Two characters of Indian origin, Gibreel Farishta, cinema artist, considered almost a national hero for his movies; and Saladin
Chamcha, an announcer, capable of making almost any tone of voice. One lives in India and the other in London. To some extent, Gibreel represents the Indian nationality, while Saladin does whatever he can to pass as English. During the plane trip where they meet, there is an explosion and both are shot out into the air. As they fall, they undergo a
transformation: Gibreel turns into a type of angel, loved by all; while Saladin turns into a
demon, with horns and hair and a definite lycanthropist look. The lives of these two characters are recounted by Salman Rushdie in his novel of more than 600 pages. In his view, everyone represents an angel and a demon in the collective subconscious. Gibreel, none other than the arc-angel Gabriel, who he plays in his movies, is the beloved, the chosen one, who nevertheless lives his life between spasms and hallucinations linked with the Koran and religious movies from his land. Saladin, actually Salahuddin Chamchawala, is a renegade Indian who gets a job in England and renounces his father's legacy and the tree of his life, planted in his childhood playground, to avoid having to bear the burden of his origin. His voice opens doors to dub radio programmes and commercials in London. But after the transformation, both have bad luck. Saladin, trying to survive and get revenge on Gibreel, who he believes has caused the change and whom he blames for leaving him to his fate after his transformation into a monster; and Gibreel, trying to flee his dreams and the fame brought by his movies, practically a far cry from his comrade's tragedy. Alelluia Cone, an albino woman, literally as white as snow, falls in love with Gibreel and forms part of the tragedy, in a passionate relationship filled with twists and turns, that ends up at Mt Everest's summit. In the final meeting, the only time Saladin and Gibreel see each other face to face, the neo arc-angel resorts to suicide and the neo demon turns his back on this part of his life, aware of the fact that he has won a second opportunity returning to his homeland. The story is full of references to India's religious history, ghosts, hallucinations, angels and devils and fulfills the rigour of an epic foundational story, mixed in with the magic realism the author once claimed to have learned from the Colombian, Gabriel Garcia Marquez. There, intertwined, like in the tales of Scherezada, are the legends of the great pilgrimage to the sea; of the village where the profit Mahound faced the devil and his verses; or of Ayesha, the virgin surrounded by butterflies - which, in turn, refer to Gabriel Garcia Marquez's character, Mauricio Babilonia, in 100 years of solitude-; and the story of Saladin's father, which is a legend in itself.