Salman Rushdie’s memoir Knife, which tells the story of his stabbing, will be released on April 16.

New Delhi:

Salman Rushdie’s answer to violence is art, the author’s memoir about a knife attack in 2022, is now set to hit shelves on April 16, publisher Penguin Random House India announced today.

In “The Knife: Musings After an Attempted Murder,” Rushdie recalls in “haunting detail” the traumatic events that took place at the Chautauqua Institution on August 12, 2022, when he was killed by a man wearing a black Attacked by men in masks and armed with knives. The attack left Rushdie blind in his right eye.

In the book, the 76-year-old recalls the aftermath of the attack and his journey to recovery and recovery.

“This was an essential book for me: a way of taking responsibility for what happened and responding to violence with art,” Rushdie said.

The 256-page book is “a poignant reminder of literature’s ability to understand the incredible, an intimate and life-affirming meditation on life, loss, love, art, and finding the strength to get back up.”

In 1989, Iran’s Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued a fatwa calling for Rushdie’s death over alleged blasphemy in his novel “The Satanic Verses.” For some time thereafter, the writer lived in isolation and was protected by round-the-clock security. But in the years since, he has moved around with few restrictions until the stabbing at Chautauqua Institution.

“Salman Rushdie’s The Knife is an important book about the world we live in and literature’s place in it,” Milee Ashwarya, publisher of Penguin Random House India, said in a statement. A must read.”

His other works include the Booker Prize-winning Midnight’s Children, Shame and The Moor’s Last Sigh. Rushdie is also a prominent advocate of free speech and former president of PEN America. He also wrote a third-person memoir, “Josef Anton,” about his years in hiding after the fatwa.

“The Knife is a searing book that reminds us of the power of words to make the unthinkable make sense. We are honored to publish this book and for Salman to tell his story and return to the world he loves. The determination to work was amazing,” said Nihar Malaviya, CEO of Penguin Random House.

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