In this episode from NPR's Book of the Day podcast, author Salman Rushdie reflects on the harrowing 2022 attack that left him severely injured, including permanent vision loss. He recounts the attack and his difficult recovery process, crediting his wife Eliza as a steadfast support throughout.
Rushdie shares spiritual and philosophical reflections sparked by the traumatic event. He discusses the impact on his identity as a writer and public figure, and reaffirms his vocation beyond the lingering association with "The Satanic Verses" controversy. Through vivid detail, Rushdie prevents the attack from defining him, using his memoir to reclaim his core role as a novelist.
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In vivid detail, Salman Rushdie recounts the harrowing attack where he suffered multiple stab wounds, including permanent vision loss in one eye. Though severely injured, Rushdie notes his "luck" in the assailant's lack of fatal technique and the proximity of a trauma hospital.
Rushdie speaks glowingly of his wife Eliza, whom he calls the "clear hero" in aiding his difficult recovery. Her steadfast support, including accompanying him during his emotional return to the attack site, was crucial. Rushdie emphasizes finding love "late in life" with Eliza as a profound gift after his trauma.
While affirming his skepticism after experiencing no "tunnel of light" near-death phenomena, Rushdie ponders the paradox of his novels exploring the magical and miraculous. He views surrealism as vital for capturing an increasingly insane reality. Rushdie metaphorically uses his memoir as a "knife" to resist solely being defined by the attack.
Frustrated by overshadowing association with "The Satanic Verses" controversy, Rushdie urges readers to engage with his extensive literary works beyond this event. In reclaiming his novelist identity, Rushdie revisited the attack site, symbolically refusing reduction to victimhood and affirming his vocation.
1-Page Summary
In a vivid recounting of the harrowing events of 2022, Salman Rushdie shares the details of the attack he suffered and its lingering effects on his health and perspective on life.
Rushdie describes seeing a man rise from the audience, rush towards him on stage, and begin attacking him with a knife. Initially, he did not see the knife and thought he had only been hit, but the sight of blood made him realize he was being stabbed. He has tried to count his wounds multiple times but keeps losing track, estimating at least 12, possibly 13, or 14 stab wounds.
Rushdie explains that he was fortunate to have a trauma hospital nearby in Pennsylvania, reachable by helicopter, and how sunny weather allowed for his swift aerial transport, which likely saved his life. He notes a surgeon's remarks about his luck post-attack, stating that his assailant lacked the knowledge to kill someone effectively with a knife. This lack of skill led to haphazard stabbing rather than fatal precision.
Rushdie details his re ...
Rushdie's experience of the 2022 attack and its aftermath
In Salman Rushdie's new memoir, he expresses great affection and gratitude for his wife, Eliza, referring to her as the "clear hero" throughout his journey of recovery.
Rushdie's recount of his first meeting with Eliza is filled with dramatic irony, as he narrates a comically foreshadowing incident. He was so entranced by her presence that he walked into a glass door, resulting in his glasses cutting his nose—a mishap that left him concerned he might pass out from the bleeding. Despite the initial accident, their connection is evidently profound and Eliza's role in Rushdie's life becomes a mainstay in his narrative.
Eliza's steadfast support is poignantly illustrated by Rushdie's insistence on not facing his challenges alone, especially when revisiting the site of his stabbing. He recalls a specific moment during this visit, articulating a palpable sense of relief as if a heavy weight had been physically lifted from his shoulders.
Mary Louise Kelly, referring to Eliza's accompaniment during this significant event, emphasizes her support. For Eliza, having never seen the location, it ...
The role of Rushdie's wife and personal relationships in his recovery
Salman Rushdie reflects on his near-death experience, which he feels underscores his belief in the absence of the supernatural. He describes that while he was lying on the ground, on the brink of death, there were no "choirs of angels" or "tunnel of light"; it was just "somebody physically lying on the ground, bleeding to death." This absence of a spiritual encounter during such a critical moment reaffirmed his skepticism regarding the supernatural.
Yet Rushdie also recognizes a paradox between his disbelief in miracles and the content of his books, which are replete with magical and surreal elements. He muses that perhaps through his novels, he has allowed the miraculous to leap from fiction into reality.
Explaining his literary choices, Rushdie suggests that traditional realism is insufficient to capture the true nature of an increasingly insane world. With daily news underscoring the world's surreal nature, R ...
Rushdie's spiritual and philosophical reflections on the attack
After the fatwa and the subsequent attack, Salman Rushdie expresses his frustration with being defined by these events rather than his work as a novelist, a career to which he has devoted the majority of his life.
Salman Rushdie urges readers to engage with his extensive body of work, which extends far beyond "The Satanic Verses" and the attack associated with it. He recommends more recent novels like "Victory City," suggesting it and others such as "Midnight's Children" and "Haroun and the Sea of Stories," as better starting points to understand his literature. This diversity of work, Rushdie implies, provides a more comprehensive view into his career and talents as a writer.
Despite the overshadowing nature of the fatwa and the attack, Rushdie considers some of his novels to be quite good and believes that they deserve more attention. However, he recognizes that this notoriety might be what he is best known for, although it has introduced his writing to new readers—a situation he notes he would have preferred to come about under different circumstances.
The impact of the attack on Rushdie's identity as a writer and public figure
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