BOOKS: Salman Rushdie webcast about "The Enchantress of Florence"

Listen to our webcast:

Sir Salman Rushdie has a new novel out and SAJA is hosting hosted a live webcast with him on Monday, June 30, 2-3 pm NY time. Please use the comments section below to post a question or comment that we can use for the discussion.

He'll discuss his latest novel, "The Enchantress of Florence." He will be live with us via phone for 30 minutes for a discussion with arts writer Vibhuti Patel. For the remaining part of the hour, Patel will discuss Rushdie's work and his place in world literature. Your questions and comments will be used throughout the event.

The discussion will be broadcast live using BlogTalkRadio at this link (you can go and set an e-mail reminder there right now).
The timing:
Monday, June 30
2-3 p.m. NYC/DC time (Sir Salman will be calling into a NYC number from DC).
To see local time in your city, go to this link.

See more about "The Enchantress of Florence" at Amazon, where it is a "Best of the Month" selection for June:

Trying to describe a Salman Rushdie novel is like trying to describe music to someone who has never heard it--you can fumble with a plot summary but you won't be able to convey the wonder of his dazzling prose or the imaginative complexity of his vision. At its heart, The Enchantress of Florence is about the power of story--whether it is the imagined life of a Mughal queen, or the devastating secret held by a silver-tongued Florentine. Make no mistake, it is Rushdie who is the true "enchanter" of this story, conjuring readers into his gilded fairy tale from the very first sentence: "In the day's last light the glowing lake below the palace-city looked like a sea of molten gold." At once bawdy, gorgeous, gory, and hilarious, The Enchantress of Florence is a study in contradiction, highlighted in its barbarian philosopher-king who detests his bloodthirsty heritage even while he carries it out. Full of rich sentences running nearly the length of a page, Rushdie's 10th novel blends fact and fable into a challenging but satisfying read. --Daphne Durham

Please post your questions and comments for Sir Salman below.

Listen to SAJA's 20+ webcasts at BlogTalkRadio.com/saja

Earlier on SAJAforum:

• AWARDS: Salman Rushdie awarded knighthood (June 2007)
• INTOLERANCE: Salman Rushdie's visit prompts boycott threat in India (January 2008)

PHOTO: Jay Mandal/On Assigment - Salman Rushdie receiving the India Abroad Lifetime Achievement Award in March 2007.

Here is a video of a recent appreance on Comedy Central's "The Colbert Report":

 

Please post your questions and comments for Sir Salman below.

Comments

[Aravind Adiga]

Dear Salman:

I'm a huge fan of your work, and I admire the deep love of India that shines through your novels. Given your attachment to India, how do you deal with those fundamentalists who protest against your visits to Mumbai? Is it emotionally difficult for you?

Best wishes,
Aravind

[Amitava Kumar]

Sree,

I have used Mr Rushdie's first book of essays, Imaginary Homelands, in my class, but the book of non-fiction I've used most often is The Jaguar Smile. My question is related to the latter.

The trip that Mr Rushdie took more than twenty years ago and the book that resulted from it signified hope for a small country against a large and looming power. If he were to travel today, which place would Mr Rushdie like to go--and are the most meaningful destinations today likely to be places of hope or only rage and despair?

Thanks.

[Aarti Singh]

Dear Mr. Rushdie

My first question: In your book 'The Enchantress of Florence' you described Jodha as "so perfectly attentive, so undemanding, so endlessly available. She was an impossibility, a fantasy of perfection." If such was the nature of Jodha or if this is how she was perceived by Akbar, why didn't you allow Jodha to notice the singularity of Akbar, when he refers himself as 'I' instead of "We" to his queen?

My second question: Among hundreds of Kings that ruled Hindustan/India why did you choose to write about Padshah Akbar, the great and the Mughal era? Besides, if you were to write this novel ignoring all historical realities, would you have allowed your characters virgin queen Rani Zelabat Giloriana Pehlavi to respond positively to the romantic advances of the Lord Zelabdim Echebar, King of Cambaya?

[Shruti]

Dear Mr. Rushdie,

Some time ago you had said that all the important literature coming out of the sub-continent was in English. I assume you read at least Hindi and Urdu, and therefore your judgment is based on what you have read in these languages, could you comment on why you think that literature in Indian languages is of very little value.

[Yogesh Vajpeyi]

In " Fury," the first novel you wrote in the United States before the terror attack on the Twin Towers, you depicted New York City as a new Rome. You said Rome did not fall because its army was weakened but because the Romans forgot what it meant to be Roman. Do you think Americans are forgetting what it meant to be American?

[Anil]

Sree --

I would be interested to learn more about what prompted Mr. Rushdie to write "Fury." Especially given that he had not lived in the United States for very long before writing the book (at least as far as I know), what kind of process did he go through to research and make sure he understood the subject and setting of that book?

In retrospect, with many years' additional exposure to and direct experience with the United States, its people, and its culture and society, how satisfied is he with "Fury" in this respect? How has his perspective on America changed in the past decade -- and how would "Fury" be a different book if he were writing it today, rather than 8 or 9 years ago?

Thanks.

[W. Singer]

The Enchantress of Venice raises a number of questions about what it means to be a just ruler. What is the relationship between the ruler and the country? What role does reason and argument play in governance? How does a ruler know he is just or right or honorable? And should he be? Conversely, how do subjects judge this justice? Of course these questions have profound meaning today. Can you comment on some of the issues of "just rule" in the novel?

[Wamiq]

Like The Kite Runner being situated within three significant eras in Afghan history, novels are increasingly setting themselves within historical or contemporary events.

Qs. As a writer, what are the traits and strategies you employ when using history as a backdrop for the creation and development of your charachters? What should writers be mindful of when borrowing from history - esp. when its so relative?

[Aparna Mukherjee]

In recent interviews, much has been made of Mr. Rushdie's forays into pop culture, e.g., cameo as an ob/gyn, a part he reportedly sought (http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2008/04/how_helen_hunt_got_salman_rush.html)...where is this interest in the non-writerly, pop-culture world come from?

Likewise, in this celebrity-driven, -obssessed high and low culture, what's it like for a serious novelist to have his name intertwined with pop culture figures, such as ex-wife Padma Laxmi whose star has recently risen higher via reality television)? Possibly good (in terms of book sales, publicity) and bad (credibility as an artist, scholar)?

[Aparna Mukherjee]

(note that the hyperlink in my prior post got garbled so reposting my comment/question):

In recent interviews, much has been made of Mr. Rushdie's forays into pop culture, e.g., cameo as an ob/gyn in Helen Hunt's new movie (http://www.sajaforum.org/2008/06/desi-spotting-n.html) a part he reportedly sought and auditioned for...where does this interest in the non-writerly world come from?

Likewise, in this celebrity-driven, -obssessed high and low culture, what's it like for a serious novelist to have his name intertwined with pop culture figures, such as ex-wife Padma Laxmi whose star has recently risen higher via reality television? Possibly good (in terms of book sales, publicity) and bad (credibility as an artist, scholar)?

[Filmiholic]

I'm curious to know if Sir Salman did much of his research in Firenze itself, and if so, can he tell us his thoughts on the city, some neighborhoods, locales in particular that he liked and took inspiration from?

[roselin]

dear sir
iam a great fan of yours.iam working on my PhD theses based on your works .i would like have a short chat with you if you permit me and that short version would be a great help to me sir .if iam eligible can that be known to me through my id

[Ash]

Dear Mr. Rushdie,

I'm doing a research project and report on your book, The Enchantress of Florence. In my report I am supposed to tell whether or not events are fact or fiction. My question: Is the part about Queen Elizabeth's letter to Lord Zelabdim Echebar, King of Cambaya fact or fiction?