Originally published: London : Cape, 1983.

In his brilliant third novel, first published in 1983, Salman Rushdie gives us a lively and colorful mixture of history, art, language, politics, and religion. Set in a country "not quite Pakistan", the story centers around the families of two men -- one a celebrated warrior, the other a debauched playboy -- engaged in a protracted duel that is played out in the political landscape of their country.

Shame is a tour de force and a fitting predecessor to the author's legendary novel, The Satanic Verses.