Salman Rushdie

In the wake of an unimportant battle between two long-forgotten kingdoms in fourteenth-century southern India, a nine-year-old girl has a divine encounter that will change the course of history. After witnessing the death of her mother, the grief-stricken Pampa Kampana becomes a vessel for a goddess, who begins to speak out of the girl’s mouth. Granting her powers beyond Pampa Kampana’s comprehension, the goddess tells her that she will be instrumental in the rise of a great city called Bisnaga, Victory City, the wonder of the world.

Over the next 250 years, Pampa Kampana’s life becomes deeply interwoven with Bisnaga’s, from growing the city from a bag of magic seeds to the tragic downfall of the empire. Whispering Bisnaga and its citizens into existence, Pampa Kampana attempts to make good on the task that the goddess set for her: to give women equal agency in a patriarchal world. But all stories have a way of getting away from their creator, and Bisnaga is no exception. As years pass, rulers come and go, battles are won and lost, and allegiances shift, the very fabric of Bisnaga becomes an ever more complex tapestry—with Pampa Kampana at its center.

Brilliantly styled as a translation of an ancient epic, Victory City is a saga of love, adventure, and myth that is in itself a testament to the power of storytelling.

This sweeping epic of a novel is the type of book that Rushdie does brilliantly. Even at his advanced age he is on form here, a magical tale full of life, love, intrigue and betrayal. A very entertaining read.

https://quizlit.org/book-of-the-month-august-2023… (more)

In August of 2022, a young man with a knife attacked Salman Rushdie as the renowned author was delivering a lecture. Rushdie sustained multiple injuries and lost the vision in one eye along with the functionality of one of his hands. Rushdie’s latest book, Knife, documents what happened on that bright August morning, as well as the author’s surprising physical and psychological recovery.

For a short book, Knife is remarkably wide ranging. Rushdie goes into detail about all his ailments, both attack-induced and not, as well as his nuanced thoughts regarding religion, literature, and his fellow authors. He discusses his tabloid images as “a party animal” and “not a nice man.” In the most touching moments of this memoir, he expresses his love and gratitude towards his (fifth) wife and adult children. In my least favorite part of the book, Rushdie imagines a dialogue between himself and his attacker. This part felt like padding.

Despite Rushdie’s reputation for literary complexity, I found this memoir engaging and accessible. Highly recommended.… (more)