Joseph Anton
A Memoir
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Narrated by:
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Sam Dastor
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Salman Rushdie
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By:
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Salman Rushdie
About this listen
On February 14, 1989, Valentine's Day, Salman Rushdie was telephoned by a BBC journalist and told that he had been "sentenced to death" by the Ayatollah Khomeini. For the first time he heard the word fatwa. His crime? To have written a novel called The Satanic Verses, which was accused of being "against Islam, the Prophet and the Quran".
So begins the extraordinary story of how a writer was forced underground, moving from house to house, with the constant presence of an armed police protection team. He was asked to choose an alias that the police could call him by. He thought of writers he loved and combinations of their names; then it came to him: Conrad and Chekhov - Joseph Anton.
How do a writer and his family live with the threat of murder for more than nine years? How does he go on working? How does he fall in and out of love? How does despair shape his thoughts and actions, how and why does he stumble, how does he learn to fight back? In this remarkable memoir Rushdie tells that story for the first time; the story of one of the crucial battles, in our time, for freedom of speech. He talks about the sometimes grim, sometimes comic realities of living with armed policemen, and of the close bonds he formed with his protectors; of his struggle for support and understanding from governments, intelligence chiefs, publishers, journalists, and fellow writers; and of how he regained his freedom.
It is a book of exceptional frankness and honesty, compelling, provocative, moving, and of vital importance. Because what happened to Salman Rushdie was the first act of a drama that is still unfolding somewhere in the world every day.
This audiobook includes a prologue read by the author.
©2012 Salmon Rushdie (P)2012 Random House AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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And So It Goes
- Kurt Vonnegut: A Life
- By: Charles J. Shields
- Narrated by: Fred Berman
- Length: 17 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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New York Times best-selling author and biographer Charles J. Shields crafts this fascinating portrait of literary icon Kurt Vonnegut. The first authorized biography of the influential American writer, And So It Goes examines Vonnegut’s life, from his childhood to his death in 2007, and explores how the author changed the conversation of American literature.
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Probably only for die hard Vonnegut fans
- By Watery M on 12-22-12
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Eleanor and Hick
- The Love Affair That Shaped a First Lady
- By: Susan Quinn
- Narrated by: Kimberly Farr
- Length: 13 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1932 Eleanor Roosevelt entered the claustrophobic, duty-bound existence of the first lady with dread. By that time she had put her deep disappointment in her marriage behind her and developed an independent life - now threatened by the public role she would be forced to play. A lifeline came to her in the form of a feisty campaign reporter for the Associated Press: Lorena Hickok. Over the next 30 years, until Eleanor's death, the two women carried on an extraordinary relationship.
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An Icon who was real.
- By Francine Fields on 08-17-17
By: Susan Quinn
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Salinger
- By: David Shields, Shane Salerno
- Narrated by: Peter Friedman, January LaVoy, Robert Petkoff, and others
- Length: 19 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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Shields and Salerno illuminate most brightly the last 56 years of Salinger’s life: a period that, until now, had remained completely dark to biographers. Provided unprecedented access to diaries, letters, legal records, and secret documents, listeners will feel they have, for the first time, gotten beyond Salinger’s meticulously built-up wall. The result is the definitive portrait of one of the most fascinating figures of the 20th century.
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Ingenious novel or biography? Hard to tell....
- By Melinda on 09-05-13
By: David Shields, and others
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World’s End
- The Lanny Budd Novels, Book 1
- By: Upton Sinclair
- Narrated by: Bronson Pinchot
- Length: 26 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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Lanning “Lanny” Budd spends his first 13 years in Europe, living at the center of his mother’s glamourous circle of friends on the French Riviera. In 1913, he enters a prestigious Swiss boarding school and befriends Rick, an English boy, and Kurt, a German. The three schoolmates are privileged, happy, and precocious - but their world is about to come to an abrupt and violent end. When the gathering storm clouds of war finally burst, raining chaos and death over the continent, Lanny must put the innocence of youth behind him.
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didn't finish
- By Bird Miller on 05-08-22
By: Upton Sinclair
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Raven
- The Untold Story of the Rev. Jim Jones and His People
- By: Tim Reiterman
- Narrated by: Mitch Horowitz
- Length: 29 hrs and 52 mins
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Tim Reiterman's Raven provides the seminal history of the Rev. Jim Jones, the Peoples Temple, and the murderous ordeal at Jonestown in 1978. This PEN Award-winning work explores the ideals gone wrong, the intrigue, and the grim realities behind the Peoples Temple and its implosion in the jungle of South America.
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What a very thoroughly written book!
- By Traci P. on 04-22-17
By: Tim Reiterman
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The Wind in My Hair
- My Fight for Freedom in Modern Iran
- By: Masih Alinejad
- Narrated by: Linda Henning
- Length: 14 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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A photo on Masih's Facebook page: a woman standing proudly, face bare, hair blowing in the wind. Her crime: removing her veil, or hijab, which is compulsory for women in Iran. This is the self-portrait that sparked "My Stealthy Freedom", a social media campaign that went viral. But Masih is so much more than the arresting face that sparked a campaign inspiring women to find their voices. She's also a world-class journalist whose personal story, told in her unforgettably bold and spirited voice, is emotional and inspiring.
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An inspiring journey
- By Krishna Teja Rekapalli on 01-06-19
By: Masih Alinejad
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Lenin's Tomb
- The Last Days of the Soviet Empire
- By: David Remnick
- Narrated by: Michael Prichard
- Length: 29 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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In the tradition of John Reed's classic Ten Days That Shook the World, this best-selling account of the collapse of the Soviet Union combines the global vision of the best historical scholarship with the immediacy of eyewitness journalism.
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The moral complexity of a comic book
- By Tot on 02-22-19
By: David Remnick
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Limonov
- The Outrageous Adventures of the Radical Soviet Poet Who Became a Bum in New York, a Sensation in France, and a Political Antihero in Russia
- By: Emmanuel Carrère, John Lambert - translator
- Narrated by: Vikas Adam
- Length: 12 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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This is how Emmanuel Carrère, the magnetic journalist, novelist, filmmaker, and chameleon, describes his subject: "Limonov is not a fictional character. There. I know him. He has been a young punk in Ukraine, the idol of the Soviet underground; a bum, then a multimillionaire's butler in Manhattan; a fashionable writer in Paris; a lost soldier in the Balkans; and now, in the fantastic shambles of postcommunism, the elderly but charismatic leader of a party of young desperadoes."
By: Emmanuel Carrère, and others
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The Sisters
- The Saga of the Mitford Family
- By: Mary S. Lovell
- Narrated by: Annie Wauters
- Length: 18 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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This is the story of a close, loving family splintered by the violent ideologies of Europe between the wars. Jessica was a Communist; Debo became the Duchess of Devonshire; Nancy was one of the best-selling novelists of her day; the ethereally beautiful Diana was the most hated woman in England; and Unity Valkyrie, born in Swastika, Alaska, would become obsessed with Adolf Hitler.
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Great story, terrible reader
- By Victoria on 02-27-14
By: Mary S. Lovell
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Mark Twain: Man in White
- The Grand Adventure of His Final Years
- By: Michael Shelden
- Narrated by: Andrew Garman
- Length: 17 hrs
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Pulitzer Prize finalist Michael Shelden illuminates Mark Twain’s twilight years in this brilliant account of the legendary author’s life. Drawing heavily on Twain’s own letters and journals, Mark Twain: Man in White recounts both Twain’s private family experiences and his larger-than-life public image.
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Fantastic book
- By Tad Davis on 08-23-10
By: Michael Shelden
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On the morning of August 12, 2022, Salman Rushdie was standing onstage at the Chautauqua Institution, preparing to give a lecture on the importance of keeping writers safe from harm, when a man in black—black clothes, black mask—rushed down the aisle toward him, wielding a knife. His first thought: So it’s you. Here you are. What followed was a horrific act of violence that shook the literary world and beyond.
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Outstanding book, superb narration
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Midnight's Children
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Saleem Sinai is born on the stroke of midnight on 14th-15th August 1947, at the exact moment that India and Pakistan become separate, independent nations. From that moment on, his fate is mysteriously handcuffed to the history of his country. But Saleem's story starts almost 30 years earlier, when his grandfather, Dr Aadam Aziz, falls in love with a woman concealed behind a perforated sheet.
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Superb
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Use an audiobook to really enjoy Satanic Verses
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Rushdie never fails to engage.
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Outstanding book, superb narration
- By MarcS on 06-09-09
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Midnight's Children
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Superb
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The novel that set the stage for his modern classic, The Satanic Verses, Shame is Salman Rushdie's phantasmagoric epic of an unnamed country that is "not quite Pakistan". In this dazzling tale of an ongoing duel between the families of two men - one a celebrated wager of war, the other a debauched lover of pleasure - Rushdie brilliantly portrays a world caught between honor and humiliation.
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Should have quit at chapter 2
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Two Years Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights
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From Salman Rushdie, one of the great writers of our time, comes a spellbinding work of fiction that blends history, mythology, and a timeless love story. A lush, richly layered novel in which our world has been plunged into an age of unreason, Two Years Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights is a breathtaking achievement and an enduring testament to the power of storytelling.
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1001 whimsical, capricious, and wanton jinn
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When Maximilian Ophuls is murdered outside his daughter's home by his Kashmiri Muslim driver, it appears to be a political killing. Ophuls is the former U.S. ambassador to India and America's leading figure in counter-terrorism. But there is much more to Ophuls and his assassin, a mysterious man calling himself "Shalimar the Clown", than meets the eye. One woman is at the center of their shared history, a history of betrayal and deception.
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Incredible
- By Barry on 12-07-05
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The Moor's Last Sigh
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Booker Prize-winning author Salman Rushdie combines a ferociously witty family saga with a surreally imagined and sometimes blasphemous chronicle of modern India and flavors the mixture with peppery soliloquies on art, ethnicity, religious fanaticism, and the terrifying power of love. Moraes "Moor" Zogoiby, the last surviving scion of a dynasty of Cochinese spice merchants and crime lords, is also a compulsive storyteller and an exile.
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The performance is enchanting.
- By Kelly on 05-04-18
By: Salman Rushdie
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East, West
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- Unabridged
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Story
A rickshaw driver dreams of being a Bombay movie star; Indian diplomats, who as childhood friends hatched Star Trek fantasies, must boldly go into a hidden universe of conspiracy and violence; and Hamlet's jester is caught up in murderous intrigues. In Rushdie's hybrid world, an Indian guru can be a redheaded Welshman, while Christopher Columbus is an immigrant, dreaming of Western glory. Rushdie allows himself, like his characters, to be pulled now in one direction, then in another.
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Why I Read Rushdie
- By Dorie H on 10-29-24
By: Salman Rushdie
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Quichotte
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Inspired by the Cervantes classic, Sam DuChamp, mediocre writer of spy thrillers, creates Quichotte, a courtly, addled salesman obsessed with television who falls in impossible love with a TV star. Together with his (imaginary) son Sancho, Quichotte sets off on a picaresque quest across America to prove worthy of her hand, gallantly braving the tragicomic perils of an age where “Anything-Can-Happen.” Meanwhile his creator, in a midlife crisis, has equally urgent challenges of his own.
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The Best Narration I have Ever Heard
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By: Salman Rushdie
What listeners say about Joseph Anton
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Greg
- 10-10-12
Gripping and Fantasical
Santanic Versea likely will be remembered as the most controversial book of the later half of 20th century for the shear amount of political controversy it illicited globally, worthy or not. But what happens when you write one of the the most controversial books of the century?
Joseph Anton has the answer. Salmon Rushdie, in 3rd person, meanders through his entire life. Taking moments to ponder, life, love, religion and family from pre-fatwa to post. His journey takes him from his life as Salmon and his alias, Joseph, used under police protection.
The story is one of preserveance, despite some of his own short comings... A story that has him bumping shoulders (or more accurately rubbed) by Margaret Thacter, chats with Bill Clinton, dinners with Tony Blair, friendships with Christopher Hitchens, and even Bono. Despite what might have been mistook as glamour and ego was a caged man, who was barely able to leave his own house and difficulties performing basic father tasks with his son.
While Salmon, drops names frequently, to the point of blurring into the ether, what remains is story with personal victory with plenty off tragedy. Only knowing Salmon from appearances in the media, I finally was motivated to read one of his works and settled for the one that interested me the most. Having been narrowly old enough to claim to lived through the entire 80s, many of the books earlier events served as a portrait of the confusion of multiculturalism and a global society in a time I lived through but was not old enough to have meaningful comprehension. The extent of Iran's treachery even given today's misgivings is shocking, the British lack of desire to defend its own citizens is surprising and the global Islamophobia pandemic is current.
Salmon is a harsh judge of himself but also holds himself with regard, likely the same dignity that kept him sane. I enjoyed this book immensely, as Rushdie is passionate, insightful, and charasmatic.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Syd Young
- 08-04-13
Important book!
Ok, will you "like" this book? Not necessarily but you will be glad you read it. It explores the years and years of Salmon Rushdie's life while he was in hiding from the fatwa. It goes on and on, and he does not hide the truth: he is not a martyr or a perfect man, he is just a writer who crossed he Wrong people. Do you believe in religious fanaticism? Do you know the prequel to 9-11 ? Please take the time to listen to this and think about these very life and death matters.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Lenny
- 05-13-23
Loved the humor
Slow start but it grew on me. My favorite parts were the ironical ones. Highly recommend.
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- Diane
- 12-14-12
A must read
Any additional comments?
Rushdie is a brilliant author (mainly novelist) and it’s a rare treat to read a memoir by someone who writes so well.
I hesitated to review this book because my prose pale in comparison to those of Salman Rushdie. But this is such an extraordinary work that I feel compelled to share my opinion, even if clumsily. “Joseph Anton” is the story behind the story for those of us old enough to remember what happened. And for younger people, or anyone who cares about our constitutionally granted freedom of expression, it’s an important reminder of how easily that right can be taken away.
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4 people found this helpful
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- Ela B.
- 02-19-18
Spellbinding. Storytelling at its best
If you could sum up Joseph Anton in three words, what would they be?
Spellbinding. Embracing. Poignant.
What about Sam Dastor and Salman Rushdie ’s performance did you like?
Some writers are not good narrators. Some are. Stephen King is a master narrator and so is Salman Rushdie. You hang onto every word. Sam Dastor has a similar cadence. Both voices work so well side by side and do not detract from the storytelling.
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
I commute long hours on the road and usually after an hour or so, I tend to take a break; listen to music or just turn off the audio. This book made me want to go on a long drive across the country just so that I could hear more of the story.
Any additional comments?
Do not hesitate to get this book even if you are not into memoir! It reads like a well written novel. Wonderfully told but is also informative, encompassing world history, social commentary and the inner workings of publishing. It is also filled with humor and anecdotes even in the darkest moments. The writing is so poignant that I found myself connecting to Rushdie as a man and found myself rooting for him throughout his journey.
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- Lesleigh
- 03-19-13
A must-read if you love Rushdie's work
I fell in love with Rushdie's work when I was a 17-year-old freshman at college. My most difficult class was a junior level course called Modern Studies which required me to read 13 novels in 12 weeks. The first on the long list was Rushdie's Haroun and the Sea of Stories. I fell instantly and completely in love. That novel remains on my high atop my list of favorite (and most recommended) books of all-time, and I even fought to include it when I became a teacher myself, many years later.
I devoured Rushdie's bibliography over a number of years. As a teacher, I also researched his personal story and biographical materials. I was fascinated by him as a man, and continued to read his essays and writings as he continued to write.
This novel finally lifted the veil and gave the the story of Rushdie's fatwa from his own mouth. And it is just as interesting as I thought it would be. History buffs and lovers of literature will find the story compelling. Those interested in reading about the struggles of artists under the oppression of religious regimes for free speech would be equally engaged. However, it is worth mentioning that I do believe my background in Rushdie's work helped to ground me as I listen to this title. I am not sure how the experience would differ if I had not had that prior knowledge.
All together, this book is one I continue to recommend to friends who read non-fiction titles.
And, while you are at it, go select Haroun and the Sea of Stories and Midnight's Children as well. Rushdie does not disappoint.
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- Amazon Customer
- 11-13-12
Beautiful. Witty. Heartbreaking. Human.
Having never read any of Rushdie's books, I decided to take on this memoir based on his fame and well-known situation. First, I must say that the narrator was WONDERFUL. Second, I'm still listening. This is not a book to listen to in a rush or all at once. Best to listen for a bit at a time, so you can digest what you are receiving and roll it around in your mind before moving forward. Thoughtful. Intelligent. Profoundly human. Very entertaining in a subtle manner. I loved this one.
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- jean-louis jaumin
- 08-21-22
The best introduction to all his work
This ok d book should se the first one you read/ london stem and only after that will you enjoy fully Salam’s work. It helped me see this books with a different view. I warmly recommend d you listening it.
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- James Weisner
- 02-11-23
A man's freedoms taken away for his own safety
This autobiography is written in the third person which makes it sound weird. It adds a layer of effort on the part of the reader to decode to each event. Each time I read something shocking, as happens quite often in this book, it sounded like a fictionalization. But then I felt surprise with the realization that it actually happened! It was allowed to happen. By an entire religion full of, among other things, evil men. This book is mostly about other, braver men who protected its author. And also the red tape that robbed him of his freedom for a very long time. There's also a healthy amount of love and joy in it. Some dark comedy. And what some might decry as too much of the truth.
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- Jack
- 11-05-12
Really surprised I enjoyed it this much.
I would rate this in the top 10 out of the 75 books I have listened to. The narrator was excellent - switching into different voices that were very entertaining. Rushdie's writing was very smooth and enjoyable. Satanic Verses is next on my list to listen to.
Way to go Joe... :)
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1 person found this helpful