History Literature / TheSatanicVerses

* ArchangelGabriel: One of the main characters is based on him.

* ManOfAThousandVoices: Saladin Chamcha is a professional voice actor with classical training; he generally voices for commercials, jingles, and radio spots. This becomes a ChekhovsGun when [[spoiler:he uses it to gaslight Gibreel to insanity]].

* KillEmAll: [[spoiler:By the end, Saladin and Zeeny are the only main characters left standing.]]

* HornyDevils: Saladin develops a large sexual appetite, though he mostly doesn't get any, since he undergoes a divorce in the course of the book.

* BackStory: ''[[UpToEleven Everyone.]]'' Even minor characters are given multiple-page-long backstories. (The main characters' often take up an entire ''chapter.'')

* The third and most notorious story-- the one that brought the book to infamy-- is Gibreel Farishta's fevered, parodic and psychotic re-imagining of selected moments from the Life of Mohammed, these scenes are very much filled with UnreliableNarrator and not intended as straight HistoricalFiction.

* BlessedWithSuck: Gibreel, though already handsome and overflowing with animal magnetism, when he gets his halo, his angelic aura makes people fall over themselves trying to get his attention. The downside is that he starts to develop what would be diagnosed as schizophrenia, and hallucinates other people and places (like the narrative of Mahound's life, and other, more fantastical events). Chamcha, meanwhile, [[InvoluntaryShapeshifter becomes progressively more goat-like]], with no direct upsides to boot. As how people react to his appearance: surprisingly few people fear him for it, and most are inexplicably passive towards it, and many are actually sympathetic.

* EvilCounterpart: Saladin looks like the evil one. But really he and Gibreel aren't so different. They are also {{Foil}}s. This is actually the theme of the entire book, whether there is any real difference between God and the Devil.

* TheFundamentalist: Quite a few - The Imam, Ayesha of Titlipur, and eventually, Mahound.
* {{Gaslighting}}: [[spoiler:Saladin Chamcha pulls a massive dick move in the final section of the present-day narrative. He uses his skills as a voice actor to con Gibreel into thinking that Allie is cheating on him, driving an already crazy Gibreel over the edge and becoming a murderer who finally kills himself]].

* GreenEyedMonster: Saladin Chamcha's feelings towards Gibreel in a nutshell. He's a classically trained English actor who likes TrueArt and hates junk but Gibreel is a Bollywood superstar who pretty much likes its very trashy and cheap culture. Saladin has assimilated into London while Gibreel is pretty much a beloved Hindi movie star (and essentially treated like a God there). Saladin is always conscious of being an outsider in England despite his ImmigrantPatriotism while Gibreel has a lifelong get-out-of-jail-free card more or less.

* HistoricalHeroUpgrade: [[spoiler:Ironically, Mahound, the parody version of Mohammed, is actually very much a respectful portrayal. He is shown as wise, compassionate, forgiving, peaceful and friendly. He is genuinely conflicted about his visions and he dislikes corruption. He genuinely wants to help people. In every sense a wise religious leader. Rushdie is respectful whenever he actually enters his vision and portrays him. It's actually one of the most respectful portrayals of the figure in the English language and not a simple anti-religious caricature, but good luck telling anybody else that]].

* HornyDevils: Saladin develops a large sexual appetite though he mostly doesn't get any since he undergoes a divorce in the course of the book.
* ImmigrantPatriotism: Saladin feels this way towards England, pre-and-post transformation. Before, he was highly conservative and pretty much an "Uncle Tom" type immigrant but after experiencing racism post-transformation, he becomes less conservative but still retains his love for English traditions while being skeptical of the fellow migrant community who help him out.

* ManOfAThousandVoices: Saladin Chamcha is a professional voice actor with classical training, he generally voices for commercials, jingles and radio spots. This becomes a ChekhovsGun when [[spoiler:he uses it to gaslight Gibreel to insanity]].

** Ayesha leading the Titlipur villagers into the Arabian Sea. Everyone except the protagonist, even former skeptics, assert that [[spoiler:the seas parted and everyone walked to safety]], but to any outside observer it simply looks like [[spoiler:they walked under the waves and drowned]]. The villagers are never seen again, so it's impossible to be certain of anything.

* SwitchingPOV/ RotatingProtagonist: There's an easily identifiable, very [[DeadpanSnarker snarky]] [[FirstPersonPeripheralNarrator person]] [[NonPOVProtagonist that's relaying the story to us]] as though he/she/it were a close personal friend, but we also have occasional leaps in the point of view, sometimes within several passages of a single chapter, to several of the main characters for the section. The most glaring example would be in part 6, Return to Jahilia, where, starting on page 375, the point of view briefly, and rather unexpectedly, jumps from an elderly Baal reuniting with Salman to "And Gibreel dreamed this:", back to Salman, relaying what has happened during his service during Mahound's 25-year exile.

Behold, what is probably the most controversial work of literature since Literature/TheBible.

Behold, what is probably the most controversial work of literature since the Bible.

* EvilCounterpart: Saladin looks like the evil one. But really he and Gibreel [[NotSoDifferent aren't so different]]. They are also {{Foil}}s. This is actually the theme of the entire book, whether there is any real difference between God and the Devil.

Needs {{Wiki Magic}}.

On a winter's day, two men - [[MeaningfulName Gibreel Farishta]] and [[MeaningfulName Saladin]] [[PunnyName Chamcha]] - fall out of an airplane. Miraculously, however, they survive the fall unscathed - except for the fact that suddenly Gibreel is developing a halo while Saladin is growing horns and hooves...

* The core is the story of Saladin Chamcha and Gibreel Farishta, set in 80s London with flashbacks to Bombay in various post-Independence eras.

Published in 1988, The Satanic Verses is the novel that famously led to the infamous "Rushdie Affair," in which writer Creator/SalmanRushdie's creative interpretation of Islam caused the Ayatollah Khomeini to issue a ''fatwa'' against his life, which still stands today. [[StreisandEffect Ironically]], this has only increased the book's popularity. Though as noted by Rushdie, ruefully, it meant that the book is more talked about than actually read. The fact that it's a highly convoluted GenreBusting story with a MindScrew vibe signifies that it was hardly ever meant as a bestseller book.

* The third and most notorious story is Gibreel Farishta's fevered, parodic and psychotic re-imagining of selected moments from the Life of Mohammed, these scenes are very much filled with UnreliableNarrator and not intended as straight HistoricalFiction.

* PolishJews: Alicja and Otto Cone (Cohen). Allie's parents who are Holocaust survivors originally from Poland.

* BlessedWithSuck: Gibreel, though already handsome and overflowing with animal magnetism, when he gets his halo, his angelic aura makes people falling over themselves to get his attention. The downside is that he starts to develop what would be diagnosed as schizophrenia, and hallucinates other people and places (like the narrative of Mahound's life, and other, more fantastical events). Chamcha, meanwhile, [[InvoluntaryShapeshifter becomes progressively more goat-like]], with no direct upsides to boot. As how people react to his appearance: surprisingly few people fear him for it, and most are inexplicably passive towards it, and many are actually sympathetic.
** During Chamcha's stay in the Vakils' attic, an extant activist group for immigrant rights, and a satanic "cult" pops up based on rumors that the devil is walking the streets of London. Both were counterculture enough to begin to mesh together, and the activist group started to adopt neon haloes and horns to identify themselves and show solidarity for the outcasts of London society. Like Chamcha, for example.

* HistoricalHeroUpgrade: [[spoiler:Ironically, Mahound, the parody version of Mohammed is actually very much a respectful portrayal. He is shown as wise, compassionate, forgiving, peaceful and friendly. He is genuinely conflicted about his visions and he dislikes corruption, he genuinely wants to help people, in every sense a wise religious leader. Rushdie is respectful whenever he actually enters his vision and portrays him. It's actually one of the most respectful portrayals of the figure in the English language and not a simple anti-religious caricature, but good luck telling anybody else that]].

** Gibreel Farishta. Gibreel is the Arabic word for Gabriel and Farishta means angel with wings. In Hindi slang, Farishta is used as a loan-word to signify "movie star", so essentially hanging a {{Lampshade}} on Gibreel's success as a Bollywood icon.
** Saladin Chamcha. Saladin is of course UsefulNotes/RichardTheLionheart's counterpart during the Crusades. But Chamcha is again Hindi slang for "lackey". Signifying how Saladin is seen by Indians from home and abroad, someone who assimilated into the "enemy's" culture and his own insecurity at being "the other" in England, [[ArchEnemy Saladin to Richard]].

* OneSteveLimit: ''Hoooo'' boy, is this trope ever averted. Not only do some characters and key geographical locations share the same name, or deviations of the same name, they also intersect and ultimately intertwine with each other.
* PolishJews: Alicja and Otto Cone (Cohen), Allie's parents who are Holocaust survivors originally from Poland.

Published in 1988, The Satanic Verses is the novel that famously led to the infamous "Rushdie Affair," in which writer Creator/SalmanRushdie's creative interpretation of Islam caused the Ayatollah Khomeini to issue a fatwa against his life, which still stands today. [[StreisandEffect Ironically]], this has only increased the book's popularity. Though as noted by Rushdie, ruefully, it meant that the book is more talked about than actually read. The fact that it's a highly convoluted GenreBusting story with a MindScrew vibe signifies that it was hardly ever meant as a bestseller book.

** Gibreel Farishta. Gibreel is the Arabic word for Gabriel and Farishta means angel with wings. In Hindi slang, Farishta is used as a loan-word to signify "movie star", so essentially hanging a {{Lampshade}} on Gibreel's success as a bollywood icon.

* BrokenPedestal: Mahound for Salman, after Mahound becomes TheFundamentalist and Salman sees the cracks in his religious arguments.

* {{Gaslighting}}: [[spoiler:Saladin Chamcha pulls a massive dick move in the final section of the present-day narrative. He uses his skills as a voice actor to con Gibreel into thinking that Allie is cheating on him, driving him to murder an already crazy Gibreel, who finally kills himself]].

* HornyDevils: Saladin develops a large sexual appetite.

* MagicalRealism

** Saladin Chamcha. Saladin is of course UsefulNotes/RichardTheLionheart's counterpart during the Crusades. But Chamcha is again Hindi slang for "lackey". Signifying how Saladin is seen by Indians from home and abroad, someone who assimilated into the "enemy's" culture and his own insecurity.

Published in 1988, The Satanic Verses is the novel that famously led to the infamous "Rushdie Affair," in which writer Creator/SalmanRushdie's creative interpretation of Islam caused the Ayatollah Khomeini to issue a fatwa against his life, which still stands today. [[StreisandEffect Ironically]], this has only increased the book's popularity. Though as noted by Rushdie, ruefully, it meant that the book is more talked about than actually read. The fact that it's a highly convuluted GenreBusting story with a MindScrew vibe signifies that it was hardly ever meant as a bestseller book.

* GreenEyedMonster: Saladin Chamcha's feelings towards Gibreel in a nutshell. He's a classically trained English actor who likes HighArt and hates junk but Gibreel is a Bollywood superstar who pretty much likes its very trashy and cheap culture. Saladin has assimilated into London while Gibreel is pretty much a beloved Hindi movie star (and essentially treated like a God there). Saladin is always conscious of being an outsider in England despite his ImmigrantPatriotism while Gibreel has a lifelong get-out-of-jail-free card more or less.

Published in 1988, The Satanic Verses is the novel that famously led to the infamous "Rushdie Affair," in which writer Creator/SalmanRushdie's... creative interpretation of Islam caused the Ayatollah Khomeini to issue a fatwa against his life, which still stands today. [[StreisandEffect Ironically]], this has only increased the book's popularity. Though as noted by Rushdie, ruefully, it meant that the book is more talked about than actually read. The fact that it's a highly convuluted GenreBusting story with a MindScrew vibe signifies that it was hardly ever meant as a bestseller book.

Published in 1988, The Satanic Verses is the novel that famously led to the infamous "Rushdie Affair," in which writer Salman Rushdie's... creative interpretation of Islam caused the Ayatollah Khomeini to issue a fatwa against his life, which still stands today. [[StreisandEffect Ironically]], this has only increased the book's popularity. Though as noted by Rushdie, ruefully, it meant that the book is more talked about than actually read. The fact that it's a highly convuluted GenreBusting story with a MindScrew vibe signifies that it was hardly ever meant as a bestseller book.

On a winter's day, two men - [[MeaningfulName Gibreel Farishta]] and [[MeaningfulName Saladin]] [[PunnyName Chamcha]] - fall out of an airplane. Miraculously, however, they survive the fall unscathed - except for the fact that suddenly Gibreel suddenly is spouting wings and a halo while Saladin is growing horns and hooves...

* WorldOfPun: Given Salman Rushdie's obvious love of wordplay, it almost goes without saying. One of the best ones sneaks up on the reader several hundred pages into the novel when at a party, Gibreel thinks of Allie, who has previously been described as cool and aloof as his "ice queen Cone."

* ShoutOut: Rushdie's books are usually ReferenceOverdosed so there's a lot on hand. Specific ones are Bulgakov's ''Literature/TheMasterAndTheMargarita''.

* The third [[JustHereForGodzilla and most notorious story]] is Gibreel Farishta's fevered, parodic and psychotic re-imagining of selected moments from the Life of Mohammed, these scenes are very much filled with UnreliableNarrator and not intended as straight HistoricalFiction.