A review by jammasterjamie
Joseph Anton: A Memoir by Salman Rushdie

5.0

I am a little bit biased as I think that Rushdie is easily one of our greatest living writers, and I am glad to say that this memoir did nothing to disuage me of that opinion. This was actually probably the easiest Rushdie read I've come across, but don't let that make you think he still isn't using beautiful language and perfectly composed sentences, because all of the Rushdie trademarks are still there, but maybe his prose is a little more focussed than usual in this one as the story is firmly rooted in reality. Regardless, if you're a fan of 20th Century literature, this book is a nice journey through an exceptional time in all of our lives, gives glimpses and small insights into some of our literary heroes (just as I suspected - John Irving is a really cool dude and Harold Pinter is a bit of an ass), and is a very well-composed time-capsule of our recent history. It is also a treatise on why the freedom of speech, the freedom of expression, and the freedom to always question authority is, in my opinion, the most important battle we have.