this purpose he joins up with various Jihadi organisations and becomes a renowned assassin. Maximilian, the son of Ashkenazi Jews, was raised in France. Following the death of his parents in a Nazi concentration camp, he becomes a hero of the French resistance. A fictionalised account of the Bugatti automobile company plays a role in his escape from the Nazis. Following the war, he marries a British aristocrat, and eventually becomes American ambassador to India. This appointment eventually leads to his unspecified role in relation to American counter-terrorism. The appointment is more important than his ambassadorship, but his exact role is left vague. Shalimar receives training from insurgent groups in Afghanistan and the Philippines, and leaves for the USA. He murders Max on the day he resigns as his driver. Shalimar evades the authorities and eventually returns to India's home, with the intention of killing her. The story portrays the paradise that once was Kashmir, and how the politics of the sub-continent ripped apart the lives of those caught in the middle of the battleground. Critical reception Reviewing the novel in The Guardian, Natasha Walter thought that the best parts of the book was those set in Kashmir "Shalimar and Boonyi's youth and family background are realised with humour and sensual detail. And the destruction of Kashmir is the true heart of this book. When dealing with that tragedy Rushdie's style is genuinely passionate; this is a paean of love to a destroyed homeland. By contrast, when Rushdie journeys into the past of Max Ophuls the tale becomes coldly decorative". Jason Cowley in The Observer said that it was "Rushdie's most engaging book since Midnight's Children. It is a lament. It is a revenge story. It is a love story. And it is a warning - to Muslims and to secular pluralists alike." Michiko Kakutani in The New York Times was more critical and described Rushdie's prose as "clotted and clichéd". Adaptations The novel was adapted as an opera, with music by Jack Perla and a libretto by Rajiv Joseph, which premiered at Opera Theater of St. Louis in 2016. The principal roles were taken by Sean Panikkar, Andriana Chuchman, Gregory Dahl, and Katharine Goeldner; smaller parts were played by Aubrey Allicock and Thomas Hammons, among others. The performance was conducted by Jayce Ogren. A recording of the opera was subsequently released by Albany Records. References External links Goodreads.com page