Knife: meditations after an attempted murder, by Salman Rushdie

 

I've been following Salman Rushdie's story ever since he made the news with the publication of The Satanic Verses in 1988. Its publication was followed by a 1989 fatwa issued by the leader of Iran, Ruhollah Khomeini, and Rushdie lived in seclusion with 24/7 security for many years. In 2022 the fatwa resulted in a murder attempt at the famed Chautauqua Institute in front of approximately 2,500 people. Left blinded in one eye and with permanent damage to his left hand, Rushdie recovered with the help of his family, including his new wife, poet and novelist Rachel Eliza Griffiths. In Knife, Rushdie tells us about how he had come to leave behind his security detail and move to New York. He had remarried and had just completed his most recent novel, Victory City, when he was attacked. He writes about his physical recovery and many surgeries, along with his desire to tell his story as a way to heal psychologically. This is a heartfelt and sincere exploration of his experience. I was struck by the vulnerability that he demonstrates, both in detailing his personal life and relationship with his now-wife, and in his recovery from the attack. This is a touching and moving book that I would recommend to anyone who has followed Rushdie's story over the past 30-plus years.