The knife attack on Salman Rushdie in the United States has renewed public interest in the author’s work, specifically his 1988 novel The Satanic Verses, which has seen a surge in sales today.
For this book the author has been receiving death threats for the last 30 years. Also, this particular book was the reason why a fatwa was issued against him by Iran since 1989.
As of Saturday afternoon, three editions of the book topped Amazon’s book sales barometer, which tracks the books with the biggest increase in sales over the past 24 hours. And the author’s new bestseller, “Midnight’s Children” (Ta Paiadia tou Mesonyctiou, published by Psychogios), was in fourth place.
The attack, which caused shockwaves around the world and international condemnation, took place on Friday in a small town in New York State. Since then, New York’s iconic Strand Bookstore has sold several books in-store, not counting online sales.
“People came in looking for any of his writings, wanting to know what we had,” Katie Silvernail, a department manager at the store that sells both new and used books, told AFP.
“Some of our younger employees had never heard of him, so it was interesting to chat with them yesterday, after customers came in for his books, about who he was and how he influenced the literary world. Honestly, I think a lot of people came here yesterday to talk about how they felt and what happened,” he said.
On Twitter, users were also calling on people to buy Salman Rushdie’s works in solidarity.
“The Satanic Verses” tells the adventures of two Indians whose plane becomes the target of a terrorist attack and they themselves arrive on a beach in England. The first took the form of an archangel, the second of the devil.
During the narration, the author gives prostitutes the names of the Prophet Muhammad’s wives. He also creates the figure of a prophet, Mahud, who, under the influence of Lucifer, seems to admit that one can pray to gods other than Allah, before admitting his error.
Salman Rushdie was stabbed in the neck and abdomen. He is in a Pennsylvania hospital in serious condition.
Source: News Beast
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