The Satanic Verses, Salman Rushdie’s famous book that resulted in international controversy, has surged in sales following the author’s stabbing last Friday.
The work became the No. 1 bestseller in Amazon’s Contemporary Literature and Fiction and Humor and Satire Fiction categories. His other works surged in sales as well, with Joseph Anton: A Memoir reaching No. 1 in the Religious Intolerance category, and Midnight’s Children reaching the No. 12 spot in the Contemporary Literature and Fiction category.
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Just before his stabbing, none of his works cracked a single top 100 list on Amazon, according to an archive of his author page from the Wayback Machine.
“I just bought this book in response to extremists who try to silence people. You will not win,” a top review written by an anonymous Amazon customer on the day of the stabbing read.
The Satanic Verses, published in 1988, skyrocketed Rushdie to international fame and prompted widespread outrage from Muslims who considered the work to be blasphemous. Following the issuance of a fatwa from Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini calling on all Muslims to kill the author, Rushdie was forced to go into hiding.
Since then, there have been multiple threats made against Rushdie while he was under police protection. Friday’s attack against Rushdie was the most severe attack against the author to date. A Japanese translator for The Satanic Verses, Hitoshi Igarashi, was stabbed to death in 1991.
Chautauqua County District Attorney Jason Schmidt said Rushdie was taken off a ventilator over the weekend but is still in critical condition. He is being treated for three stab wounds to his neck, four stab wounds to his stomach, puncture wounds to his right eye and chest, and a laceration on his right thigh, according to CNN. He may lose his right eye.
“Though his life changing injuries are severe, his usual feisty & defiant sense of humor remains intact,” his son Zafar Rushdie said in a statement on Sunday.
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The Satanic Verses is available for purchase in Kindle, audiobook, hardcover, and paperback formats on Amazon.
“One of the most controversial and acclaimed novels ever written, The Satanic Verses is Salman Rushdie’s best-known and most galvanizing book,” the description of the book on the website reads.
