An occasional series: Ask me (almost) anything...

...and I'll (sometimes) answer.

Here’s a good question I was asked by “Minimeh” a few days ago:

“Mr. Rushdie, what makes a book 'good' for you? Additionally, what makes a book 'great' apart from 'good'?”

What I look for in a book is a voice that sounds fresh, a relationship with language that feels exciting, and a vision of the world that enlightens or challenges me, or, just occasionally, changes the way I see the world in some degree. When I find at least one of those things, then that’s what I’d probably call a good book. When I find all of them, then the adjective “great” may come to mind. But it’s an adjective I use sparingly. Tolstoy is great, and Shakespeare, and García Márquez, and Kafka, and Woolf, and Morrison, and Proust, and Joyce, and very few others. Good books are enough for most of us most of the time.

Please do ask me questions if you wish, and i’ll answer if I know how to. I’ll try to make this a regular feature. Thanks.

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