Salman Rushdie
Garima Verma
Prof. Karuna Rajeev
Anglo American Literature
24th October, 2013
The Rushdie Affair
More renowned for his controversies than his awards, Booker Prize winner, Sir Ahmed Salman Rushdie is a British Indian novelist and essayist. Though much of his fiction is set on the Indian subcontinent a dominant theme of his work is the story of the many connections, disruptions and migrations between the Eastern and Western world. He is associated with the magical realism style of writing and has been often compared to the likes of Gabriel Garcia Marquez, though he himself claims to have learned from the older tradition, from writers like Gogol or Dickens, “who have that ability to be on the edge between the surreal and the real.”
Born in a liberal westernized family, Rushdie never experienced the extreme religious fervor that orthodoxy inspires amongst followers. He had a Christian nurse, for whom his family celebrated Christmas, and his friends were from different religions, none of which “struck me as being particularly important.” (Rushdie: “In God We Trust” 376-377).
However, In “Why I Have Embraced Islam,” he goes on to say: “Although I come from a Muslim family background, I was not brought up as a believer, and was raised in an atmosphere of what is broadly known as secular humanism.” This ‘atmosphere’ can be understood to be a reference to Rushdie’s birthplace and childhood residence, Bombay-the cultural melting pot of religions, languages and identities, sprinkled with the fairy dust of cinema.
Having begun his journey as a copywriter, Rushdie’s first novel Grimus (1975) failed to get him much recognition. His second attempt however lead to worldwide fame and the 1981 Booker in his hat. Midnight’s Children, 1981, thus launched Rushdie.
Here lies the problem. Although Islam has its own stories and tales, the modern novel does not go well with a religion that is constantly trying to purify itself from modernizing, liberal tendencies. The novel,
Prof. Karuna Rajeev
Anglo American Literature
24th October, 2013
The Rushdie Affair
More renowned for his controversies than his awards, Booker Prize winner, Sir Ahmed Salman Rushdie is a British Indian novelist and essayist. Though much of his fiction is set on the Indian subcontinent a dominant theme of his work is the story of the many connections, disruptions and migrations between the Eastern and Western world. He is associated with the magical realism style of writing and has been often compared to the likes of Gabriel Garcia Marquez, though he himself claims to have learned from the older tradition, from writers like Gogol or Dickens, “who have that ability to be on the edge between the surreal and the real.”
Born in a liberal westernized family, Rushdie never experienced the extreme religious fervor that orthodoxy inspires amongst followers. He had a Christian nurse, for whom his family celebrated Christmas, and his friends were from different religions, none of which “struck me as being particularly important.” (Rushdie: “In God We Trust” 376-377).
However, In “Why I Have Embraced Islam,” he goes on to say: “Although I come from a Muslim family background, I was not brought up as a believer, and was raised in an atmosphere of what is broadly known as secular humanism.” This ‘atmosphere’ can be understood to be a reference to Rushdie’s birthplace and childhood residence, Bombay-the cultural melting pot of religions, languages and identities, sprinkled with the fairy dust of cinema.
Having begun his journey as a copywriter, Rushdie’s first novel Grimus (1975) failed to get him much recognition. His second attempt however lead to worldwide fame and the 1981 Booker in his hat. Midnight’s Children, 1981, thus launched Rushdie.
Here lies the problem. Although Islam has its own stories and tales, the modern novel does not go well with a religion that is constantly trying to purify itself from modernizing, liberal tendencies. The novel,
Cited: 1. Rushdie, Salman. The Satanic Verses. Viking Press. 1988. Print. 2 3. Rushdie, Salman. "In God We Trust," in Imaginary Homelands. London. Viking, 1991. 4. Rushdie, Salman. “Is Nothing Sacred”. Granta. 1990. 5 7. Asad, Talal. “Ethnography, Literature, and Politics: Some Readings and Uses of Salman Rushdie 's The Satanic Verses. Cultural Anthropology”. Wiley. 1990. Web. 23 October 2013. 8. Irving, T.B. “The Rushdie Confrontation: A Clash in Values”. The Iowa Review 175-184. University of Iowa. 1990. Web. 23 October 2013. 9. Brians, Paul. “Notes for Salman Rushdie: The Satanic Verses”. 2004. Web. 23 October 2013. 10. Kunow, Rüdiger. “Architect of the Cosmopolitan Dream: Salman Rushdie”. Amerikastudien / American Studies. Universitätsverlag WINTER Gmbh. 2006. Web. 23 October 2013. 11. Meer, Ameena. “Salman Rushdie”. BOMB. New Art Publications. 1989. Web. 23 October 2013. 12. G. Corcoran, Marlena. “Salman Rushdie 's Satanic Narration”. The Iowa Review. University of Iowa. 1990. Web. 23 October 2013. 13. Mazrui, Ali. A. “Moral Dilemmas Of The Satanic Verses". The Black Scholar. Paradigm Publishers. 1989. Web. 23 October 2013. 14. Mahanta, Aparna. “Allegories of the Indian Experience: The Novels of Salman Rushdie”. Economic and Political Weekly. Feb. 11, 1984. Web. 23 October 2013. 16. Haq, S. Nomanul. “The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie”. Harvard Book Review. Houghton Library of the Harvard College Library. 1989. Web. 23 October 2013.