Books

First edition, edition deluxe, limited to 100 numbered copies bound in quarter morocco, signed by Salman Rushdie. 8vo., original quarter goatskin over navy buckram cloth, ruled in gilt and with gilt lettering to spine and publisher's textured end papers. Without the scarce plain dust wrapper but with the original cardboard box. Published simultaneously with the first trade edition. The Satanic Verses was Rushdie's fourth novel, and caused huge controversy when it was initially released due to its depiction of the prophet Muhammad. The title refers to the satanic verses, a group of Quranic verses that refer to three Pagan Meccan goddesses: All t, Uzza, and Man t. The novel employs elements of magic realism interspersed with a sequence of subplots that take the form of intricate dream narratvies relayed by the protagonist. American theorist Timothy Brennan would later praise The Satanic Verses as, "the most ambitious novel yet published to deal with the immigrant experience in Britain". The scandal that ensued surrounding creative censorship was extremely divisive. A year after publication Ruhollah Khomeini, Supreme Leader of Iran, issued a fatwa ordering Muslims to kill Rushdie for blaspheming against Islam. A fatwa cannot be revoked in the Shia Islamic tradition. Pakistan banned the book in 1988 and the importing of the book was forbidden in India. Many translators of The Satanic Verses have suffered serious injury and, in the case of Rushdie's Japanese translator, death. In fact, in 2022, Rushie was himself attacked on stage whilst talking at an event. Subsequent to this stabbing, he lost sight in one eye and the ability to use one hand. Remarking on the extreme controversy surrounding The Satantic Verses, scholar M.D. Fletcher considered the irony, "that some of the major expressions of hostility toward Rushdie came from those about whom and (in some sense) for whom he wrote." Speaking of his own work, Rushdie has defined his intentions as being, not about Islam at all, but rather a novel concerned with issues as varied as; "migration, metamorphosis, divided selves, love, death, London and Bombay". The complex controversy surrounding The Satanic Verses continues to impact. It is an influential novel which explores, amongst many other subjects, the disillusionment suffered by chaarcters in between identificaiton with competing cultures. It is a novel which, through unusual surreal depiction, highlights identity crises whilst binding its text in powerful parallel stories with roots in diverse religious history.

The Satanic Verses is Salman Rushdie's fourth novel, first published in 1988 and inspired in part by the life of Muhammad. It was met with significant controversy due to its portrayal of Islamic themes which led Rushdie to face death threats and a fatwa calling for his assassination.