দক্ষিণে

by Salman Rushdie, রনক জামান (Translator)

রকমারি থেকে কিনুন

https://www.rokomari.com/book/159746/...

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction

48 pages, Paperback

First published May 18, 2009

About the author

Sir Ahmed Salman Rushdie is an Indian-born British and American novelist. His work often combines magic realism with historical fiction and primarily deals with connections, disruptions, and migrations between Eastern and Western civilizations, typically set on the Indian subcontinent. Rushdie's second novel, Midnight's Children (1981), won the Booker Prize in 1981 and was deemed to be "the best novel of all winners" on two occasions, marking the 25th and the 40th anniversary of the prize.
After his fourth novel, The Satanic Verses (1988), Rushdie became the subject of several assassination attempts and death threats, including a fatwa calling for his death issued by Ruhollah Khomeini, the supreme leader of Iran. In total, 20 countries banned the book. Numerous killings and bombings have been carried out by extremists who cite the book as motivation, sparking a debate about censorship and religiously motivated violence. In 2022, Rushdie survived a stabbing at the Chautauqua Institution in Chautauqua, New York.
In 1983, Rushdie was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. He was appointed a Commandeur de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres of France in 1999. Rushdie was knighted in 2007 for his services to literature. In 2008, The Times ranked him 13th on its list of the 50 greatest British writers since 1945. Since 2000, Rushdie has lived in the United States. He was named Distinguished Writer in Residence at the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute of New York University in 2015. Earlier, he taught at Emory University. He was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters. In 2012, he published Joseph Anton: A Memoir, an account of his life in the wake of the events following The Satanic Verses. Rushdie was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine in April 2023.
Rushdie's personal life, including his five marriages and four divorces, has attracted notable media attention and controversies, particularly during his marriage to actress Padma Lakshmi.

Reviews

[Catherine Mustread · Rating 5 out of 5]

What is the best way to live a meaningful life? Lots to think about in this short story, published in the New Yorker 18 May 2009, http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/200.... I loved the audio version done on Selected Shorts. My favorite quote is from the final paragraph: "Death and life were just adjacent verandas."

[Deepti · Rating 5 out of 5]

This short story is funny, sarcastic, and deep. This is the first Salman Rushdie's work that I have read and I am pleasantly surprised at how much I liked his prose.

[Bader Bloushi · Rating 2 out of 5]

A bit too on the nose with the self-existentialism, could’ve been a bit more subtle. Most of the short story is exposition on their lives, characteristics and interactions.

[linse · Rating 5 out of 5]

"like characters in an ancient tale, trapped in fateful coincidences, unable to escpape the consequences of chance"

"Death and life, were just adjacent verandas"

[Marie · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Death and life are just adjacent verandas."
In this short story, Salman Rushdie explores the meaning of life, death, and family through two octogenarians. The story focuses on identity versus community, youth v. old age, hope v. defeat, success v. mediocrity, and luck v. misfortune.
However, I didn't find such a short piece did all these themes justice, and it lacked the sense of humor Salman Rushdie is famous for.

[Pablo Enrique · Rating 2 out of 5]

The piece contains flashes of aesthetic brilliance in its depiction of the setting, yet its fatalistic reliance on coincidence ultimately renders this melancholic character study structurally hollow.

[Steven Godin · Rating 2 out of 5]

As short-stories go, this was nothing special.

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have not read any of Rushdie's books. Merely a case of too many books, not enough time. Today I read this story of his. The writing is strong and meaningful. I must move his books higher on the priority list.

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Listened to a reading of this entertaining tale of two cantankerous elderly men in southern India. Must read some of his books as it was very good.

[Anuja · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first elaborate piece that I've read by Rushdie. I must read 'The Midnight's Children' now I suppose.

[Janet · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite short stories ever, and there are very many short stories.