NEW YORK (AP) 鈥�
has a collection of novellas and short stories coming out this fall, his first published fiction since being
Random House announced Thursday that Rushdie's 鈥淭he Eleventh Hour,鈥� billed by the publisher as 鈥渇ive interlinked stories and novellas that explore the eternal mysteries of the eleventh hour of life,鈥� will be released Nov. 4.
According to Random House, Rushdie's new book will include such 鈥渦nforgettable characters鈥� as a 鈥渕usical prodigy with a magical gift,鈥� the ghost of a Cambridge don who helps a student 鈥渁venge the tormentor of his lifetime鈥� and a literary mentor who has mysteriously died. 鈥淭he Eleventh Hour鈥� is set in three parts of the world where Rushdie has lived: India, England and the U.S.
鈥淭he three novellas in this volume, all written in the last 12 months, explore themes and places that have been much on my mind 鈥� mortality, Bombay, farewells, England (especially Cambridge), anger, peace, America. And Goya and Kafka and Bosch as well,鈥� Rushdie said in a statement released through Random House. 鈥淚鈥檓 happy that the stories, very different from one another in setting, story, and technique, nevertheless manage to be in conversation with one another, and with the two stories that serve as prologue and epilogue to this threesome. I have come to think of the quintet as a single work, and I hope readers may see and enjoy it in the same way.鈥�
Rushdie鈥檚 fiction, notably the Booker Prize-winning 鈥淢idnight鈥檚 Children,鈥� has brought him his greatest acclaim. His other novels include 鈥淪hame,鈥� 鈥淭he Moor鈥檚 Last Sigh鈥� and 鈥淰ictory City,鈥� which he completed shortly before the stabbing on a lecture stage at the Chautauqua Institution in western New York.
In February, the 77-year-old Rushdie returned to the area and against his assailant, Hadi Matar. of assault and attempted murder, convictions that could lead to up to 25 years in prison. The judge has set sentencing for April 23.
Rushdie鈥檚 memoir about the attack, was published last year and was a finalist for a National Book Award. But he has spoken of fiction as a sign of further healing and restored imaginative powers, whether after being forced into hiding in 1989 because of the fatwa calling for his death over the alleged blasphemy of the novel 鈥淭he Satanic Verses鈥� or recovering from the attack three years ago that blinded him in one eye and caused lasting nerve damage.
Promoting 鈥淜nife鈥� in 2024, Rushdie that before writing the memoir, he had attempted fiction. But he acknowledged that the assault had become impossible to ignore.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 want to write this book,鈥� he said of 鈥淜nife鈥� at the time. 鈥淚 actually wanted to get back to fiction, and I tried and it just seemed stupid. I just thought, 鈥楲ook, something very big happened to you.鈥欌��
Hillel Italie, The Associated Press
