Book Club Guide

The Satanic Verses

by Salman Rushdie · 1988 · Literary Fiction

Key themes

Migration and the transformation of identity — what happens when you fall from the sky
The nature of revelation — and who decides what is sacred
The fatwa and what it revealed about the world

About this book

Two Indian actors survive a plane explosion over the English Channel by falling — and land transformed: one into a figure of divine radiance, one into something diabolical. Rushdie's novel is a meditation on identity, migration, good and evil, and the nature of revelation — and it became the most politically explosive novel of the 20th century.

Published in 1988, The Satanic Verses was burned and banned in many countries and led to a fatwa calling for Rushdie's death, issued in February 1989. Rushdie lived under protection for years. He was knighted in 2007 and survived a 2022 assassination attempt.

Discussion questions

The novel opens with two Indian actors falling from a hijacked plane and surviving — transformed. How does Rushdie use this magical realist premise — and what does it say about migration and identity?
The 'Satanic Verses' of the title refer to verses allegedly inserted into the Quran by Shaitan. How does Rushdie engage with this material — and what was he actually arguing about revelation?
The novel was published in 1988 and resulted in a fatwa from Ayatollah Khomeini in 1989. How does knowing this context affect how you read it — and does the controversy illuminate or obscure the novel?
The novel is formally ambitious and often very funny. How does Rushdie use comedy in a novel about very serious subjects — and does the humour sometimes deflate the seriousness?
The Satanic Verses is often described as one of the most important novels of the 20th century. What does it actually do — and does the political controversy sometimes stand in for genuine literary assessment?