Offspring Fictions: Salman Rushdie’s Family Novels

Offspring Fictions: Salman Rushdie’s Family Novels is the first book-length study that examines families and especially the parent-child relationship in Rushdie’s core works. It argues that Sigmund Freud’s concept of the family and the author’s variations thereon are central to a full understanding of the four novels Midnight’sChildren, Shame, the controversial The Satanic Verses and The Moor’s Last Sigh, a quasi-sequel to Rushdie’s first success. Through close readings that make use of a variety of critical approaches, Offspring Fictions provides a sustained examination of how the parents and children that people Rushdie’s fictions reflect the larger issues his work is concerned with: nationalism, religion, history and authorship. Aimed primarily at academics and students, but also of interest to the general reader, Offspring Fictions provides a clear and insightful analysis of Rushdie’s family tetralogy.