Salman Rushdie

by Andrew Teverson, John Thieme (Series Editor)

Salman Rushdie is one of the world’s most important writers of politicised fiction. He is a self-proclaimed controversialist, capable of exciting radically divergent viewpoints, a novelist of extraordinary imaginative range and power, and an erudite, and often fearless, commentator upon the state of global politics today. In this comprehensive and lucid critical study, Andrew Teverson examines the intellectual, biographical, literary and cultural contexts from which Rushdie’s fiction springs in order to help the reader make sense of the often complex debates that surround the life and work of this major contemporary figure. Teverson also offers detailed critical readings of all Rushdie’s novels, from Grimus through to Shalimar the Clown.

This definitive guide will be of interest to those working in the fields of contemporary world writing in English, postcolonial studies, twentieth and twenty-first century British literatures, and studies in the novel.

288 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2007

Reviews

[Elena Sala · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great introduction to Salman Rushie's writing, especially for readers interested in postcolonial studies.
For Rushdie, politics is central to his art and, because I lack knowledge of the religious, political or cultural issues he writes about, his books can sometimes feel daunting for me. His writing has an aesthetic complexity and a valorisation of fragmentary modes of perception and it refuses to adjust to rationalist models of history. Rushdie is a consummate satirist who uses language to mock those who have and misuse power. I loved his early novels and found this guide an indispensable companion.