Author Salman Rushdie releases Korean translation of memoir detailing 2022 knife attack
Published: 17 Oct. 2024, 08:09
Updated: 17 Oct. 2024, 15:42
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- YIM SEUNG-HYE
- yim.seunghye@joongang.co.kr
Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI
![Indian-born British author Salman Rushdie [RACHEL ELIZA GRIFFITHS]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2024/10/17/b2e384df-1fea-447d-b969-420321f1ca8a.jpg)
Indian-born British author Salman Rushdie [RACHEL ELIZA GRIFFITHS]
Indian-born British author Salman Rushdie, 77, recently released a new non-fiction book titled “Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder.” The memoir was written after Rushdie was attacked by a young Muslim extremist during a lecture in the state of New York, United States, in 2022.
Hadi Matar, who was 24 at the time, stabbed the 75-year-old Rushdie 15 times, targeting his neck, eye, chest and thigh. This was the first attack Rushdie had suffered despite decades of death threats over his novel “The Satanic Verses” (1988), which had been condemned for its allegedly blasphemous portrayal of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.
Rushdie was rushed to hospital where he underwent dozens of surgeries, miraculously surviving despite losing his right eye. The book is subtitled “Meditations After an Attempted Murder.” With the release of its Korean edition, this paper’s Korean affiliate, the JoongAng Ilbo, interviewed Rushdie via e-mail. The following are edited excerpts from the interview.
![Author Salman Rushdie's new book "Knife" on sale at a bookstore in New York, on April 16 [AFP/YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2024/10/17/3871fb1f-e84b-4b5b-b3c5-18ff1a08e14c.jpg)
Author Salman Rushdie's new book "Knife" on sale at a bookstore in New York, on April 16 [AFP/YONHAP]
![CNN broadcasts news of Salman Rushdie being attacked in 2022. [SCREEN CAPTURE]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2024/10/17/bd9cefb3-4d1d-4d77-8436-4abd605c22c2.jpg)
CNN broadcasts news of Salman Rushdie being attacked in 2022. [SCREEN CAPTURE]
“Knife” seems intrinsically linked to “The Satanic Verses.” How do you hope readers will understand the two books in the context of your broader literary career?
I am proud of “The Satanic Verses,” a book my assailant has not read. As for readers, I always hope they may engage with my work as a whole, as literature, and not just something, as you say, “in the shadow” of a threat. It’s about violence and survival and why such things happen and what they mean.
Freedom of expression is under threat across the world. Is it a value worth protecting at the risk of one’s life?
Free expression is the freedom without which all the others perish. It must be defended fiercely against attacks from both the right and left. And many writers have done so even at the risk of their own safety.
You’ve received so many death threats and had near-death experiences, and after extensive treatment, you were able to return to your life as a writer. What was your driving force that helped you summon the willpower to embrace life?
Love — love opposed to hatred, and triumphing over it. “Knife” is a book about the power of love.
![Defense attorney Nathaniel Barone, left, and Hadi Matar, 24, right, listen during an arraignment in the Chautauqua County Courthouse in Mayville, New York, on Aug. 18, 2022. [AP/YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2024/10/17/5efa3eaf-49d1-463a-ab6f-2682d022bbe3.jpg)
Defense attorney Nathaniel Barone, left, and Hadi Matar, 24, right, listen during an arraignment in the Chautauqua County Courthouse in Mayville, New York, on Aug. 18, 2022. [AP/YONHAP]
In the sixth chapter of “Knife,” you include an imaginary conversation with the assailant, identified as A. By addressing A in your writing, are you perhaps expressing hope that he might be capable of introspection?
No, I don’t expect him to read, and I don’t believe he leads an introspective, examined life. The reason for the chapter is that clearly he needed to be a part of the story, and it was a way of making him one of “my” characters. One might say that now he belongs to me.
Despite being written in the aftermath of a deeply traumatic experience, “Knife” isn't consistently somber in tone. It seems to showcase your characteristic wit. Could you share your thoughts on the role and significance of humor and wit in your writing?
Well, to speak as a reader, I don’t like books that are entirely devoid of humor and wit. So I try not to write them. I’m glad you feel the book is a rich emotional tapestry. The point was to write something rich and layered that could be enjoyed as a literary text, not just an account of a crime.
![Book cover of the Korean edition of Salman Rushdie's "The Satanic Verses" [MUNHAK DONGNAE]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2024/10/17/8bc88ca1-32ea-4585-bb3f-6721a95013d7.jpg)
Book cover of the Korean edition of Salman Rushdie's "The Satanic Verses" [MUNHAK DONGNAE]
The assailant who stabbed you testified that he hadn’t even read two pages of “The Satanic Verses.” He seemed to despise you yet did not want to know about you. What are your thoughts?
In this age in which access to information has become so easy, we possess less information and are more ignorant than before. I have no magic wand to wave to change this. I simply do my work.
You've stated that the traumatic event depicted in your novel didn't influence your writing style. However, it seems conceivable that the process of writing could have been emotionally challenging. What specific difficulties, if any, did you encounter while writing this deeply personal work?
All writing is difficult. Each book is difficult to write in its own way. “Knife” was painful at first, then easier as I progressed. And what it did was give me the feeling of regaining ownership of the narrative.
You've also defined yourself as an Indian writer writing outside of India. Can you elaborate?
My Indian origins are of immense importance to me. That doesn’t mean I manifest them in everything I do. “Knife” does not take inspiration from any identity issues. It’s about violence and survival and why such things happen and what they mean.
In today's world, visual media has gained unprecedented power and influence. Why do we have to continue engaging with literature?
Well, I’m biased because writing is my way of being in the world. But visual media are for the most part ephemeral and intended for the moment, whereas good books are built to last.
![Salman Rushdie, in a video from Aug. 12, 2022, is seen being loaded onto a medical evacuation helicopter near the Chautauqua Institution after being stabbed in the neck while speaking on stage in Chautauqua, New York. [AFP/YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2024/10/17/f87d86c0-1026-448a-8446-7ed6178a2e6b.jpg)
Salman Rushdie, in a video from Aug. 12, 2022, is seen being loaded onto a medical evacuation helicopter near the Chautauqua Institution after being stabbed in the neck while speaking on stage in Chautauqua, New York. [AFP/YONHAP]
In “Knife,” you seem to show special affection toward poetry. Could you recommend a poem that you think would resonate particularly well with readers of “Knife”?
Poetry is the highest form, the use of language in its most profound way. As to recommending one poem? Impossible. But in “Knife,” I quote a poem by E. E. Cummings and I recommend his work to everyone.
In a world increasingly driven to extremes, as evidenced by the ongoing conflicts between Russia and Ukraine, and Israel and Palestine, what do you believe is the crucial role of literature?
Literature tells the human race its story, and, in the end, is what remains of us. It is the best available portrait of who we are.
BY HONG JI-YU [yim.seunghye@joongang.co.kr]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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