Books choose their authors; the act of creation is not entirely a rational and conscious one.
Salman RushdieWhen I was writing The Satanic Verses, if you had asked me about the phenomenon that we all now know as radical Islam, I wouldn't have had much to say. As recently as the mid-1980s, it didn't seem to be a big deal.
Salman RushdieI'm a world expert on superhero comics. I think maybe only Michael Chabon knows more than me.
Salman RushdieThe moment you declare a set of ideas to be immune from criticism, satire, derision, or contempt, freedom of thought becomes impossible.
Salman RushdieOne 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.'
Salman Rushdie