Salman Rushdie says he’s writing book about near-fatal knife attack

Salman Rushdie is working on a book about the attack that took away his right eye, he has said in his first public appearance since being repeatedly stabbed on stage at a literary festival in New York last year. .

speaking on FT Weekend Festival In Washington on Saturday, the novelist, 75, said he was still “a little beaten up” but “basically fine”, nearly a year after the attempt on his life.

Rushdie appeared at the event via video link, wearing dark-coloured glasses with the right lens.

“I am not reading as fast as I used to but . , , I’m writing what I think will be a fairly short book about what happened,” Rushdie said in a wide-ranging talk that explored several of the author’s novels. midnight children To Vijay NagarHis most recent work which was published earlier this year.

Rushdie faced persecution for his work for decades and was under threat of death.

the satanic versesFirst published in 1988, controversy arose over how it portrayed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. The book was banned in Iran and the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, issued a fatwa ordering Muslims to kill Rushdie.

After receiving death threats, Rushdie went into hiding and lived under armed guard.

Following the attack last year, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken accused the Iranian government of inciting violence against Rushdie and castigated Tehran for “boasting” about the attempt on his life.

Rushdie took his critics lightly on Saturday, saying: “If my work has enemies, they are probably the right ones.”

When asked what advice he would have for young aspiring writers, Rushdie replied: “I would say, do what you gotta do and don’t be afraid.”

Rushdie had largely stayed out of the public eye for the past year as he recovered from the attack on his life. He made a rare appearance in New York last week to accept the Centennial Courage Award from PEN America, a nonprofit organization that advocates for freedom of expression.

“There are a lot of people at the moment trying to decide in many ways what is right to do and what is not to do. . . Rushdie warned attendees of the FT Festival on Saturday, “If the death of the novel Whatever may be the cause, it will be this.”

“We have to tell our truth in our own way and present it to the world,” he said.