Knife

Meditations After an Attempted Murder

By: Salman Rushdie

Narrated by: Salman Rushdie

Length: 6 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's summary

#1 INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER • LONGLISTED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD • LONGLISTED FOR THE BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE • From Booker Prize winner Salman Rushdie, a searing, deeply personal account of enduring—and surviving—an attempt on his life thirty years after the fatwa that was ordered against him.

On the morning of August 12, 2022, Salman Rushdie was standing onstage at the Chautauqua Institution, preparing to give a lecture on the importance of keeping writers safe from harm, when a man in black—black clothes, black mask—rushed down the aisle toward him, wielding a knife. His first thought: So it’s you. Here you are.

What followed was a horrific act of violence that shook the literary world and beyond. Now, for the first time, and in unforgettable detail, Rushdie relives the traumatic events of that day and its aftermath, as well as his journey toward physical recovery and the healing that was made possible by the love and support of his wife, Eliza, his family, his army of doctors and physical therapists, and his community of readers and listeners worldwide.

Knife is Rushdie at the peak of his powers, writing with urgency, with gravity, with unflinching honesty. It is also a deeply moving reminder of literature’s capacity to make sense of the unthinkable, an intimate and life-affirming meditation on life, loss, love, art—and finding the strength to stand up again.

©2024 Salman Rushdie (P)2024 Knopf Canada

Critic reviews

“Candid, plain-spoken, and gripping. . . . Humane and often witty. . . . Humour bubbles up organically from pain. . . . Knife is a clarifying book. . . . It reminds us of the things worth fighting for. . . . I put this book down only once or twice, to wipe off the sweat.”—New York Times Book Review

“Knife isn’t so much about pondering imminent death than it is an affirmation—an insistence—on returning to life.”—San Francisco Chronicle

“Rushdie’s triumph is not to be other: despite his terrible injuries and the threat he still lives under, he remains incorrigibly himself, as passionate as ever about art and free speech.”—The Guardian

His will power and pen power

Eloquent. Coming right out of his heart. His story is a classic example of misunderstood intentions of a profound writer. External elements always try to destroy peace and tranquility of human race. salute to Salman Rushdie for his will power and determination to come out as a winner agaist all odds. The pen after all is mighter than the sword!