One of the things I do take some pride in is that if you had never read an article about my life, if you knew nothing about me, except that my books were being set in front of you to read, and if you were to read those books in sequence, I don't think you would say to yourself, 'Oh my God, something terrible happened to this writer in 1989.'
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes that a writer's strength lies in their work, not their personal tragedies.
In this quote, Salman Rushdie reflects on the impact of a writer's life experiences on their work. He expresses pride in the idea that readers could engage with his books without preconceiving notions influenced by his personal struggles. This highlights the notion that art should stand on its own merits, and personal hardships should not overshadow the value of one's creative output.
In practice
In a discussion on the power of literature to transcend personal struggles.
I've been fascinated by Machiavelli since I was very young. I've always felt that he had a bad rap from history, and that he was actually a person quite unlike what we now think of as Machiavellian. He was a republican. He disliked totalitarian government.
Killing people because you don't like their ideas - it's a bad thing.
faith without doubt is addiction
I am clearly vulnerable to these more passionate and volatile unstable relationships. I am trying to not be so vulnerable.
In India, as elsewhere in our darkening world, religion is the poison in the blood. Where religion intervenes, mere innocence is no excuse. Yet we go on skating around this issue, speaking of religion in the fashionable language of 'respect.' What is there to respect in any of this, or in any of the crimes now being committed almost daily around the world in religion's dreaded name?
Reality is a question of perspective; the further you get from the past, the more concrete and plausible it seems - but as you approach the present, it inevitably seems more and more incredible.
I love the broad margin to my life.
One half of my head, from the top of my skull to the cleft of my jaw, hammers, bangs, sizzles while the other half, serene and content, looks on at the agony next door.
The truth of an upright man must be accepted on his own terms. Moreover, since natures vary, we must agree that all the beauties of human excellence may be fostered by faiths that we do not share.
The fairest order in the world is a heap of random sweepings.
Just as a candle cannot burn without fire, men cannot live without a spiritual life.
Sleep lingers all our lifetime about our eyes, as night hovers all day in the boughs of the fir-tree.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.