Reviews
Youssef Yacoubi does justice to Salman Rushdie's complex prose by astutely teasing out the interplay of Islamic traditions with Greek and Hindu influences in his postmodern magical realism. In the process, Yacoubi also offers a nuanced, postcolonial reading of Islam, one that identifies a reflexivity in its literary and theological traditions. (Gyan Prakash, Department of History, Princeton University) Youssef Yacoubi's book offers new and fascinating perspectives on one of the most notorious cultural and religious controversies of recent times. It is also an original and important contribution to Salman Rushdie scholarship, postcolonial criticism, and Islamic theological debates and studies. (Isabel Santaolalla, Department of Media, Culture and Language, University of Roehampton, London) One of the strongest tropes of the play of reason, in any culture, is the requirement for more light than heat in engagement with criticism whether textual or contextual. Youssef Yacoubi's tireless commitment to patient enlightenment is achieved by the avoidance of the rhetoric of over-heated debates on Salman Rushdie and related matters. The attentive reader of this book will be inspired to do no less. (Bernard McGuirk, Professor of Romance Literatures and Literary Theory, Director of International Consortium for the Study of Post-Conflict Cultures, University of Nottingham), «Youssef Yacoubi does justice to Salman Rushdie_s complex prose by astutely teasing out the interplay of Islamic traditions with Greek and Hindu influences in his postmodern magical realism. In the process, Yacoubi also offers a nuanced, postcolonial reading of Islam, one that identifies a reflexivity in its literary and theological traditions.» (Gyan Prakash, Department of History, Princeton University) «Youssef Yacoubi_s book offers new and fascinating perspectives on one of the most notorious cultural and religious controversies of recent times. It is also an original and important contribution to Salman Rushdie scholarship, postcolonial criticism, and Islamic theological debates and studies.» (Isabel Santaolalla, Department of Media, Culture and Language, University of Roehampton, London) «One of the strongest tropes of the play of reason, in any culture, is the requirement for more light than heat in engagement with criticism whether textual or contextual. Youssef Yacoubi's tireless commitment to patient enlightenment is achieved by the avoidance of the rhetoric of over-heated debates on Salman Rushdie and related matters. The attentive reader of this book will be inspired to do no less.» (Bernard McGuirk, Professor of Romance Literatures and Literary Theory, Director of International Consortium for the Study of Post-Conflict Cultures, University of Nottingham), «Youssef Yacoubi does justice to Salman Rushdie's complex prose by astutely teasing out the interplay of Islamic traditions with Greek and Hindu influences in his postmodern magical realism. In the process, Yacoubi also offers a nuanced, postcolonial reading of Islam, one that identifies a reflexivity in its literary and theological traditions.» (Gyan Prakash, Department of History, Princeton University) «Youssef Yacoubi's book offers new and fascinating perspectives on one of the most notorious cultural and religious controversies of recent times. It is also an original and important contribution to Salman Rushdie scholarship, postcolonial criticism, and Islamic theological debates and studies.» (Isabel Santaolalla, Department of Media, Culture and Language, University of Roehampton, London) «One of the strongest tropes of the play of reason, in any culture, is the requirement for more light than heat in engagement with criticism whether textual or contextual. Youssef Yacoubi's tireless commitment to patient enlightenment is achieved by the avoidance of the rhetoric of over-heated debates on Salman Rushdie and related matters. The attentive reader of this book will be inspired to do no less.» (Bernard McGuirk, Professor of Romance Literatures and Literary Theory, Director of International Consortium for the Study of Post-Conflict Cultures, University of Nottingham)
