concentric circles and a crossing of a river to arrive at the most terrifying, central region. Hence, Flapping Eagle's realisation that "[He] was climbing a mountain into the depths of an inferno plunging deep into myself" and his mistaking of Virgil Jones for "a demon" manifest as part of "some infernal torture" [Grimus p. 69]. This manipulation of the Inferno trope, so that it acts to reveal psychological rather than empirical reality, blurs the boundaries dividing internal and external realities, which is a fundamental conceit to the novel and Rushdie's works as a whole. The basing of Calf Island on a merger of Eastern and Western references (i.e. Dante's Mount Purgatory and Attar's Qâf Mountain) is emblematic of Rushdie's locating of post-colonial identity in an eclectic coalescence of cultures. Paired characters Kathryn Hume argues that one of Rushdie's most effective techniques for emphasising problematic dualistic thinking is the pairing of characters. However, with Grimuss lack of initial commercial success and the furore over The Satanic Verses, most critics have overlooked the far more interesting exploration of religious tropes embodied in the pairing of Grimus and Flapping Eagle. Grimus representing the godhead of Islam/Sufism whilst Flapping Eagle represents Hinduism's Shiva. As is typical of Rushdie the divisions of characteristics distinguishing the polarities of this pair are traumatised and blurred as these characters are structurally and literally paired, blended and unified within the text. Reviews of the book when first it was published emphasised its science-fiction elements. The science fiction author Brian Aldiss has claimed that he, Kingsley Amis and Arthur C. Clarke served on a science-fiction book prize jury at the time which identified Grimus as the best candidate for a science fiction book of the year award, but this prize was refused by the publishers who did not want the book to be classified as science fiction for marketing reasons. References 1975 British novels 1975 fantasy novels British fantasy novels Novels by Salman Rushdie British magic realism novels 1975 debut novels Victor Gollancz Ltd books Sufi fiction