One moment that changes a life

The author Salman Rushdie lived in hiding and with considerable security precautions for years after the publication of his book The Satanic Verses in 1988. The subject matter enraged the Iranian authorities who encouraged Muslims throughout the world to condemn, attack and even kill him. In 2022 one young man approached him when he was speaking at a conference (ironically about the need to end censorship of books and writing) and stabbed him. Knife is the writer’s story of what that attack meant to him, its lasting effects and how it affected his family and friends.

The book recounts how he met his wife and their loving relationship, his journey to the conference and preparation to give his lecture, and his realisation, on seeing the would-be murderer, of what was about to happen. He has praise for people present at the lecture—both those known to him and total strangers in the audience—who rushed to help him and overpower the assassin. He then describes the rush to hospital and the emergency treatment which saved his life. Most of the book is straightforward narrative as he tells us of the treatment and also the cost of his recovery. He is honest about his fear, especially as he lost an eye, and his vulnerability during this time.

The author has never met his attacker but he imagines how such a meeting might look and sound. It sounds like a bit of a gimmick but it’s actually a very moving chapter which shows us how he struggles to understand the young man’s motives and how the attacker knew nothing at all about the author and hadn’t read any of his works..

This book is a powerful piece of writing. It’s very moving and, I think, very honest. I was gripped by the author’s explorations of all aspects of the attack, his story of how it has been to live under threat for so many years, and also his anger and his sense of injustice that he has been singled out in this way. It’s a story of bravery, resilience and of love.