Salman Rushdie,s writing career began with Grimus, a fantastic tale, part- science fiction , which was generally ignored
by the book-buying public and literary critics. His next novel, Midnight's Children , however, catapulted him to literary fame and is often considered his best work to date. It also significantly shaped the course that Indian writing in English was to follow over the next decade. This work was later awarded the 'Booker of Bookers' prize in 1983 — after being selected as the best novel to be awarded the Booker Prize in its first 25 years. After the success of Midnight's Children, Rushdie wrote a short novel, Shame , where he depicts the political turmoil in Pakistan by basing his characters on Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq . Both these works are characterised by, apart from the style of magic realism , the immigrant outlook of which Rushdie is so very conscious.
Rushdie is also highly
influenced by modern
literature. Midnight's Children borrows themes from Günter Grass 's novel The Tin Drum , which Rushdie claims inspired him to begin writing. The Satanic Verses is also clearly influenced by Mikhail Bulgakov 's classic Russian novel The Master and Margarita < citation needed >.
India and Pakistan were the themes, respectively, of Midnight's Children and Shame. In his later works, Rushdie turned towards the Western world with The Moor's Last Sigh , exploring commercial and cultural links between India and the Iberian peninsula , and The Ground Beneath Her Feet , which presents an alternate history of modern rock music. Midnight's Children receives accolades for being Rushdie's best, most flowing and inspiring work, and many of Rushdie's post-1989 works have been critically acclaimed and commercially successful.
Rushdie has also long mentored - though quietly - younger Indian (and ethnic-Indian) writers, and can be said to have influenced an entire generation of 'Indo-Anglian' writers; it would not be an exaggeration to say that he has had a hand in shaping (and re-shaping) post-colonial literature in general. He has received many plaudits for his writings including the European Union's Aristeion Prize for Literature. He is also a fellow of the
His newest book, Shalimar the Clown , released in September 2005, was a finalist for the Whitbread Book Awards .
He opposes the British government's introduction of the Racial and Religious Hatred Act , something he writes about in his contribution to Free Expression Is No Offence, a collection of essays published by Penguin in November 2005. Avowedly secular, Rushdie is a self-described atheist.
Rushdie frequently speaks at the Cheltenham Festival of Literature , held annually in the United Kingdom . His last appearance was in 2005 to publicise Shalimar the Clown . During the Satanic Verses controversy his appearance caused the entire room to be "locked down" by his security team.