The Satanic Verses Summary
The Satanic Verses tells the story of Gibreel Farishta and Saladin Chamacha after they survive falling from a jet.
- Terrorists blow up a jet over the English Channel. Upon landing, Gibreel has been given a halo and Saladin has started to transform into a devil.
- Saladin finds that his wife, Pamela, is pregnant with the child of another man, Jumpy. At a party, he makes Gibreel jealous and causes Allie to break up with him.
- Pamela and Jumpy are killed in a fire, and Saladin returns to India. A deranged Gibreel visits Saladin and shoots himself.
Summary
Odd-numbered chapters: A Tale of Two Men
At the beginning of the story, we meet two very different men. First, there's Gibreel Farishta, a famous Indian film star who grew up as a poor orphan. Then, we have Saladin Chamcha, who comes from a wealthy Bombay family and is also an actor known for his mimicry skills in a popular English TV show called "The Aliens."
One day, their lives take a dramatic turn when Sikh terrorists destroy an Air India jumbo jet. Amazingly, two passengers survive the crash, landing safely in the English Channel. One of them, Gibreel, is dressed in someone else's clothes and is allowed to go free, while the other, Chamcha, faces a much harder time. He's arrested and mistreated by racist police officers, and his life spirals downward.
As the story unfolds, we see Gibreel's life seemingly improving while Chamcha's situation worsens. Gibreel takes on a new identity as the "Angel of the Recitation" and finds refuge with his English lover, Alleluia Cone, a mountaineer. Meanwhile, Chamcha goes through hardships, loses his job, and faces personal betrayals.
Even-numbered chapters: Dreams and Revelation
In these chapters, we delve into the dreams of the angel Gibreel. In one dream, there's a negotiation between Mahound (a religious leader) and Abu Simbel over the acceptance of a new religion. In another dream, Gibreel is commanded to defeat a figure named Ayesha in Desh (Iran).
In the third dream, Mahound completes his conquest of Jahilia, ordering the closing of its most famous brothel and the executions of its prostitutes, who have adopted the names of Mahound’s twelve wives.
In the fourth, Gibreel orders a young woman, Ayesha, to lead a group of pilgrims to the sea and on to Mecca. When the sea fails to part as the angel told her it would, all but a few of the pilgrims drown.
Throughout the story, the paths of these two men, Gibreel and Chamcha, diverge and intertwine, asking (and sometimes answering) questions of identity, faith, and redemption.
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