voodoocactus 's review for:

Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder by Salman Rushdie

4.0

hopeful reflective medium-paced

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Can I say this book was a delight? No, I can’t because that would be callous and just plain offensive. But as gruesome as the topic of this book is, it was so very, very good. I thoroughly enjoyed Rushdie’s voice–both the words and literally his voice as he reads this himself–as he goes through his terrible ordeal. He talks plainly but with tremendous emotion behind the words, he uses pop-culture references and classical poetry quotes with equal ease, and his wry humor shines through it all. He talks about family, freedom, love, happiness, and the state of the world.

I went and checked the one-star reviews again because I was curious about what they’d say. Arrogant, a rough draft diary entry. Like. Um. This is a man who has lived under a fatwa for longer than you have been alive, and now he underwent an attack on his life? I think that allows him to navel-gaze a bit. That said, the narrative does unravel a bit on the second half of the book but I guess including an imaginary conversation with his assailant was important to Mr. Rushdie. 

In the end, this is an introspective journey with a hopeful ending. The long letter regarding gods and religions in the end of the book was one of the best essays on the topic I’ve read in a long, long while.