This introduction to Rushdie was a tedious chore. I doubt I’ll try reading anything else by him. A friend gave this book to me, and I don’t look forward to being asked “how’d you like it?” If you want to read some metaphysical acid trip nonsense, pick up some Castaneda. At least he is intentional in his efforts. This thing that Rushdie wrote is just a bunch of on the fly ad-libbed bullshit.

incredibly nuanced and confusing to the point of stimulating. i faked it till i made it, and god was that enough, i fear had i not done so, i would have understood the book too clearly, something anyone reading rushdie should be weary of. i must point out that reading before bed was the most delightful, the surreality a stepping stone from my waking mind to that so very heavy, i felt i had trustled deep up the mountain with the eagle and the man named toole, and we clambered till we could no more. but no very wise very good, i will remember the time surrounding the reading of this book ever so clearly, but only because it marked the entry and exit of this story.

Funny you should have asked "what or who is Grimus"! It's looking like achieving that answer is the purpose of the novel. It's a sci-fi-ish, questy, "Lord of the Rings" in miniature kind of a book, not at all typical Salman Rushdie. If it wasn't for the fact that Rushdie is the author, I'd put it down & give it a "thumbs down" but Rushdie did write it & it isn't long so I'll be patient.

So, if you rearrange the letters of GRIMUS, you get SIMURG which is an old Persian mythological deity of sorts as is Grimus altho Grimus exists in human form while SIMURG is a bird. The story takes place on the isolated Mediterranean island called Calf Island (or Kaf or Qaf). Most of the inhabitants deny the existence of Grimus. The novel is a quest to find Grimus which finally succeeds & our protagonist, Flapping Eagle, replaces Grimus as the ruling deity. The novel has its moments but is clearly not one of Rushdie's masterpieces!

The most remarkable thing about Grimus? Revelation that the great Salman Rushdie isn't good enough a writer to write SF.

Such lush prose, such splendid imagination, and such a wasted opportunity. "Incoherent" would be putting it mildly. "Garbled gibberish" would perhaps be somewhat more accurate description. The beginning of the story was intriguing (albeit bizarre), but pretty soon things started to seem more like someone's bad LSD trip, and then it got progressively worse. The "plot" was all over the place, the "characters" were meaningless caricatures, and narrative threads were unraveling out of control... By the end I got a headache and couldn't care less about any of it. I'm giving it two stars solely for the writing and the ideas, 'cause everything else about this book is cringe-worthy.

The debut of Rushdie was a fantasy novel which follows Flapping Eagle to Calf Islandlooking for his sister Bird Dog. Flapping Eagle has the gift of immortality which really is not something he desires but it makes it possible for him to make it to Calf. Calf is where people who have immortality go to live. The story touches on a variety of mythology of Sufi, Hindu, Christian and Norse and many concepts and philosophy. It was not well received but it isn't hard to read. It's not Rusdie's best but it's not the worst either.

A remarkably assured beginning for a first book. All the Rushdie hallmarks .. Flamboyant, vividly imagined, stylishly written, and science fiction or fantasy, to boot. I wonder why he chose this genre for his first outing. Perhaps he hadn't yet considered magic realism. Sci-fi's loss, mainstream's gain. Conversely, one wonders how many Booker-worthy writers are hiding their light under the bushels of genres considered not literary enough.
For some who think his fame is owed more to his life events than writing, this should give them pause for thought.
True, I haven't liked all his books as much, but I'm glad I managed to find this one.

3.5, more likley.
Myth and magic. At their core, most stories pull from the source, this fountain of belief, blood, sorrow, flesh, laughter, growth in space.

While this book may be Rushdie's first, and therefore, lack some of the polish an genius he is known for, Grimus is a gripping and imaginative tale, which explores the human condition, gender, sexuality, and desire through immortality and its price.

In the fantasy genre, unless specific rules are spelled out early, anything can happen. Therefore, for me, there is no tension, no reason to turn the page. In 'Grimus', 1/3rd of the way through, a character thinks "...if anything can happen, we'd better make damn sure it never does." Shall there be rules in this world? Near the end of this novel (and oh do things end), the author writes, "...ideas were the sole justification for existence". The author is honest with the reader, I like that, and the writing is often beautiful. Still, I struggled to find a foothold within these pages. Perhaps that's the point given life does feel woozy at times. But I just don't feel like I read a book. It's like seeing an animated film. I might find it okay, but I feel like I haven't seen a movie.

Rushdie is a Giant, he's always brought my a chuckle, a tear, and at times even an erection. Grimus was Salman's debut novel and it's fantastic if you give it a chance. I had never heard of Dante and the Divine Comedy, and Rushdie was my guide through library's, thought brothels, and showed me history, taught me literature, and word play.
Rushdie is a friend of mine, and I like him very much!

I finally finished this book. I must admit that what kept me going was pure intrigue for the many questions presented at the beginning. They were all solved in the next to last chapter, making the whole rest of it unnecessary. This could've very well been a well written short story and I might have loved it. The writing felt scattered and the characters empty. However, I did find some passages to be well written and some great ideas, so I will continue to try and read more of Rushdie.
I have much more bad things to say, but I will abstain, as they serve no purpose. I didn't enjoy it, and it shows in how long it took me to get through.

Salman Rushdie's first book has an intriguing premise that he explores with imagination. This is a multidimensional universe, teaming with many forms of life, all of it linked via one special object in each realm. In ours: a stone rose, stumbled upon by three misfit types who almost immediately begin to misuse it (although their intentions are initially good).

You would not want to reveal more, as there are many twists.

Rushdie is not a subtle writer, and (unpopular opinion) I find his later books ponderous, pretentious, and pretty self indulgent. Yes, even his super acclaimed ones. He is always very pleased with himself, which I think comes out in his writing.

So, this is the only book of his that I like (so far). It has some of his trademark heavy handed symbolism, and the female characters are like a school boy daydream (i.e. highly sexualised, no depth) but I otherwise enjoy the world he has created. It reminds me of Margaret Attwood's 'Mad Adam' trilogy; an atypical take on some well worn sci-fi tropes. The Gorf's, the weak/strong dance, the internal 'endimions' and how they have to be mastered: original and exciting.

Based on the other comments I read on this site: quite a divisive book! Which is no bad thing in itself. No disrespect intended to any Rushdie fans: I don't know anything about literature.