³ÉÈËÂÛ̳

« Previous | Main | Next »

And now a story about Salman Rushdie...

Eddie Mair | 07:59 UK time, Friday, 13 August 2010

...from your fellow listener Adrian Salmon. chutney.JPG "In my cupboard at home, I have a prized possession - a jar of lime pickle signed by Salman Rushdie.
It's a slightly long story.

It goes back to 1989 when I was on my gap year living in Bristol. I'd just read Midnight's Children and Shame and had been blown away. And I saw that Salman Rushdie was coming to Bristol to sign copies of his new book - The Satanic Verses.

I couldn't afford to buy the book - I was temping to pay my rent. I couldn't take in a copy of his other books, because they didn't belong to me. But there was a chapter in 'Midnight's Children' where the narrator compares writing a novel to making pickles. Each chapter is like a pickle jar and the flavours have to be sealed in quickly, before they lose their intensity.

So I bought a jar of lime pickle at my local store. I wrote a note explaining my circumstances, and asked if Mr Rushdie would sign the jar of pickle as an analogue for his novel. And bless him, he did. And I have it still."

There are more signing stories here and tonight in "Previously on PM"

Comments

³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ iD

³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ navigation

³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ © 2014 The ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more.

This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so.