Joseph Anton: A Memoir
First edition
AuthorSalman Rushdie
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
GenreMemoir

Joseph Anton: A Memoir is an autobiographical book by the British Indian writer Salman Rushdie, first published in September 2012 by Random House.[1] Rushdie recounts his time in hiding from ongoing threats to his life.

Rushdie's 1988 novel The Satanic Verses had led to a widespread controversy among Muslims, prompting the 1989 fatwa issued by Ayatollah Khomeini, the Supreme Leader of Iran. Rushdie began to use "Joseph Anton" as a pseudonym; Rushdie chose the alias to honor the writers Joseph Conrad and Anton Chekhov.[2][3]

The memoir also discusses other aspects of his personal life, such as his friendship with other writers including Bruce Chatwin, Paul Theroux, Bill Buford, and Martin Amis, as well as public figures such as Alan Yentob. It also includes the story of the break-up of his relationship with his second wife, Marianne Wiggins, and the acrimonious nature of their split, and his third and fourth marriages (and break-ups) to Elizabeth West and Padma Lakshmi.

Rushdie writes about his period living as "Joseph Anton" in the third rather than the first person.

The book was announced as one of the 14 titles in the longlist for the 2012 Samuel Johnson Prize on 18 September 2012.[4]

References

  1. ^ Yardley, Jonathan (16 September 2012). "'Joseph Anton: A Memoir' by Salman Rushdie". Washington Post. Retrieved 17 September 2012. Balint, Benjamin (April 2013). "A review of Joseph Anton". Claremont Review of Books. Retrieved 17 June 2015.
  2. ^ Gompertz, Will (17 September 2012). "Meeting Salman Rushdie". BBC. Retrieved 17 September 2012.
  3. ^ Radio Times, p.130 22–28 September 2012
  4. ^ "Nuclear weaponry, feathers, Everest and fatwa: Longlist announced for Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-Fiction 2012". The Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-Fiction. Retrieved 19 September 2012.
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