The Satanic Verses
About this book
The Satanic Verses is Salman Rushdie's fourth novel, first published September 26, 1988 and inspired in part by the life of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. As with his previous books, Rushdie used magical realism and relied on contemporary events and people to create his characters. The title refers to the satanic verses, a group of Quranic verses that refer to three pagan Meccan goddesses: Allāt, Uzza, and Manāt. The part of the story that deals with the "satanic verses" was based on accounts from the historians al-Waqidi and al-Tabari. In the United Kingdom, The Satanic Verses received positive reviews, was a 1988 Booker Prize finalist (losing to Peter Carey's Oscar and Lucinda) and won the 1988 Whitbread Award for novel of the year.
Reader Profile
3.9/5 · 244 readers · 554 pages · ≈ 10 h 16 m · Moderate
How long does it take to read The Satanic Verses?
About ≈ 10 h 16 m — 554 pages, assuming roughly 250 words per page at 225 words per minute.
How many pages is The Satanic Verses?
554 pages in its most-read edition.
What genre is The Satanic Verses?
It sits on the Travel, Fiction shelves.
Is The Satanic Verses in the public domain?
No — it is still under copyright.
Who are the main characters in The Satanic Verses?
The main characters include Mahound, Allāt, Uzza, Manāt.
Where does The Satanic Verses take place?
It is set in India, England, London.
Who wrote The Satanic Verses?
Salman Rushdie.
Why has The Satanic Verses been challenged or banned?
It appears on Wikipedia's list of the most commonly challenged books in the United States.