Conversations With Salman Rushdie (Literary Conversations Series (Paper))

Rating:
Summary: A real treat for Rushdie fans
Review: The collection of interviews compiled here is a remarkable chronicling of the pursuits and tribulations that Rushdie has had to encounter in his work, often controversial yet boldly empowering to voices unheard from in India, and I think it serves a very useful role in trying to unravel the whole Rushdie phenomenon. Rushdie's response to the fatwa, his original intentions in portraying the more controversial elements of Midnight's Children, his take on contemporaries, Gunther Grass, Garcia Marquez, are all stimulating works. This is the art of the interview on showcase here, folks, and even if you've read "Step Across This Line" or Rushdie's other personal essays, this offers a third-person perspective that will enchant readers nonetheless.

Interestingly enough, I recently heard Rushdie talk at a lecture in New York recently, and hearing him speak on a letter he received anonymously, I recollect the words, which admirably enough, say to Rushdie something to the effect of: "Imagine you are surrounded by terrorists pointing guns to your head in an enclosed room, and entering this room there is only a door. Imagine your lover is outside somewhere hopefully trying to save you. Now imagine the door being broken down, the gunmen turn around, and the hero who enters first is struck down with bullets. Even though the person first to break down the door is now riddled with bullets, the door is still broken down. Others may now enter and save me. This is what you have done for me."

I find this enormously helpful in coming to grips with his story and the large degree of *inspiration* Rushdie has provided people in the aftermath of his human tragedy. The freedoms for which he has "taken the hit" and by which others can now be liberated to speak their concerns cannot be underscored more gracefully.

But my own anecdotes aside, this collection is a very good one, indeed, and if you're looking for greater insight into Rushdie the Man, not Rushdie the Myth, you can look no further. The interviews are sparkling at times and always rich and provocative.