Why is the name "Salman Rushdie" well-known internationally?

[Boojatta]

[Name removed]

1. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Romulox]

2. I voted other: Married to Padma Lakshmi! nt

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

3. For marrying Padma Lakshmi.

ETA: Damn you Romulox!

[Romulox]

4. That pic is just....wow.

Semi-see through! :blush::loveya:

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

5. Salman's shirt?

:D

[Romulox]

7. Just goes to show Padma values intelligence and character over looks.

And with the recent divorce, that means I'm still in the running! :9

[Freddie Stubbs]

6. Cat Stevens

[otherlander]

13. Yeah.

[DemoTex]

8. Doubles as the king of Sweden (where he goes by "Carl XVI Gustaf")

[Dreamer Tatum]

9. What an ignorant, anti-cultural poll

Salman Rushdie is one of a handful of contemporary novelists whose work is almost universally critically acclaimed
and has been printed in many languages. His book Midnight's Children, written long before he became
'infamous,' goes a long way toward explaining his prominence in Letters. Someday he'll be a credible
candidate for the Nobel Prize.

[Igel]

10. I considered that response.

Excellent novellists are often internationally known. Among a relatively small set of people.

Pristavkin, Sorokin, Tolstaya, even Prishvin and Olesha are "internationally known". I'd almost wager you might know one of them (probably Tolstaya, since she was rather more widely trumpeted among literary circles in the US and Britain).

Some writers--usually after death--achieve renown. Cervantes, Tolstoy, Hasek. Ok, maybe not Hasek with his "Svejk". Cervantes and Tolstoy have taken some hits recently, too. No matter. They were renowned.

I don't think Rushdie's up to 'renown' level on just the popularity of his work. Then again, Tolstoy was also renowned for his literacy efforts and his pacifism/Ghandi-like persona, at least when he wasn't beating and raping peasant girls to give himself something to feel contrite over.

But "known internationally" wasn't the question. "Why is he *well-known* internationally?" For "well-known", there's the religion-inspied furor, fatwa, death-threats, and murder.

[Dreamer Tatum]

12. I think his contemporaries are DeLillo, Moody...

...Richard Ford, perhaps William Vollman, and many other, just among American authors I can think of.

He had international acclaim as a novelist before religious people decided he should die.

[alfredo]

11. I loved "Shalimar the Clown."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shalimar_the_Clown

Also worth reading is "Haroun and the Sea of Stories"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haroun_and_the_Sea_of_Stories

"The Satanic Verses" Is a long, intense read, but worth the effort.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Satanic_Verses

[Boojatta]

14. Kick

[Breeze54]

15. The Ayatollah put out a death warrant on him years ago. n/t

other

[Ex Lurker]

16. aka "Sal Bass" n/t

[Naturyl]

17. Dude, you have hilarious polls.

Kudos on that. I get it now, and will respond (or not respond) accordingly.