Rushdie is a major contemporary writer, who engages with some of the vital issues of our times: migrancy, postcolonialism, religious authoritarianism. This Companion offers a comprehensive introduction to his entire oeuvre. Part I provides thematic readings of Rushdie and his work, with chapters on how Bollywood films are intertextual with the fiction, the place of family and gender in the work, the influence of English writing and reflections on the fatwa. Part II discusses Rushdie's importance for postcolonial writing and provides detailed interpretations of his fiction. In one volume, this book provides a stimulating introduction to the author and his work in a range of expert essays and readings. With its detailed chronology of Rushdie's life and a comprehensive bibliography of further reading, this volume will be invaluable to undergraduates studying Rushdie and to the general reader interested in his work.

Chronology; 1. Introduction Abdulrazak Gurnah; Part I. Themes and Issues: 2. Rushdie and Bollywood cinema Vijay Mishra; 3. Rushdie and the English tradition Peter Morey; 4. The Fatwa and its aftermath Ruvani Ranasinha; 5. Family and gender in Rushdie's writing Amina Yaqin; Part II. Studies of Individual Texts: 6. Tricksters and the common herd in Salman Rushdie's Grimus Ib Johansen; 7. Themes and structures of Midnight's Children Abdulrazak Gurnah; 8. Reading 'Pakistan' in Salman Rushdie's Shame Brendon Nicholls; 9. The Satanic Verses: 'To be born again, first you have to die' Joel Kuortti; 10. The shorter fiction Deepika Bahri; 11. The politics of the palimpsest in The Moor's Last Sigh Minoli Salgado; 12. The Ground Beneath her Feet and Fury and the re-invention of location Anshuman Mondal; Guide to further reading.