Knife

Meditations After an Attempted Murder

Salman Rushdie

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English

JONATHAN CAPE
16 April 2024

Biography; Memoirs

ABBEY'S BOOKSELLER PICK ----- This is a detailed examination of the brutal attack on Rushdie where he examines the consequences of the attack both physically and mentally. But it is also a love story, not only of the tireless efforts of his wife and poet, Rachel Eliza Griffiths, but of her immediate family plus the support of Salman’s sister and his sons.

Reflecting on other authors that have been stabbed, notably Naguib Mahfouz and Samuel Beckett, Rushdie contemplates the effect this can have on what one writes. That although he felt he had some ideas for a new novel he realized that this was the book he needed to get of his system first.

This is a brave and compassionate book. Greg

A searing, deeply personal account of enduring a brutal attempt on his life, 30 years after the fatwa that was ordered against him, from internationally renowned and Booker Prize-winning author Salman Rushdie

On the morning of 12 August 2022, Salman Rushdie was standing onstage at the Chautauqua Institution in upstate New York, preparing to give a lecture on the importance of keeping writers safe from harm, when a man wearing black clothes and a black mask rushed down the aisle towards him, wielding a knife. His first thought: So it's you. Here you are.

What followed was a horrific act of violence that shook the literary world and beyond. Now, for the first time, and in unforgettable detail, Rushdie relives the traumatic events of that day and its aftermath, as well as his journey towards physical recovery and the healing that was made possible by the love and support of his wife, Eliza, his family, his army of doctors and physical therapists, and his worldwide community of readers.

Knife is Rushdie at the peak of his powers, writing with urgency, with gravity, with unflinching honesty. It is also a deeply moving reminder of literature's capacity to make sense of the unthinkable, an intimate and life-affirming meditation on life, loss, love, art... and finding the strength to stand up again.

By: Salman Rushdie
Imprint: JONATHAN CAPE
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 233mm, Width: 154mm, Spine: 17mm
Weight: 278g
ISBN: 9781787334809
ISBN 10: 1787334805
Pages: 224
Publication Date: 16 April 2024
Audience: General/trade , College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , ELT Advanced , Primary
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

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), The Satanic Verses, and Quichotte (which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize). A former president of PEN American Center, Rushdie was knighted in 2007 for services to literature and was made a Companion of Honour in the Queen's last Birthday Honours list in 2022.

Reviews for Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder

Joseph Anton is a splendid book, the finest new memoir to cross my desk in many a year... The length of the book, and its wealth of quotidian detail, serve to draw the reader into the life that Rushdie was forced to lead, to make his isolation and fear palpable * Washington Post * Rushdie has the power of description, and we succumb * The Times * Salman Rushdie is a storyteller of prodigious powers, able to conjure up whole geographies, causalities, climates, creatures, customs, out of thin air * New York Times Book Review * With both candour and rich detail, and reminding us again of his knack for storytelling, [Knife] celebrates art and love over violence, resilience over acquiescence * i, *Books to Look Out For 2024* * With both candour and rich detail, and reminding us again of his knack for storytelling, [Knife] celebrates art and love over violence, resilience over acquiescence * i, *Books to Look Out For 2024* * A testament to endurance and the power of writing * Esquire, *Books to Look Out For 2024* * A gripping, personal and life-affirming meditation on life, loss, love, art – and finding the strength to stand up again * News Letter, *Books to Look Out For 2024* *