Salman Rushdie still has trouble writing due to attack: “I already felt better” | Abroad

The British-Indian author was attacked in August in New York by a man with a knife. The 75-year-old writer suffered many injuries in the attack, including in his neck, abdomen and eye. He lost his sight in one eye and also sustained damage to his hand. “I’ve felt better sometimes,” says Rushdie in the interview, “but given the circumstances, things aren’t going too bad.” The writer says that the worst injuries have healed. He does add that he has difficulty writing and typing because he no longer has feeling in a number of fingers.

The attack also had major consequences for the bestselling author on a mental level. “It was very, very hard to write,” Rushdie confesses. “I sit down to write, and nothing happens. I write, but it’s a combination of emptiness and clutter. I write things that I erase the next day.” Rushdie struggled with nightmares for a while after the attack. “They seem to be decreasing now,” he says.

Rushdie also says he was touched by the many reactions to his near-death experience. “It’s very nice that everyone was so moved by this. I never thought about how people would react if I was killed, or almost killed. I was lucky. What I really want to say is that I feel an overwhelming gratitude.”

The interview with The New Yorker took place in response to Rushdie’s new book Victory City. That book was ready before the attack, and will be published later this week.