Shame

| 3.96 | 10,996 ratings and reviews

Recommended by Fatima Bhutto, Daniyal Mueenuddin, and 2 others. See all reviews

Ranked #41 in Pakistan

The novel that set the stage for his modern classic, The Satanic Verses, Shame is Salman Rushdie’s phantasmagoric epic of an unnamed country that is “not quite Pakistan.” In this dazzling tale of an ongoing duel between the families of two men–one a celebrated wager of war, the other a debauched lover of pleasure–Rushdie brilliantly portrays a world caught between honor and humiliation–“shamelessness, shame: the roots of violence.” Shame is an astonishing story that grows more timely by the day. less
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Reviews and Recommendations

We've comprehensively compiled reviews of Shame from the world's leading experts.

Fatima Bhutto I have personal reasons for choosing this. It is the story of two men, two very powerful men. One is based on my grandfather, Pakistan’s former president and prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, and the other is based on Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, who was a military general who overthrew my grandfather and eventually killed him. (Source)

Daniyal Mueenuddin This is the only one of Rushdie’s books which is set in Pakistan. A lot of the stories in the book are actually true. For example, the description of relations among various members of the Bhutto family and the descriptions of the corruption and bribes going on are all true. (Source)

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