Languages of Truth: Essays 2003-2020
Author: Salman Rushdie
Publisher: Random House
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Cover Description
Newly collected, revised, and expanded nonfiction—including many texts never previously in print—from the first two decades of the twenty-first century by the Booker Prize-winning, internationally bestselling author
Salman Rushdie is celebrated as a storyteller of the highest order, illuminating truths about our society and culture through his gorgeous, often searing prose. Now, in his latest collection of nonfiction, he brings together insightful and inspiring essays, criticism, and speeches that focus on his relationship with the written word and solidify his place as one of the most original thinkers of our time.
Gathering pieces written between 2003 and 2020, Languages of Truth chronicles Rushdie's intellectual engagement with a period of momentous cultural shifts. Immersing the reader in a wide variety of subjects, he delves into the nature of storytelling as a human need, and what emerges is, in myriad ways, a love letter to literature itself. Rushdie explores what the work of authors from Shakespeare and Cervantes to Samuel Beckett, Eudora Welty, and Toni Morrison mean to him, whether on the page or in person. He delves deep into the nature of "truth," revels in the vibrant malleability of language and the creative lines that can join art and life, and looks anew at migration, multiculturalism, and censorship.
Enlivened on every page by Rushdie's signature wit and dazzling voice, Languages of Truth offers the author's most piercingly analytical views yet on the evolution of literature and culture even as he takes us on an exhilarating tour of his own exuberant and fearless imagination.
TL;DR Review
Languages of Truth is engaging and entertaining, although certain chapters will only be for certain people. Don’t be afraid to get a copy and skip around to the essays that interest you!
For you if: You want to read about writing, literature, or world events through the mind of Salman Rushdie.
Full Review
First, thank you to Random House for the gifted copy of this book! It is a beautiful addition to my shelves, and I really enjoyed it.
Languages of Truth is a collection of essays and speeches that Salman Rushdie has written or delivered over the years. Most of these are relatively short, which makes it digestible and easy to pick away at over time. Topics range from literature and writing to world events and dedications. My favorite ones were actually the first three in the book (the ones on storytelling), which were also read by Rushdie himself in the audiobook.
I did read (or listen to) all of this one, but there were definitely some essays that I didn’t follow or understand as well as others, just because he was talking about an author or an event that I wasn’t familiar with. So I’d encourage you not to be afraid to skip around and over anything that doesn’t seem like it’s for you; the book will still be worth your time.
All in all, I’m always glad to have more of Rushdie’s brain in my brain!