts at grandiosity

What fun! although easily 100 to 200 pages could have been trimmed from this sprawling book, it's an engaging concoction of sex, mythology, and rock and roll. I wasn't entirely convinced that Rushdie understands rock music or rock stardom, but Ground Beneath Her Feet is a terrific showcase for his verbal pyrotechnics and sly sense of humor. Jam-packed with murder, supernatural occurrences, crushes, and memorable minor characters (more memorable than the major characters in many cases) and graced with a very intriguing narrator, this book far more readable than Satanic Verses and a great place to start with Rushdie.

I was certain that I would love this book, because a) I'm a music nerd, and b) I loved Satanic Verses. While it had a lot of the characteristics that I loved about Satanic Verses, for some reason I just wasn't as engrossed in it. I read it more quickly, and found it more accessible, but I still prefer Satanic Verses. The characters started to grate on me, and I just didn't feel as invested as their outcomes. If you're looking for something by Rushdie that isn't so monumental and overwhelming, I'd start here, but if you're willing to invest a little more in one of his works, pick up Satanic Verses instead.