In his latest novel, Shalimar the Clown, Salman Rushdie gives the reader a graphic depiction of the war over Kashmir, the disputed land between India and Pakistan. It also tells an incredible tale of an American ambassador and his infidelities and a heartbreaking love story between a young man and woman from a simple Kashmiri village, all within 400 pages.

The book begins with the former U.S. ambassador to India, Maximillian Ophuls, getting knifed to death by his driver on the doorstep of his illegitimate daughter, India. By making a simple connection between the daughter’s name and the country in which Max was stationed, the reader already has a clue as to how the book is going to play out.

Shalimar is a book divided into five different parts. It starts in California, in 1991, with Max visiting his daughter on her birthday. Since the reader already knows he is going to die before reading the book, there really isn’t too much suspense and the beginning of the book is actually rather boring. It is, however, necessary to the story, because the reader immediately wants to know why his driver, Shalimar the clown, nearly beheaded him in broad daylight.

If the reader can get past the first section and maintain an ounce or two of interest, the rest of the story does not disappoint. It is the kind of book that reads backwards; the events happen first, and the reasons are given later.

The second part of the book is the story of Boonyi Kaul, a girl from Pachigam, a small Kashmiri village. She falls in love with a young man, a tightrope-walker who calls himself Shalimar the clown, and it is after they consummate their love in a meadow that the book begins to pick up its pace. For the first time, Rushdie really grips the reader with memorable dialogue. “Don’t leave me now, or I’ll never forgive you, and I’ll have my revenge, I’ll kill you and if you have any children by another man I’ll kill the children also,” says Shalimar the clown to Boonyi after the sex. “What a romantic you are,” she responds. Also in this section, the reader is introduced, in great detail, to the people living in the village, who will play a big part in the story later on.

The third part of the book is the story of Max’s background and his time in India as ambassador. The second part of this particular story, however, is one of the most important parts in the book. Because of what he does in India, the reader should start to stop liking him.

The fourth and fifth parts of the book focus on Shalimar the clown and Max’s daughter, India. These last two sections are the most intense, as the book finally unravels itself and gives the reader answers.

If for no other reason, read this book because of Rushdie’s controversial reputation. In 1988, following the release of The Satanic Verses, a fatwa, or death sentence, was issued on Salman Rushdie which forced him into hiding. His work within the pages has separated him from other authors, and Shalimar the Clown, a book full of both haunting and beautiful imagery, likeable characters, and meaningful real world references, will add to his legacy as one of the greatest writers of our time.