Helga's Reviews > Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder

Knife by Salman Rushdie
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it was amazing
bookshelves: biography-autobiography-memoir, nonfiction

We would not be who we are today without the calamities of our yesterdays.

Knife is Rushdie’s account of the attempt on his life on August 11, 2022 in Chautauqua during a lecture.

He begins this autobiographical contemplation from the day before the horrifying incident and takes us to a journey which would have been filled with unbearable pain, hopelessness and despair but for the love and helping hands of his wife, family and friends.

I have always believed that love is a force, that in its most potent form it can move mountains. It can change the world.

This book is the sum of experiences of one man on the brink of death.
This book is heartbreaking and shocking. It is funny and bright. It makes you laugh, chuckle and often shed tears.
This book is a closing of a circle.
We begin from violence; from blood and tears. We ponder. We evaluate. We question.
We say, bravo! We say, he did it, so can we.
This book brightens the mood and defines life anew.

One has to find life, I said. One can’t just sit about recovering from near death. One has to find life.
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Reading Progress

August 22, 2024 – Started Reading
August 22, 2024 – Shelved
August 22, 2024 –
page 10
4.78% "There are things that are lost in the past, where we all end up, most of us forgotten."
August 24, 2024 –
page 30
14.35% "On such coin-toss moments a life can turn. Chance determines our fates at least as profoundly as choice, or those nonexistent notions karma, qismat, “destiny.”"
August 26, 2024 –
page 115
55.02% "...the first lesson of free expression—that you must take it for granted. If you are afraid of the consequences of what you say, then you are not free."
August 27, 2024 –
page 170
81.34% "There’s a thing I used to say back in the day, when catastrophe rained down upon The Satanic Verses and its author: that one way of understanding the argument over that book was that it was a quarrel between those with a sense of humor and those without one. I see you now, my failed murderer, hypocrite assassin, mon semblable, mon frère. You could try to kill because you didn’t know how to laugh."
August 27, 2024 – Shelved as: biography-autobiography-memoir
August 27, 2024 – Shelved as: nonfiction
August 27, 2024 – Finished Reading

Comments Showing 1-10 of 10 (10 new)

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message 1: by Jeroen (new)

Jeroen Vandenbossche Wow! You are really selling it well! I didn’t quite expect this one to make you chuckle and laugh. That quote at the very end is absolutely amazing.


Chris Lee (away) Wow! I cannot imagine. Glad it was a five ⭐ read. :) Amazing, amazing review, mon ami!


Theresa (mysteries.and.mayhem) What a wonderful review! I've considered adding this to my TBR. You just pushed me over the edge on that decision. :)


Helga Jeroen wrote: "Wow! You are really selling it well! I didn’t quite expect this one to make you chuckle and laugh. That quote at the very end is absolutely amazing."

Admittedly, I haven't read anything else by Rushdie. Having a dark sense of humor myself, I understood him so well and loved his writing style and honesty.


Helga Chris Lee wrote: "Wow! I cannot imagine. Glad it was a five ⭐ read. :) Amazing, amazing review, mon ami!"

Merci, mon ami! :)


Helga Theresa (mysteries.and.mayhem) wrote: "What a wonderful review! I've considered adding this to my TBR. You just pushed me over the edge on that decision. :)"

Thanks, Theresa! Despite the name of the book and the circumstances, it was a healing book. Hope you'll like it too! x


message 7: by Ian M. Pyatt (new)

Ian M. Pyatt Great review. I’d forgotten about the attempt on his life, which was shocking, especially when the attacker got so close to him. I wonder how long it took him to come to the conclusion that the best way to heal was to write the book. Certainly happy this worked out for him


Helga Ian M. Pyatt wrote: "Great review. I’d forgotten about the attempt on his life, which was shocking, especially when the attacker got so close to him. I wonder how long it took him to come to the conclusion that the bes..."

Thanks, Ian! I have seen the video, but reading the book I realised how bad the attack had been. He was stabbed multiple times, lost his left arm's function and his right eye. The book was uplifting, though.


message 9: by Michael (new)

Michael Thank you for highlighting this book, Helga. I always liked Rushdie’s work. A wonderful imagination and a bright soul. All the more sad, everything he has had to live through.


Helga Michael wrote: "Thank you for highlighting this book, Helga. I always liked Rushdie’s work. A wonderful imagination and a bright soul. All the more sad, everything he has had to live through."

Indeed it is sad, Michael and thanks for reading my review! I confess I haven't yet read anything by him, as I don't care much for fantasy. But after getting to know his prose and smooth writing in this book, I will read his works in the future.


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