Salman Rushdie, the Indian-British novelist and essayist who won the Booker Prize for his second novel “’s Children,” won a special award marking the 40’th anniversary of his novel. He also won the 25th anniversary Booker prize in 1993.
The novel is an example of Rushdie’s magical realism style. The dominant theme of his novels is the story of the connections and the disruptions between the Eastern and Western world.
The 61-year-old writer was voted winner of the Best of Booker prize from a shortlist of six in an online poll. The list included Pat Barker (The Ghost Road), Peter Carey (Oscar and Lucinda), Coetzee (Disgrace), J.G. Farrell (The Siege of Krishnapur) and Gordimer (The Conservationist).
Around 8,000 people from around the world took part in the online poll. Rushdie’s novel won 36 percent of votes. 20 percent of voters were 24 or younger, and 47 per cent were under 35.
“I think it was an extraordinary shortlist and it was an honour to be on it,” Rushdie said in a recorded message from the United States, according to Reuters.
After the success of “’s Children,” his fourth novel, “The Satanic Verses” (1988), was the subject of controversy in the Islamic world because the image of the prophet Muhammad, as he was portrayed in the book, was perceived as an irrelevant depiction.
