This is a collection of essays by Salman Rushdie that span many years and topics. I listened to the book on tape, and it made for a very interesting and often entertaining listen.

One of the most important collection of essays I have ever read. He covers a wide range of topics (soccer, movies, writers, political movements, his own fatwa, India, America, etc) but his values never falter. Always he will return to the concept of freedom; what is freedom? What does it look like? Do we value it? How can we protect it? Freedom of speech and the arts. Freedom of and from religion. Freedom from political or economic or philosophical oppression. It all ties together and it all matters.

Read this book.

Step Across This Line collects Salman Rushdie's nonfiction from 1992 to 2002. In this book we find a wide variety of essays, speeches and opinion pieces by one of the most creative minds of our time. This collection concentrates Rushdie's uncanny social commentary and irresistible wit (he's funny, ya'll!)—about soccer, The Wizard of Oz, and writing, about fighting the Iranian fatwa and turning with the millennium, and about September 11, 2001. This book truly has it all.

You guys know that Rushdie became one of my favorite writers/thinkers last year when I fell in love with his most recent essay collection Languages of Truth, which collects his nonfiction from 2003 to 2020. I had never read a more clever and thought-provoking essay collection in my life. I had never witnessed someone love literature as much as I do and then be able to put it in such wonderful words. I vowed to read Rushdie's entire nonfictional work and bought Step Across This Line (1992-2002) and Imaginary Homelands (1981-1991). Having read both of them now, I can definitely say that Step Across This Line is the weakest of the bunch. And I don't think that's surprising. The pieces in this collection were written in the decade after the Fatwa against Salman Rushdie, a time of horror and turmoil for him. It makes a lot of sense to me that his literary output wasn't as great as during other time's of his life. Step Across This Line collects many newspaper columns, introductions to books, letters he wrote to different organisations regarding the Fatwa, speeches he had friends give in his stead etc. — it doesn't feel as free and original as the longer essays we find in the other collections. Most of the pieces in here are really, really short, and of its time. It was fun to see what has still relevance today (and I'll be pointing out those tidbits in the review, don't worry) but overall, the collection is just mid. Would recommend for die-heart Rushdie fans (um, hi, hello, I'm here, I have arrived) but would advise literally anybody else to just read Languages of Truth instead. But let's get into this thang!

The first essay in this collection is "Out of Kansas". In it Rushdie reviews the Wizard of Oz movie adaptation. I haven't seen it, so it was hard for me to follow along, but I was here for Rushdie's wit ("...eulogising the ideal state, which Kansas so obviously is not." or "I couldn't stand Toto. I still can't."). I think my main takeaway is in his resume at the end: "We understand that the real secret of the ruby slippers is not that "there's no place like home" but rather that there is no longer any such place as home: except, of course, for the home we make, or the homes that are made for us, in Oz, which is anywhere, and everywhere, except the place from which we began."

I also like that Oz and Kansas were kind of a red threat that wove itself through this collection. Rushdie never let an opportunity slip to shit on Kansas, and I respect him for it. In his September 1999, "Darwin in Kansas", he writes: "If Darwin were able to visit Kansas in 1999, he would find living proof that natural selection doesn't always work, and that the dumbest and unfittest sometimes survive, and that the human race is therefore capable of evolving backward toward those youth-depressing apes." (Holy cow, he sure was angry! And rightfully so? How creation and evolution are/were taught in Christian schools is WILD af.) He also doesn't let Alabama off the hook: "In Alabama, a sticker on textbooks hilariously suggests that since 'no one was present when life first appeared on earth,' we canÄt ever know the facts. Seems you just had to be there." (LMAO)

Next in line is his eulogy for Angela Carter, and whilst I really didn't enjoy her short story collection The Bloody Chamber, I loved how Rushdie gave her her flowers: "She hadn't finished, she died at the height of her powers. For writers, theser are the cruelest deaths: in mid-sentence, so to speak." He also wrote a eulogy for Diana, in September 1997, which he ended with a mic drop: "Diana herself seemed far happier once she'd escaped from the Royal Family. Perhaps Britain too would be happier if it made the same escape, and learned to love without kings and queens." SAY IT LOUDER FOR THE PEOPLE ON THRONE, RUSHDIE!

In "In Defense of the Novel, Yet Again" (lmao, they won't let my man rest), he sums up perfectly the power and meaning of literature: "Good literature has always been a minority interest. Its cultural importance derives not from its success in some sort of ratings war but from its success in telling us things about ourselves that we hear from no other quarter." YES, YES, YES. In "Influence", he puts it beautifully as well: "I have always envisaged the world of the imagination not so much as a continent as an ocean. Afloat and terrifyingly free upon these boundless seas, the writer attempts, with his bare hands, the magical task of metamorphosis."

In his commencement address at Southampton University, Rushdie advises the graduates: "You will find yourselves up against gods of all sorts, big and little gods, corporate and incorporeal gods, all of them demanding to be worshiped and obeyed—the myriad deities of money and power, of convention and custom, that will seek to limit and control your thoughts and lives. Defy them: that's my advice to you. [...] Its men and women who have made the world, and they have made it in spite of their gods. Do not bow your heads. Do not know your place. Defy the gods."

Step Across This Line is by far his most overtly political collection. He shares great wisdom in it. In "Notes on Writing an the Nation", he writes: "Nationalism is that 'revolt against history' which seeks to close what cannot any longer be closed. To fence in what should be frontierless." In the last section of the collection, he takes up the theme of frontiers again: "It is one of the great characteristics of frontiers to be disputed. Give me a line drawn across the world and I'll give you an argument."

What I was looking forward to the most in this collection were Rushdie's recollections of the Fatwa and its aftermath. I was kinda disappointed by the many repetitive letters and pleas that were included in this, but I'm also immensely grateful for the things Rushdie shared. Four years into the Fatwa, he wrote that it feels like a "defeat because I'm still in this prison. It goes where I go. It has no walls, no roof, no manacles, but I haven't found a way out in four years." It's crazy that he will never fully break out of that prison. He shares his disappointment regarding how many countries, among others the US, France, India and Germany, have failed him and failed to support him when he needed it most. He also reckons with his home nation Great Britain and the British public: "It's not just my freedom that is being defended but also British sovereignty—the right of British citizens not to be assassinated by a foreign power—and principles of free speech." He felt like many of his fellow citizens didn't understand that. He also shares how this entire ordeal has made him feel lost and disoriented, like he didn't belong anywhere. "Unbelonging" rules his life. He also highlights that the Fatwa and his aftermath destroyed his relationship with the East in particular, and that was most hurtful to him, the rejection he faced from his "own" people. He also shares shocking tidbits, such as that he is no longer able to vote because his address must be unknown for safety reasons, but without a known address, he is not able to register to vote. CRAZY.

Now let's get into some of the things he said that are still hella relevant (and hella depressing) today. In 1999, he wrote about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and that Palestinians know that peace and reconciliation aren't the same thing. Peace can be agreed upon, reconciliation must be earned afterwards. In 2024, we are farer away from both than we have been in years.

His March 2000 column was dedicated to Amadou Diallo, a Black immigrant from Guinea who was shot dead in the Bronx by four NYDP police officers—no fewer than 41 shots being fired by the quartet—with all four shootists being acquitted of any wrongdoing. Rushdie writes: "To put it bluntly: if you happen to be Black, and a police officer stumbles while you are reaching for your wallet, his partners may shoot you dead." Nothing new, nothing's changed.

In July 2000, he wrote: "Culture is what we now have instead of ideology. We live in an age of culture wars, of groups using ever narrower self-definitions of culture both as a shield and as a sword. Culture is touchy. Use the wrong word and you'll be accused of racism by some cultural commissar or other." I find this very interesting because on the one hand you wanna go "ok, boomer" but on the other hand you can't shake the feeling that he was right, and that these culture wars are still being fought today. Public debate is as good as that, it's just people screaming at each other, being unwilling to give the other side any grace or understanding. In another essay, he also states: "Freedom is that space in which contradiction can reign, it is a never-ending debate." Whew. Yes, yes, yes. We need to remember that.

In January 2000, he wrote that the "defining struggle of the new age would be between Terrorism and Security. [...] To live by the worst-case scenario is to grant the terrorists their victory without a shot having been fired." Not even two years later he was proven right by the September 11 attacks.

Since I don't wanna leave you on a sad and depressing note, I want to leave you with some of Rushdie's most witty banter and sarcastic bangers. He loves sharing this Ghandi anecdote: When Ghandi was asked what he thought of Western civilisation, he replied "I think it would be a good idea." LIVES WERE CHANGED. I also love the more personal moments he shares in this collection, e.g. that his son owns a complete set of his books, but prefers to read other authors. "And I pretend not to care." Uff. Sucker punch to the gut. Rushdie's sarcasm is unmatched tho: "The fact that the electoral college contains an even number of votes creates the possibility of a tie. (An odd number of votes was evidently deemed Unwise, for reasons that were no doubt profound and remain incomprehensible.)" LMAO. Or his dry humor: "But then again, nobody has a memory anymore." MOOD. Or his pettiness: "O.J. Simpson swearing to dedicate his life to finding his wife's "real" killer (any hot leads, O.J.?)" Give this man a standup comedy special! No for real, I'm so happy I read this book! Quotes for a lifetime!

As always, I will leave you with some of Rushdie's recommendations for books & authors to check out:
– Bartleby the Scrivener by Herman Melville
– Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
– Beirut Blues by Hanan Al-Shaykh
– Lectures on Russian Literature by Vladimir Nabokov
– the poetry of Faiz Ahmad Faiz, Agha Shahid Ali & Akhter Hameed Khan
– the works of Ivo Andrić, Kadaré Ismail & Jorge Amado

(Another takeaway is that Disgrace by J.M. Coetzee is not worth your time. Oops.)

I normally find that in a collection like this there are one or two pieces that don't really interest me - here however, every one did.

Excellent.

This collection of essays is very much of its time (decade between 1992-2002) and in fact, reading it nearly 20 years out from that makes it feel even more so I think. Rushdie is at his best when he is reflecting on the moments and stories - human ones - and steeping them in a nuanced perspective on how people and politics and culture intersect in ways that are both sharp and fluid, across time and borders. He is less effective when he indulges (overindulges?) his own personal story and narrative too much. These essays, like all of Rushdie's work, are strengthened by his natural gait with the written word.

Best is the analysis of Wizard of Oz from postcolonial perspective--amazing and still so relevant in our redefining of America. He is a man's man, though, and the best a woman reader can hope for is abstracted sympathy.

Really great stuff that ties in pop culture (rap, Disney, current authors & film directors) and applies it to the big issues (terrorism, cultural and national boundaries, fear).

I adore the letter to the 6 billionth human.

Also, I saw Salman Rushdie read from this book in the weeks before it came out. It was the first time since teenagehood that I've felt inspired to become someone's groupie. He is *amazing* in person. I've seen other authors I love talk or read live, and while they were usually fine, none of them came even close to Rushdie's Stage Presence.

Non-fiction is a tricky business because, except for autobiographical storytelling, it allows writers to write about stuff they know hardly anything about. Thus, we end up with books like these: full of shallow thoughts and opinions, many times written in beautiful prose, next to better crafted autobiographical stories. Stay away!

Es increíble de principio a fin. A lo largo del libro se ven claves sobre su principal libro Hijos de Media Noche.

interesting interpretation/explanation on Wizard of Oz, his writing style is unconventional compared to most Indian authors that i have read. this book are of his essays and other things. his essay "Imagine, There is no Heaven" is by far my favorite.

This book was what made me fall in love with Salman Rushdie's work.