Apr 30

Apr 30 Victory City

Author: Salman Rushdie
Publisher: Random House
Goodreads | The StoryGraph

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Note: Content and trigger warnings are provided for those who need them at the bottom of this page. If you don’t need them and don’t want to risk spoilers, don’t scroll past the full review.

Cover Description

She will whisper an empire into existence — but all stories have a way of getting away from their creators . . .

In the wake of an insignificant battle between two long-forgotten kingdoms in fourteenth-century southern India, a nine-year-old girl has a divine encounter that will change the course of history. After witnessing the death of her mother, the grief-stricken Pampa Kampana becomes a vessel for a goddess, who tells her that she will be instrumental in the rise of a great city called Bisnaga — literally 'victory city' — the wonder of the world.

Over the next two hundred and fifty years, Pampa Kampana's life becomes deeply interwoven with Bisnaga's as she attempts to make good on the task that the goddess set for her: to give women equal agency in a patriarchal world. But all stories have a way of getting away from their creator, and as years pass, rulers come and go, battles are won and lost, and allegiances shift, Bisnaga is no exception.

TL;DR Review

Victory City is a delightful historical literary fantasy by the master storyteller himself. It wasn’t perfect, but it was a delight to read, and Rushdie always leaves us with much to ponder.

For you if: You love the kind of literary fiction that feels like fables and fairytales.

Full Review

Victory City isn’t perfect, but like so many of Salman Rushdie’s novels, it is well-written and a delight to read. He’s a masterful storyteller no matter what he’s writing, but a work of historical literary fantasy like this? Chef’s kiss.

Inspired by the real-life, fourteenth century Vijayanagara Empire, this novel charts the life of Pampa Kampana, a girl orphaned at the age of nine when her mother walked into flames. She’s then imbued with power and foresight and long life by a goddess who charges her to give women equal agency. She becomes the mother of a kingdom sprouted from seeds, and over the course of more than 250 years, we watch the rise and fall of that kingdom, witnessing her own children cycle between love and reverence, and fear and rejection, and back again and back again.

I love when Rushdie tells me a story — and that’s what this really feels like, an epic once upon a time. The voice is magical and enchanting, and you can tell he had a lot of fun writing it. (The audiobook is also delightfully narrated.) This, for me, was the primary delight of the book.

Admittedly, it’s got a little bit of feminism-written-by-a-man syndrome (Pampa Kampana is sexually abused by the monk who took her in but never tells anyone, even when he rises to power; she works her magic through two kings rather than leading herself; the kingdom she gives life to still ends up thinking women unfit to rule, etc.) At the same time, it feels true to the period of history it seems to represent. Are all societies doomed to implode eventually? Can we free ourselves from the cycles of violence, the corruption of power, the allure of privilege?

If you love the kind of literary fiction that feels like fables and fairytales, definitely give this one a shot.