The recent tragic attack on author Salman Rushdie — whose works have stirred up controversy in the past — has led to an increase in demand for his most controversial and arguably best-written novel, The Satanic Verses.
It’s been decades since Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued a fatwa condemning Salman Rushdie to death for alleged blasphemy in his novel “The Satanic Verses.” The novel stirred up the Muslim world and made Rushdie a target for many years. The worst, he surely thought, was behind him.
Instead, more than 30 years after the novel’s release, Rushdie was stabbed in the neck and torso as he was about to deliver a lecture at the Chautauqua Institution in New York state on August 12th. Fortunately, the author survived the ordeal and was said to have even shown signs of his classic wit as he lay recovering on the hospital bed.
While he rests and heals, however, the novel at the core of his controversy — The Satanic Verses — has climbed up the best-selling list. The novel recently placed as the 120th bestselling book, up from 1,157th the previous week and 24,491st the week before the attack. The demand has been so overwhelming that Rushdie’s publisher, Vintage, said it was reprinting the book and it would be back in stock with retailers soon.
You can check out our signed first-edition copy of The Satanic Verses below, or check out the item on our store here.
London: Viking, 1988. First Edition. 547pp. Hardcover: NEAR FINE. Dust Wrapper: NEAR FINE. Book appears unread; modest shelf wear and faint staining on the front text block. Wrapper is bright and unclipped, with insignificant chipping, some suntanning to the spine and toning on inside flaps. SIGNED by the author. Rushdie’s fourth work of fiction, and one that became as famous for the controversy it created as it was for the quality of work. Following mass hysteria that led to book-burning demonstrations by Muslims in the United Kingdom, India, and the rest of the Islamic world (for alleged blasphemy), Rushdie was sentenced to death by an edict (“fatwa”) issued by the late, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. He was forced to go into deep hiding under British secret-service protection, and although he now lives a largely peaceful life in NYC, Rushdie himself remains vigilant, and has said that he will have to watch his back for the rest of his life. The Satanic Verses was shortlisted for the Booker Prize.
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