NPR's Book of the Day: Salman Rushdie on "The Eleventh Hour"

Date: November 5, 2025
Host: Andrew Limbaugh
Guest: Salman Rushdie
Episode Theme: Mortality, Revenge, Ghosts, and the Power of Art in Rushdie's Latest Collection

Main Theme & Purpose

The episode centers on Salman Rushdie’s new book, The Eleventh Hour, a collection of novellas and short stories. Through magical realism and sharp wit, Rushdie explores mortality, vengeance, unfinished business, and the state of civilization, blending personal experience with wider societal reflections. The conversation highlights how these themes play out across the stories, drawing on Rushdie’s lived history and recent near-death experience.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Mortality—A Personal and Literary Focus

• Backstory: Rushdie’s near-fatal stabbing in 2022 and his advancing age have sharpened his focus on life’s final act.

• Literary Influences: Cites Edward Said’s essay "On Late Style," discussing whether artists face death serenely or with rage.

  "I began to think about how people engage with that final act. And there's different stories and different approaches to that subject."
  — Salman Rushdie [03:20]

• Balanced Response: Rushdie sees both rage and serenity in facing mortality, sometimes even within the same day.

2. Ghosts and Unfinished Business

• Story Highlight: In an English ghost story, a deceased academic must resolve unfinished business before moving on.

• Passage Reading: Rushdie reads from the scene where the ghost realizes he is, ironically, always late now:

  "All my life I was famous for my punctuality...And now that time has slipped my grasp, I'm going to be—well, I am—forever late. The late S.M. Arthur."
  — Salman Rushdie (reading) [04:17]

• Theme: The idea that ghosts represent “unfinished business,” a notion seeded in The Satanic Verses and revisited here.

  "I've always thought of that idea of a ghost being unfinished business. And in the case of this story, finishing that unfinished business became the action of the story."
  — Salman Rushdie [06:57]

3. Justice, Revenge, and Art as Magic

• "The Musician of Kahani": Set in Mumbai, featuring a musician with magical power, inspired in part by the myth of the Pied Piper. Explores art’s power to do both good and harm.

  "I had this idea of wanting to write about music having magical powers ... that germ was sitting in my head for quite a long time and eventually found its expression."
  — Salman Rushdie [08:50]

• On Artistic Responsibility: Rushdie stresses that art should not be didactic, but should raise questions for readers.

  "Writers can, and writing can, ask the questions which oblige the reader to answer those questions for himself or herself."
  — Salman Rushdie [07:54]

4. Language Embodied, Freedom, and Censorship

• "The Old Men in the Piazza": The final story personifies language as a woman in a society where free speech is forbidden.

• Creative Surprises: Rushdie describes his delight at how stories sometimes take unexpected turns during the writing process:

  "The moment it happened, I thought, oh, I really like that, and I want to see what I could do with that."
  — Salman Rushdie [09:50]

• Writing Methodology: Rushdie compares his evolving writing style to the difference between composing a symphony (structured) and playing jazz (improvisational).

  "It's the difference between composing a symphony and playing jazz. It's as if my literary inclination has traveled from the symphonic to the more improvisational."
  — Salman Rushdie [11:02]

5. The Eleventh Hour—A Broader Meaning

• Personal vs. Collective Mortality: Rushdie notes that the title also reflects anxieties about the state of civilization in India, the UK, and the US.

  "The 11th hour is not just about individual mortality, but also about civilization ... that was very much on my mind as well."
  — Salman Rushdie [11:42]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Recovery:
  "I surprised everybody, including my doctors, by my recovery. So I guess I'm lucky."
  — Rushdie [02:24]

• On Aging and Mortality:
  "I'm not in the first flush of youth anymore. I mean, I'm 78 now, so that in itself makes you think about the last act, you know."
  — Rushdie [02:55]

• On Storytelling Surprise:
  "For me, it's always a sign that the story has life when the story starts suggesting things to its author."
  — Rushdie [09:50]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Rushdie’s current health, reflections on mortality — [02:23–02:55]
• Edward Said and responses to death — [02:55–03:41]
• Reading from the ghost story; exploration of ‘unfinished business’ — [04:17, 06:24]
• Justice, revenge, and music’s magical power — [07:23–09:24]
• On artistic freedom and language as a character — [09:24–10:27]
• Writing process and improvisation — [10:42–11:30]
• Broader meaning of ‘The Eleventh Hour’ — [11:42–12:11]

Tone & Style

The conversation is intimate, reflective, and occasionally playful, characteristic of Rushdie's signature blending of the real and surreal, wit and gravity. Both host and author maintain a tone that invites listeners to ponder serious themes while appreciating the joys and surprises of creative work.

Conclusion

This episode of NPR’s Book of the Day offers a rich and multi-layered exploration of Salman Rushdie’s The Eleventh Hour. It delves into how personal upheaval, literary legacy, and societal change are intertwined in Rushdie’s latest work—inviting listeners to consider the persistent tension between rage and serenity in life’s final chapters, and the unfinished business we carry, both as individuals and as a civilization.