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From Amazon
While Salman Rushdie has treasured The Wizard of Oz since his boyhood, the movie's idea of returning "home" has had a special resonance for him as an adult. In this lovely appreciation of the MGM classic, Rushdie does not dwell upon his continual flight from any "home" after writing The Satanic Verses. But his affinity for Dorothy and her predicament comes through in his analysis.
This is a marvelous little book, full of wonderful tidbits about the making of The Wizard of Oz. Rushdie also talks about the movie's contrast of black and white and color, order and disorder, good and evil. The volume ends with "At the Auction of the Ruby Slippers," a surrealistic short story in which Rushdie meditates on the value of fantasies like The Wizard of Oz.
From Publishers Weekly
This is one of the first in a new series of monographs pairing writers and film scholars with a film of their own choosing from the BFI archives. At first glance, the controversial author of The Satanic Verses might seem an odd pairing with the MGM musical classic, but Rushdie proclaims that the Judy Garland film was "my very first literary influence." The essay that follows this confession is sprightly, witty and surprisingly deeply felt. Like the embattled Rushdie, Dorothy is an exile looking for a way back home, the victim of a wicked witch not unlike Rushdie's nemesis, the Ayatollah Khomeini. Rushdie revels in the film's "joyful and almost complete secularism," while confessing his debt to it for the style of Haroun and the Sea of Stories. He also offers an idiosyncratic feminist defense of the Wicked Witch of the West and some mordant humor, as in his dismissal of Toto as "that little yapping hairpiece." The second half of this slender volume is a short story that inflates the ruby slippers into a bloated and portentous metaphor. The tale's failure, however, isn't enough to take the luster off the essay that precedes it. Illustrations not seen by PW. First serial to the New Yorker.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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Most helpful customer reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great Oz, Great Rushdie book,
By
This review is from: The Wizard of Oz (Paperback)
A great book for Rushdie -- one can feel the limitations perhaps set by the editors on him -- usually Rushdie runs on, but here all of his insight and enthusiasm is pared down into an economical essay one can enjoy in less than an afternoon. Oh, it's a wonderful book on the Wizard movie, too.Rushdie, as outsider/insider, helps one return to the joy of first seeing the movie; he also provides some of the more delicious gossip and facts about this movie -- unlikely as I am to ever read a full book the film, Rushdie captures surely some of its best behind-the-scenes stories (yes: midgets, sweating, original actors, and the slippers). This book is a great read: the author is able to remind us how so many good elements (the visual storytelling, Garland's voice, the lyrics, the political incorrectness) bleed together into this wonderful movie.
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Beautiful Book,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Wizard of Oz (Paperback)
This is a beautiful and moving meditation on the meaining of The Wizard of Oz. Rushdie teases all the deep emotional resonances out of the film. The book is also visually stunning, with great stills. A great read. Thanks Salman Rushdie for sharing your thoughts and feelings.
4.0 out of 5 stars
BOLLYWOOD TACKLES HOLLYWOOD!,
By
This review is from: The Wizard of Oz (Paperback)
Most people don't realize that the film-making industry of India (called "Bollywood" by some Westerners) puts Hollywood to shame by sheer size and appeal. Having Rushdie, a student of Indian film and an infamous scholar, review "The Wizard of Oz" from his own unique point of view, is priceless. Rushdie spends more time than most going through the mythological meanings and symbolic imagery of the film, and leaves out much of the popular emphasis on MGM's prestige and the legacy of Judy Garland, which offers a refreshing perspective on the film. A highly recommended read, and one which will make you want to explore other BFI commentaries.
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