The Moor's Last Sigh Rushdie, Salman - Introduction

The Moor's Last Sigh Salman Rushdie

Indian-born English novelist, critic, and nonfiction writer.

The following entry provides analysis and criticism of The Moor's Last Sigh. For further information on Rushdie's life and career, see CLC, Volumes 23, 31, and 55.

INTRODUCTION

Rushdie is best known as the author of The Satanic Verses (1988), the book condemned by many Muslims as an insult to their religion. Former Iranian leader Ayatollah Khomeini called for the execution of Rushdie and his publisher, forcing the author into hiding from bounty hunters for almost a decade until the publication of The Moor's Last Sigh (1995). With this latest work, Rushdie chose to return to limited public exposure, and some critics have found evidence in the book to suggest that Rushdie has reconciled himself to life under threat of death.

Plot and Major Characters

The Moor of the title is Moraes "Moor" Zogoiby, cursed with a "double-quick" life: his mother, after wishing in a moment of frustration for a child who would grow up quickly, gives birth to him four and a half months after his conception, and he continues to age at twice the normal rate. Moraes's mother, Aurora da Gama, is a famous artist and his father, twenty years older than his mother, is a former clerk in her family's spice business who finds more lucrative employment in smuggling and drug trafficking. Moraes becomes entangled in rivalries between his parents and their competitors, becoming a prisoner of an artist jealous of his mother who allows him to live as long as he writes his life story. Throughout the story Rushdie relates the history of the family as far back as explorer Vasco da Gama, discoverer of India, and draws parallels with the family's circumstances in modern time. The "Moor's last sigh" of the title has a number of explanations, one being that it is the title of a portrait of Moraes, the last his mother painted before her death.

Major Themes

As is often the case with Rushdie's work, reviewers found a number of overlapping and intermingled themes within The Moor's Last Sigh, many concerning the state of India and its people. Most critics described the story as extremely complex, filled with symbolism, elements of magic realism, and layer upon layer of meaning. In attempting to name one main theme, however, most found it to be the history of India up to

Salman Rushdie
Salman Rushdie
the present day mirrored by the history of one powerful, fictitious family. James Bowman described The Moor's Last Sigh as "a story of enormous complexity about the rise and fall of a part-Jewish, part-Christian dynasty of Indian merchants from the early years of this century down to the present." Although Moraes narrates the story, many reviewers contended that Aurora da Gama is actually the main character of the story, representing not only Moraes's mother but Mother India as well.

Critical Reception

Much of the critical attention surrounding The Moor's Last Sigh centered on the importance of the book as a sign of Rushdie's reemergence as an active literary figure. Although still cautious about the fatwa, or death sentence, imposed upon him for The Satanic Verses, Rushdie made some public appearances in support of his new novel. Several critics analyzed The Moor's Last Sigh for signs of the fatwa's effect on Rushdie's writing style or ability, pointing to passages in the new book that seem to reveal the author's state of mind throughout his exile. Critics also scrutinized the new work for material that could rekindle the controversy of The Satanic Verses. While some predicted that the work would offend Hindus as The Satanic Verses offended Muslims, most described The Moor's Last Sigh as containing some contentious portions but nothing to rival that of its predecessor. Several reviewers also noted, however, that while The Moor's Last Sigh does not equal The Satanic Verses in scandalous content, neither does it demonstrate meekness or submission on the part of the author. In comparing The Moor's Last Sigh with Rushdie's body of work, critics remarked on his continuing devotion to lavish but often unflattering descriptions of India, sweeping historical story lines, and crowds of characters whose comings and goings within the story cannot be predicted by the conventions of modern fiction writing. "Filled with puns and verbal games, buffoonery and scenes of slapstick comedy," The Moor's Last Sigh "proves that Rushdie is one of the most brilliant magicians of the English language writing now," Orhan Pamuk commented. Many critics also pointed to the author's way of delivering biting criticism veiled in metaphor or stories with the story, Rushdie trademarks again in evidence in The Moor's Last Sigh, as signs that he has rebounded from his ordeal.