New books, essays, public appearances—Rushdie's flourishing
On the anvil from the bearded exponent of magic realism are a novel and a book on Indian writing (which he is editing to coincide with the country's 50 years of independence). His publishers, Vintage, are most secretive about the advance paid as well as the list of authors included in The Vintage Book of Indian Writing 1947-1997. Says Caroline Michel of Vintage: "It's early days right now. Moreover, the choice of the writers is entirely up to Rushdie."
The writer has also done some spadework on The Ground Beneath Her Feet, a 'different' Rushdie novel which is due for publication in 1999. The novel's rights have reportedly been bought by Jonathan Cape for £750,000. Surprisingly, Rushdie has been visibly forthcoming on the theme of his new novel, which he says is a love story—a story of "love, death and music" is how he put it. The novel chronicles the momentous life of an Indian in the rock 'n' roll world of the West.
And while he emphasises that it is definitely not autobiographical, he admits that the new novel just might portray situations that are closer to his real self as compared to his earlier works. In a statement to an English daily, he said: "It's a love story. I felt this book brought what I'dbeen previously doing up to a point. One of the things I most liked was being able to write a series of love stories and put a love story right at the centre."
Meanwhile, Rushdie has written an impassioned rejoinder in the New Yorker to Professor George Steiner's declaration of the 'death' of the novel. Quoting extensively from George Orwell, the author argues that Steiner's theme has been repeated through the decades. He adds that the novel as a form is more alive and vibrant than ever before. What he admits, however, is that lots of bad novels are being published, but that is due to a lack of discretion on the part of publishers.
Without question, the contents of the essay are the residue of a dynamic mind working overtime even while the fatwa continues to loom large. Despite the European Union's concerted campaign for the withdrawal of threat, Iran's response has been decidedly ambiguous and Rushdie says he has been cautioned that the fatwa is still in place. But this has not stopped him from making frequent public appearances, which are marked by a distinct casualness, a regular item in his schedule.
For instance, last week he followed up a talk in Oxford with a book signing spree in central London, delighting the fans who were lucky to be present. He has also been granting more interviews than before. In one of them he came out in the open on his disastrous marriage to Marianne Wiggins, who authored a controversial novel a few years ago. "She did tell people that I was burning her with lighted cigarettes. When I tackled her on it she told me it was a metaphor for how unhappy she was. That's not a metaphor, that's a lie," he reportedly told the Daily Express. And when an American TV interviewer quizzed him on what he did for sex, he quipped: "To tell the truth, I am quite grateful for the rest."
No doubt, this good humour is bolstered by the continuing success of his last novel, The Moor's Last Sigh, which has sold more than 130,000 copies in hardcover and also got into trouble with Indian censors last year. And so, to the delight of Salman Rushdie watchers, whether or not he is writing a book, the man is in the limelight, performing, as he might write, over the "quicksands of the arch and twee".