Salman Rushdie is the author of fourteen previous novels, including Midnight’s Children (for which he won the Booker Prize and the Best of the Booker), Shame, The Satanic Verses, The Moor’s Last Sigh, and Quichotte, all of which have been shortlisted for the Booker Prize; a collection of stories, East, West; a memoir, Joseph Anton; a work of reportage, The Jaguar Smile; and three collections of essays, most recently Languages of Truth. His many awards include the Whitbread Prize for Best Novel, which he won twice; the PEN/Allen Foundation Literary Service Award; the National Arts Award; the French Prix du Meilleur Livre Étranger; the European Union’s Aristeion Prize for Literature; the Budapest Grand Prize for Literature; and the Italian Premio Grinzane Cavour. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and he is a Distinguished Writer in Residence at New York University. He is a former president of PEN America. His books have been translated into over forty languages.
“This book is full of so much that is ‘relevant’ that the very word
seems inadequate.”—Los Angeles Times
“Sometimes pensive, sometimes marvelously funny, always lucid
essays, reviews, and occasional pieces by the renowned Anglo-Indian
novelist.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“The essays crackle with [Rushdie’s] enthusiasm, humor, and
intelligence.”—The Miami Herald
“Every reader will find at least one essay in this collection that
will bring anger and one that will cause audible laughter—and that
is what makes Rushdie such an intelligent critic and
thought-provoking writer.”—Rocky Mountain News
“Step Across This Line . . . became my favorite reading this
summer. . . . [Rushdie’s essays] mostly celebrate the blurriness of
our characters, whether national, religious, or personal, often
taking a smudge stick to such boundaries.”—Mary Karr, author of
Cherry and The Liars’ Club
“[Rushdie’s] turns and words are frequently exhilarating. There is
. . . lilting pleasure in the collection.”—The New York Times Book
Review
Roughly one-fourth of these essays deals with the response of the media, various governments and Rushdie himself to what he calls the "unfunny Valentine" he received on February 14, 1989, from the Ayatollah Khomeini: the fatwa calling for his death. Everyone, it seems, had a script for Rushdie to follow, though none of these fantasies resembled the rather simple one the author fancied (and which seems to have been realized), which is that his problems gradually disappear and he be allowed to resume a more or less normal writerly life. To paraphrase an idea that appears in several of these essays, the problem is that frontiers cross us rather than the other way around: we are going about our business when our country is divided (as happened to Rushdie's native India in 1947) or we encounter a shocking work of art or our enemies declare they will kill us. Many respond to unnerving changes by embracing religion, but, says Rushdie, "ancient wisdoms are modern nonsenses"; in place of sectarian fervor, he recommends intellectual freedom, a simple concept yet a rigorous practice, as this book proves. These essays range over literature, politics and religion, as well as Rushdie's two private passions, rock music and soccer. They are united by a play of sparkling intelligence seasoned with sly wit, qualities that would serve the world at any time in its long, flawed history. After all, says Rushdie, the story he loved first and still loves best, perhaps the story of all humanity, is The Wizard of Oz, a fable that tells us the grown-up world doesn't really work, that adults can be good people and still be bad wizards. (Sept.) Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.
"This book is full of so much that is 'relevant' that the very word
seems inadequate." -Los Angeles Times
"Sometimes pensive, sometimes marvelously funny, always lucid
essays, reviews, and occasional pieces by the renowned Anglo-Indian
novelist." -Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"The essays crackle with [Rushdie's] enthusiasm, humor, and
intelligence." -The Miami Herald
"Every reader will find at least one essay in this collection that
will bring anger and one that will cause audible laughter-and that
is what makes Rushdie such an intelligent critic and
thought-provoking writer." -Rocky Mountain News
"Step Across This Line . . . became my favorite reading this
summer. . . . [Rushdie's essays] mostly celebrate the blurriness of
our characters, whether national, religious, or personal, often
taking a smudge stick to such boundaries." -Mary Karr, author of
Cherry and The Liars' Club
"[Rushdie's] turns and words are frequently exhilarating. There is
. . . lilting pleasure in the collection." -The New York Times
Book Review
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