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Speaking of Siva
Speaking of Siva
May 8, 2024 6:52 PM

Speaking of Siva

Speaking of Siva is a selection of vacanas or free-verse sayings from the Virasaiva religious movement, dedicated to Siva as the supreme god. Written by four major saints, the greatest exponents of this poetic form, between the tenth and twelfth centuries, they are passionate lyrical expressions of the search for an unpredictable and spontaneous spiritual vision of 'now'. Here, yogic and tantric symbols, riddles and enigmas subvert the language of ordinary experience, as references to night and day, sex and family relationships take on new mystical meanings. These intense poems of personal devotion to a single deity also question traditional belief systems, customs, superstitions, image worship and even moral strictures, in verse that speaks to all men and women regardless of class and caste.

Reviews

A very important book

—— Paulo Coelho, author of The Alchemist

The Seat of the Soul changed the way I see myself. It changed the way I view the world

—— Oprah Winfrey

A remarkable treatment of thought, evolution, and reincarnation

—— Library Journal

Filled with wisdom, and written in a beautifully simple, almost poetic style, The Seat of the Soul is a book to be savored

—— Brian Weiss, Chairman of Psychiatry, Mt. Sinai Medical Center, Miami, and author of Many Lives, Many Masters

A readable, thought-provoking [work] on how our perceptions must change dramatically if we are to survive

—— Library Journal

Intellectually nimble and rigorously researched . . . admirably clear-eyed . . . Kadri is a precise and stylish writer, as good at explicating abstruse arguments as he is at conjuring vivid scenes . . . this brave and sane book could not be more timely

—— Scotsman

Truly penetrating and provocative

—— Observer

Learned, level-headed, engaging, Kadri's [book] deserves praise on every front

—— Boyd Tonkin , Independent

Thoughtful

—— Independent on Sunday

[An] erudite and instructive book... Captivating

—— The Times

[A] fascinating journey . . . Kadri approaches his themes with unstinting humanity and intelligence, as well as great fluency

—— Spectator

You will come across...a fresh eye, and a clear perspective, in Sadakat Kadri's new book, Heaven on Earth. Learned, level-headed, engaging, Kadri's "journey through Shari'a law" deserves praise on every front

—— Independent

This is an extremely valuable book...Knowing this stuff is important, and Kadri takes us through it wonderfully well. He has a great grasp of the facts and – this is my favourite thing – a good, dry sense of humour

—— Nick Lezzard , Guardian

Superb… So much discussion of sharia is marred by misinformation and paranoia: this level-headed book provides a timely corrective

—— David Evans , Independent on Sunday

The most gripping, moving and entertaining literary memoir I have ever read.

—— Amanda Craig , Independent on Sunday

The story Rushdie tells is never less than gripping.

—— Colin McCabe , New Statesman

A magnificent new memoir.

—— Matthew d’Ancona , Evening Standard

This moving, sometimes irritating, often beautiful and blissfully funny memoir is also a resounding manifesto, reminding us that novelists have a right and duty to tackle the most controversial subjects.

—— Jake Kerridge , Sunday Express

His big, bold, controversial memoir…matches Rushdie’s confident personality.

—— Ian Finlayson , The Times

[A book that] rattles with the terror of the moment.

—— Graeme Wood , Barnes & Noble Review

The big book of the week was Salman Rushdie's memoir Joseph Anton

—— Guardian

It’s an extraordinary document.

—— Anthony Cummins , Metro

Rushdie says art outlasts persecution, but artists may not. A look at how this dichotomy has played out in his life.

—— Salil Tripathi , Live Mint

Joseph Anton is as riveting for the small vignettes as the big, historical sweep.

—— Ginny Dougary , Financial Times

Reads like a thriller...painfully true.

—— Robert McCrum , Observer

He is compelling here...grippingly reconstructing his long years in hiding.

—— Robert Collins , Sunday Times

[N]ot many Americans had heard of Rushdie until Valentines Day, 1989, when the dying Ayatollah Khomeni of Iran issued the infamous fatwa calling for Rushdie’s head... Rushdie spent most of the next decade in hiding, accompanied by armed British agents. He’s now published his account of that stranger-than-fiction time: Joseph Anton: A Memoir.

—— Kurt Andersen , Studio 360

Aside from the vivid, splendidly told account of his childhood and family background, Rushdie's book charts in, fascinating, grimly humourous detail, the shadowy half-life he lived until that fatwah was lifted on March 27, 2002.

—— Paddy Kehoe , RTE Ten
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