The author, who lives between the United States and the United Kingdom, was stabbed a dozen times while attending a conference in New York last August.
When asked how he feels almost a year after being assassinated, Salman Rushdie says he’s “more or less fine”.
On August 12, the British-American author of Indian descent was put on life support after being stabbed 10 times on the stage of a conference he was speaking at in upstate New York, USA.
“I have a very good therapist who is very busy. I have wild dreams,” the novelist told the BBC.
The 76-year-old suffered liver damage in the attack, but most notably lost an eye and control of one of his hands due to a severed nerve in his arm. “The human body has an amazing ability to heal,” he said, counting himself “lucky to be on the right track.”
I’m not sure if I should go to court
The suspect, Hadi Matar, has been charged with attempted murder but has pleaded not guilty and is being held without bail.
Salman Rushdie said he doesn’t know if he will appear in court at his trial later this year. It will depend on whether her alleged abuser decides to change her plea.
“A few thousand people saw what happened. I am led to believe that.” [son choix de plaider non coupable] is just a waiting game that can evolve,” said the author.
“Part of me wants to go to court and watch him, but another part doesn’t care. If he changes his plea to guilty, there will be no trial, there will be only one conviction, and it may well be that my presence is not necessary,” he continued.
For the man who spent almost six weeks in the hospital last summer, “the important thing today is that you can go on living”.
A novel about the attack in preparation
This also includes being able to put what he has experienced into words. He announced to the BBC that the novel he was preparing about the events of which he was a victim would run to “a few hundred pages”.
“I have this colossal elephant on my mind and until I solve the problem it will be difficult to take anything else seriously,” he added.
“It’s not the easiest book in the world, but I have to get over it to be able to do anything else,” the author told his audience in pre-recorded video at the UK’s Hay Literary Festival last month.
Salman Rushdie has faced death threats since the publication of his novel The Satanic Verses in the 1980s and remains the target of an Iranian state fatwa. He lives under protection.
The portrayal of the satanic verses of the Prophet Muhammad and their references to Islam are considered blasphemous and banned in many Muslim-majority countries, including Iran.
At the time, the controversial novel also triggered violent protests in Pakistan and the disputed region of Kashmir.
Since the attack, Salman Rushdie has held back from public life, contenting himself with rare media interviews and appearances at award ceremonies and literary festivals.