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Rushdie jokes about death, attacker's motives
29 Jun
Summary
- Salman Rushdie humorously addressed his views on death.
- He discussed his attacker's puzzling motivations post-stabbing.
- His memoir 'Knife' features a fictional conversation with his attacker.
Novelist Salman Rushdie recently spoke at the Babell Literary and Cultural Festival in Porto, Portugal. When asked about death, he quipped, "I've had quite a good look at it, and it's not great. I'd prefer not to." This sentiment comes after he was stabbed 15 times in 2022 by Hadi Matar, an attack motivated by religious fatwas.
Rushdie expressed his ongoing puzzlement over his attacker's actions, especially considering Matar's background. He addressed these complexities in his 2024 memoir, "Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder." The book includes a fictional conversation between Rushdie and Matar, a section praised by many fellow novelists. Rushdie decided against visiting Matar in prison, opting to create the dialogue fictionally, a decision influenced by his wife.
Despite his experiences, Rushdie stated he is not interested in writing overtly political fiction, drawing parallels to Jane Austen's novels. He believes contemporary fiction must acknowledge the intertwined nature of public and private lives to fully develop characters, encompassing influences like love, work, money, class, and religion.
