Man's still got it, I really didn't think he had this one in him. Salman Rushdie’s 2019 novel is an inspiring and heartwarming novel about family and identity. The novel uses Don Quixote as a framework for the story, we follow Ismail Smile - a travelling salesman of pharmaceuticals on his quest to win the affections of a television talk show host with his imaginary sidekick. His adventures across America present a satire on the sphere of the (first?) Donald Trump era of America, and careful plot and character development that Rushdie is famed for shines through again and again.
This work seems to be a reflection of Rushdie at the height of his powers and begs the question - does one need to understand the author to understand this work? Salman is easily the author with the most notoriety and fame in the modern age, and his ideas and characters set him a class apart from his peers. The family lives of the characters in this novel are the most memorable for me, there is an instance of a longing love for family which is the primary driver of emotion in this novel. The parallel stories of Quichotte - Ismail Smile - and the author who is writing him, Samuel Duchamp, and their quest to achieve the love they have lived their whole lives without finding is a sobering reminder of the fragility of familial relationships. My favourite part was the rekindling of Quichottes and his sisters’ relationships; she achieved success as a lawyer in London whilst he struggled in his own career. His pride and refusal to admit fault in a small argument robbed them both of a family life for many decades.
Another more gruesome revelations was the family history, one of the reasons of conflict was the history of assault in the family, and how the protagonist lived his whole life in ignorance of it and how it shattered the way he remembered his family. It shows that even amongst the ones you hold dearest to your heart there can be secrets and once they are released they can change an individuals’ perception of their lives forever. The novel ties beautifully together the fentanyl epidemic, corporate pharmaceutical corruption, celebrity obsession, magical realism, political commentary, and especially family relationships. The fluid and easy manner in which Rushdie foreshadows and unravels the plot is a testament to his skill, and Quichotte is a return to form. I've read many novels, this one holds a special place in my heart.