Salman Rushdie talked about his newest book, The Eleventh Hour: A Quintet of Stories, on CBS News.
Rushdie’s book, published Tuesday by Random House, collects five stories set in India, the U.S., and England. In a starred review, a critic for Kirkus called the book “a provocative set of tales that, though with grim moments, celebrate life, language, and love in the face of death.”
CBS News correspondent Martha Teichner asked Rushdie about the title of his book.
“Well, for a start, I’m 78,” Rushdie said. “For another thing, I had a fairly intimate encounter with death and got away with it. It makes you think, you know, and so I thought this idea of running out of time was something I had on the brain.”
Rushdie talked about the aftermath of the 2022 stabbing attack that nearly took his life. “Most people would say, ‘Well, this is a clear recipe for a life of PTSD,’” Teichner observed.
“Well, I do have a therapist,” Rushdie said. “And I asked him at one point to list for me the symptoms of PTSD. And I said, ‘But I don’t seem to be having those symptoms. So what’s wrong with me?’ And he said, ‘Well, it’s because you’re badass. That’s the technical term.’”
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
