"America is the great devourer, and so I have come to America to be devoured."
— Malik Solana
Fury is Salman Rushdie's seventh novel, published in 2001.
The novel's protagonist is Malik Solana, a wealthy Cambridge-educated Indian man fascinated with dolls and miniatures. Inner turmoil causes him to abandon his wife and young son for a life of anonymity in bountiful, noisy, pre-9/11 New York City, but the bustle of the city forces him to confront his demons.
Tropes:
- Blemished Beauty: When Malik first meets Neela, he describes the prominent scar on her arm as an enhancer of her already great beauty, since it's titillating that someone so perfect-looking can have such an imperfection.
- Foot-Dragging Divorcee: Jack Rhinehart's wife has "made it her life's mission" to refuse divorcing him, instead using a variety of slow legal tactics to bleed him dry.
- Implausible Hair Color: Malik (who is Indian) and his white brunette wife Eleanor have a blonde son, Asmaan; Malik's narration lampshades how rare this is.
- Rhyme Theme Naming: Malik finds himself attracted to women named Mila and Neela in quick succession, and briefly lampshades the coincidence.
- The Whitest Black Guy: Malik thinks that his black friend Jack Rhinehart has "sold out" to the white establishment as their "token" black man. After becoming disillusioned with political journalism, he moves among exclusive, otherwise-all-white New York City circles writing puff pieces and only dates white women.
