Satanic Verses-part one of many many

Language is certainly an issue-I can figure much out from the context, but it's the culture and religion that builds barriers. My religious education is patchy at best, unless you count my assertion that I am a fake Catholic-unbaptized and unconfirmed. My knowledge of other religions and the history/origins of those faiths is even worse. As such, I can't quite connect with the Islamic influences, the Hindi, and really whatever comes next in the great possibly hugely sacrilegious text.

I may not understand all of what I read, but the text is hugely compelling-I can't seem to stop reading once I start. I'm loathe to put the book down for classes, homework, or any other novel.

Perhaps it's because the central characters of Gibreel and Saladin are actors that I feel a connection to the text, or maybe the religious influences that draw me in, seeking an alternative view of the faiths that hold such power in the world, and have fascinated me. Either way, this is one of the best books I've begun reading in the last few years.
In some ways I compare this to the works of Umberto Eco-although Rushdie seems to be questioning the foundations of faith itself while Eco only challenged the structures that grew out of faith. Eco protects the mysteries of origin, fighting against the inventions of humanity-and thus far I have read Rushdie playing with notions of devil and angel-ancient concepts. Kim raised the best point for me- the comparison to "Good Omens": again the devil and angel, but not fitting the notions set up by thousands of years of tradition.

I think I have made very little sense this post, but it's still too early for me to have come to a solid opinion of what I am reading, but I'm eager to read on.