The Moor's Last Sigh is a historical fiction novel by Salman Rushdie. This novel is his fifth novel and was published in 1995. Salman Rushdie is a British-Indian author and a Fellow of the British Royal Society of Literature. In France, he got the position of Commandeur in the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. He has 12 novels published, and these novels were translated into many languages.
The novel takes place in India and Spain, where Moraes (Moor), takes a journey from India to Spain, discovering more and more about his ancestors, and how their life affected his. Moor is the last survivor of his dynasty. The novel refers to many real historical events, like Boabdil's surrender of Granada, the destruction of the Masjid of Babri, and much more. The story focuses on the several women he met during his journey, and how his relationship with them evolves and breaks. Rushdie includes the history of India during Moor's time accurately and with vivid descriptions.
The Moor's Last Sigh won the 'Whitbread Prize' for best novel as soon as it was published. Rushdie was inspired by the story of Boabdil's life. Boabdil was the last Moorish ruler in Granada. The story received a myriad of positive reviews. It is rated 4 out of 5 on Goodreads. One of the readers on Goodreads says: " Rushdie is a smart, ingenious and purposeful writer. Everything is cleverly thought out and his use of language is magical. He bends the words with ease and brings out richer meanings. The plot is an original story that unfolds as a series of riddles to a satirical account of modern India". New York Times states: “Fierce, phantasmagorical…a huge, sprawling, exuberant novel". Lastly, Sunday Times reviewed: “Salman Rushdie’s greatest novel… held me is its thrall and provided the richest fictional experience of 1995". These are just a few praises for The Moor's Last Sigh, which is suited to those who like historical fiction and enjoy seeing the history of a country or more in a normal person's perspective, one that is not taught to us in the history books.
