Shalimar the Clown
By Salman Rushdie
Max Ophuls, a brilliant former diplomat, is murdered in Los Angeles by his driver, a Kashmiri Muslim terrorist named Shalimar the Clown. That violent act is a piece of revenge extracted by the terrorist for Ophuls' affair with his wife, a beautiful Kashmiri dancer, years before. Rushdie weaves an extraordinarily vivid story of a global clash of cultures, describing the rich beauty of life in Kashmir with a fidelity that makes readers feel they are there. Along the way, he provides compelling instruction in the roots of the proliferation of terrorism.
