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Salman Rushdie and the Genesis of Secrecy
Salman Rushdie and the Genesis of Secrecy is the first book to draw extensively from material in the Salman Rushdie archive at Emory University to uncover the makings of the British-Indian writer's modernist poetics. Simultaneously connecting Rushdie with radical non-Western humanism and an essentially English-European sensibility, and therefore questions about world literature, this book argues that a true understanding of the writer lies in uncovering his 'genesis of secrecy' through a close reading of his archive. Topics and materials explored include unpublished novels, plays and screenplays; the earlier versions and drafts of Midnight's Children and its adaptations; understanding Islam and The Satanic Verses ; the influence of cinema; and Rushdie's turn to earlier archives as the secret codes of modernism.
Through careful examination of Rushdie's archive, Vijay Mishra demonstrates how Rushdie combines a radically new form of English with a familiarity with the generic registers of Indian, Arabic and Persian literary forms. Together, these present a contradictory orientalism that defines Rushdie's own humanism within the parameters of world literature.
Through careful examination of Rushdie's archive, Vijay Mishra demonstrates how Rushdie combines a radically new form of English with a familiarity with the generic registers of Indian, Arabic and Persian literary forms. Together, these present a contradictory orientalism that defines Rushdie's own humanism within the parameters of world literature.
264 pages, Hardcover
Published May 16, 2019
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March 31, 2020
I read this online via Bloomsbury Books with access through my University Library.
A fascinating approach to working from Rushdie's literary archive which asks good questions about interpretation and intentions.
The theoretical aspects are applied in depth with a wide reference list. All chapters refer to specific Rushdie texts and apply literary analysis which find a way in through the archival excavations. There is a lot to learn from this approach as there is from the writing and clarity of arguments.
The only criticism is the reference (also found in Wikipedia) to what is listed as a Short Story collection supposedly authored by Rushdie, Prawer Jhabvala and VS Naipaul. This is incorrect and should be an analysis by Sudha Rai which considers the work of all of these authors.
A fascinating approach to working from Rushdie's literary archive which asks good questions about interpretation and intentions.
The theoretical aspects are applied in depth with a wide reference list. All chapters refer to specific Rushdie texts and apply literary analysis which find a way in through the archival excavations. There is a lot to learn from this approach as there is from the writing and clarity of arguments.
The only criticism is the reference (also found in Wikipedia) to what is listed as a Short Story collection supposedly authored by Rushdie, Prawer Jhabvala and VS Naipaul. This is incorrect and should be an analysis by Sudha Rai which considers the work of all of these authors.
Displaying 1 of 1 review