Joseph Anton: A Memoir

Joseph Anton: A Memoir is the 2012 memoir of British-Indian contemporary novelist Salman Rushdie. Its title refers to the pseudonym Rushdie used while in hiding, after the Islamic Republic of Iran’s leader, Ayatollah Khomeini, enacted a political and religious injunction (called a “fatwa”) against him. The fatwa was issued in the wake of some Muslims’ critique of Rushdie’s controversial political views, especially those presented in his 1988 work, The Satanic Verses, which included tributes to modernist authors Anton Chekhov and Joseph Conrad. Other than a brief recollection of his formative years developing as a writer, the memoir is limited to the period of Rushdie’s life under the fatwa, which extends into the present day. In the year of its publication, it was longlisted for the Samuel Johnson Prize.

Rushdie writes the memoir in the third person, referring to himself as Joseph Anton and implying that the conditions of life in hiding shifted some aspects of his identity. Born and raised early on in British India, his family later relocated to England. There, he went to school at Exeter Academy and developed a passion for language. After a few years experimenting with his voice and style, he wrote and published Midnight’s Children, which propelled him to near-universal acclaim. The huge success of Midnight’s Children set up much anticipation for the release of his second work, The Satanic Verses. This novel drew heavily from Islamic theology and history. Its skeptical, occasionally negative treatment of Islam drew the ire of many Muslims in many different countries. Many of them complained publicly that Rushdie misunderstood the Islamic faith and culture, and some attributed this misunderstanding to ignorance and hatred. Several public book burnings were held where The Satanic Verses was ritually destroyed. Many people who had worked on publishing the book were targeted by violent splinter groups and had to go into hiding. Unfortunately, several people were even murdered in connection with Rushdie and the book.

After the fatwa was issued, he maintained a close network of friends who sympathized with his situation. He expresses gratitude towards these people for keeping in contact with him through the most alienated period of his life. Among his closest friends during the first years of the fatwa were writers Martin Amis, Bill Buford, Bruce Chatwin, and Paul Theroux. Meanwhile, he traveled between safe houses under the protection of friends and reporters. Still, some of his relationships were damaged by the injunction against him and its emotional consequences. He split from Marianne, and proceeded to go through two more marriages and divorces: with Elizabeth West and, later, Padma Lakshmi.



Enduring many death threats, Rushdie continues to write. The fatwa is renewed perennially. Some writers continue to embrace and support him, but many renounce and distance themselves from him. He raises his son, Zafar, into his young adulthood, and welcomes a daughter, Milan, into the family. At the end of the autobiography, closer to the author’s time of writing the memoir, the death threats have decreased in frequency. Rushdie finally feels safe enough to live a semi-public life again and looks forward to getting an apartment. Joseph Anton: A Memoir chronicles the struggle of being cast out from society for exercising one’s freedom of speech. Ultimately, Rushdie does not regret writing what he believes in.