Knife

Knife is a clarifying book. It reminds us of the threats the free world faces. It reminds us of the things worth fighting for. Rushdie’s friend Christopher Hitchens, in the wake of the initial fatwa, eloquently explained the stakes. The affair drew a line between "everything I hated versus everything I loved," he wrote. "In the hate column: dictatorship, religion, stupidity, demagogy, censorship, bullying and intimidation. In the love column: literature, irony, humor, the individual and the defense of free expression." His words apply to this book.

New York Times

With both candour and rich detail, and reminding us again of his knack for storytelling, Knife celebrates art and love over violence, resilience over acquiescence

i, *Books to Look Out for 2024*

Salman Rushdie’s memoir is horrific, upsetting – and a masterpiece… Knife is a tour-de-force, in which the great novelist takes his brutal near-murder and spins it into a majestic essay on art, pain and love…full of Rushdie’s wit, his wisdom, his stoicism, his optimism, his love of all culture from the so-called "high" to the so-called "low".

Erica Wagner, Daily Telegraph

Although the account of his violent ordeal is dramatic…the book is also a nuanced meditation on life, death, the importance of art, and the chilling daily reality of violence... the book fulfils his aim to take charge of what happened on that terrible day and "to answer violence with art"

Martin Chilton, The Independent

Rushdie’s triumph is not to be other: despite his terrible injuries and the threat he still lives under, he remains incorrigibly himself, as passionate as ever about art and free speech... At one point he quotes Martin Amis: "When you publish a book, you either get away with it, or you don’t." He has more than got away with this one. It’s scary but heartwarming, a story of hatred defeated by love.

Blake Morrison, The Guardian

Knife is a rich, immersive, feisty account of [Rushdie's] journey through darkness back to the light. Part thriller, part love story, part celebration of literature, it’s an incandescent book full of hair-raising descriptions of hard-won survival and beautiful, philosophical passages about art, freedom and resilience…Rushdie has not just enlarged literature’s capacities, he has expanded the world’s imaginative possibilities — and he has paid a tremendous price for it. We owe him a huge debt of gratitude.

Johanna Thomas Corr, The Times

Rushdie has never written quite as directly as this, or emotionally. He emerges as stoic, droll, and astonishingly brave. "There are moments when these events are painful to set down," he says. They’re painful to read, too, but necessary. As simple testimony, it makes for an incredibly compelling reading experience. The aim of the attack was ultimately to silence him. The aim failed. Salman Rushdie is a writer. The pen proved mightier than the sword after all.

Nick Duerden, i news

Brave and compelling… Knife isn’t only Rushdie’s finest book in years, it’s also his most enjoyable

Daily Mail, *Book of the Week*

A surprisingly tender and redemptive story

Economist

Sir Salman Rushdie is a genius - only he could turn his stabbing into art... This is a brave book by a brave man. Bravo, Salman Rushdie

Evening Standard

[A] profoundly life-affirming memoir… [but this] book should… shake us from our complacencies… [and] renew our resolve to confront and defeat the forces that led a young man to plunge a knife into an artist. Rushdie has done us a great service in writing this book. It is up to us now to heed its message

New Statesman

[An] extraordinary new book about the attempt on his life… People should certainly read this book… Rushdie’s light is undimmed

Observer

Salman Rushdie has turned the horrific attack on him into a masterpiece… Knife is a heroic, unflinching and immersive account of what it’s like to be on the receiving end of an attempted murder

Oldie

[In Knife] Salman Rushdie remains as bold and direct as ever in defence of free speech

Spectator

A searingly honest account… the power of love, resilience and his extraordinary way with words shines through. The result is a powerful and poignant read

UK Press Syndication

Knife is a heroic book

Hillel Italie, Independent

A deeply moving account of this devastating attack and its consequences

Jewish Chronicle

One of the most remarkable works he has written in his fifty-year career… simultaneously harrowing and heartening… This book stands out among them [memoirs] for its combination of bravery and bravura

Times Literary Supplement

After reading Knife, it is impossible to feel despair. On the contrary: Rushdie’s irrepressible ebullience is an inspiration and a wake-up call… [a] magnificent book

Prospect

Powerful and moving… Knife is a profound meditation on Rushdie’s life, on art, and second chances

Islington Tribune

Knife is a fascinating, challenging, and ultimately hope-filled book

Church Times

[A] remarkable book… Elegantly and poignantly executed, it also brings a wry and witty touch to a horrific story. A testament to the power of literature

Financial Times, *Books of 2024*

An astonishingly moving and defiant memoir

Irvine Welsh, Observer, *Summer Reads of 2024*

A visceral tale of a man on the brink of death

Mail on Sunday, *Summer Reads of 2024*

Sheer storytelling brilliance

iNews, *Summer Reads of 2024*

[An] electrifying memoir

Good Housekeeping, *Summer Reads of 2024*

Visceral and surprisingly humorous

Daily Telegraph, *Books of the Year*

This erudite memoir chronicles what happened and Rushdie’s long, arduous recovery, but it’s also a love letter to literature and his wife

The Times, *Literary Non-Fiction Book of the Year*

A wonderfully idiosyncratic book, full of horrible details, yes, but also panegyric passages about his wife and funny asides about pop culture

Prospect, *Books of the Year*

A magnificent act of defiance

Evening Standard, *Books of the Year*

A visceral account… Testament to his resilience and dark humour, the book finds the author reckoning with his mortality and "answer[ing] violence with art"

Guardian, *Books of the Year*