Jumping back quickly to a Village Divided and the second introduction, or even the matter of the first introduction...I do agree to an extent with Ajai's disapproval. Would the book have been just as effective without the second introduction. I do think so, but would it have been quite so personal? I don't know. I had a strange reaction after reading the introduction, and surely the text following lended itself to this effect, but I felt each character so much more deeply and personally. Suddenly, I realized that I cared about these people who I had been given so much reason to despise because the author had given me his reason to care. There was something about this very open and very unnecessary (structurally but perhaps necessary personally) second introduction that made the writing and reading of this book feel so deeply important.

Reading Shame now, I feel the same way about Rushdie's interjections.