Pluim will publish the translation of Rushdie’s new novel Victory City in February next year. In addition, the publisher will ensure that Midnight Children, The Devil’s Verses and Joseph Anton are available again as soon as possible. “Especially now it is important that his work can be read,” writes Pluim.
The British-Indian writer was seriously injured by a man with a knife just before a lecture in Chautauqua, New York on Friday. This man has been arrested. His motive is not yet clear. But it is suspected that the attack has something to do with the death sentence (‘fatwa’) passed on him in the late 1980s by the Iranian Ayatollah Khomeini after his book The Satanic Verses. The work is considered blasphemous by many Muslims.
Pluim publishers say they are upset by the attack on the author. Salman Rushdie is a great writer with an extensive body of work. His magic-realistic novels reflect our society. He makes use of all the resources that literature offers him. When his work gives rise to such a crime, thinking stops. We hope for a speedy recovery,” the publisher said.
