One Week in the Life of Salman Rushdie

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Who needs to read a good novel when you can scrutinize the life of a fun-loving author? That’s right, you guessed it. Salman Rushdie is at his hijinks again. I was half-tempted to write a long, philosophical (totally hypocritical) post titled “An Open Letter to Sir Salman” that would poke snarky fun at this lothario, but I didn’t have the heart. After all, who are we to mock another’s romantic foibles? Well, that and the other part of me wanted to write a totally different post called “Choose me, Salman,” which touted my virtues over those of his former lady-loves. (Foremostly, I would never choose cooking over a wordsmith like Salman, mostly because I can’t cook.) Finally, I came upon the perfect way to update SM readers on Salman’s latest exploits. A timeline. Okay kids, now pretend you’re back in fifth-grade history class and let Teach lay it out for ya. After all, it’s Friday. You need your celebrity fix. Here’s how it goes down.

Tuesday, October 20. Actress and most-recent girlfriend of Rushdie’s, Pia Glenn, tells the New York Post about her relationship with the man of letters. According to her, things ended less than amicably.

Statuesque actress Pia Glenn said she fell in love with the 62-year-old novelist, who “said he loved me.” She moved into his New York home in January. But she says she became frustrated with his obsession with Lakshmi, and she was heartbroken when he abruptly dumped her by e-mail in June. “He stole more than a year of my life, but I held out hope we could be friends. But whenever we tried to speak on the phone it became ugly — yelling and shouting.”

And that sums it up for this week in Salman. On a totally unrelated note, Mr. Rushdie, if you happen to remember that girl in the pink dress who totally fainted when you came to the book-signing of “The Enchantress in Florence” at the Free Library of Philadelphia last June that was me and I still looooooove you.

[Photo credit.]

Related Posts: Salman Rushdie, from Outsider to “Knight Bachelor,” Salman and Padma Escape Stupor, Separate, Sticks and Stones

47 thoughts on “One Week in the Life of Salman Rushdie

  1. I’m trying to figure out what Rushdie’s secret is. So far I have it narrowed down to three things. It’s either the being a good novelist making him seem artsy and sophisticated, the accent which makes him seem exotic and debonair, or the fatwa against him which gives him bad-boy appeal without the self-destructive tendencies that usually come with that appeal.

    With practice and diction lessons I think I could swing the accent and if I used my real name to post on here I could probably angle my way towards a fatwa against me. The world renowned novelist thing, however, could be difficult.

    Wish me luck.

  2. Or all three things at once?

    There are only so many hours in the day for me to practice being awesome.

  3. I find it odd that people still think it is hard for a rich famous guy to get laid.

    “But there are lots of rich guys” you say?

    Well women wont get famous by riding their disco sticks.

  4. I find it odd that people still think it is hard for a rich famous guy to get laid.

    I’m not surprised at Rushdie’s ability to make it with sexy mamas. I’m reflecting on ways to duplicate his success.

  5. You could just lower your standards.

    Women who dont look like models make better lovers because they try really hard. Good looking women lay their like a dead fish.

    From what I’ve been told.

  6. So much I could say, but I’m going to go ahead and shut my piehole before my foot ends up in it.

  7. it’s quite clearly his bald head. it emits an aphrodisiac irresistable to tall, young women. I suggest we run an experiment with this, we might even get NIH funding.

  8. Unabashed support of noted child rapist Roman Polanski is actually a good indication of general sex appeal among elite peers. Perhaps even a correlation could be made!

  9. Unabashed support of noted child rapist Roman Polanski is actually a good indication of general sex appeal among elite peers. Perhaps even a correlation could be made!

    America’s all about forgiving and forgetting transgressions.

    Unless you’re a colored.

  10. Some of Ms.Lieskovsky’s gems from the Gawker article:

    “I’m really interested in human capabilities, which is why I’m interested in poetry, music, stuff like that. Genocide is just another one of those human capabilities, it’s how you basically live death.”

    “I want to be Angelina Jolie’s assistant in Cambodia,” she exclaims. “She’s doing all this amazing UN goodwill work. I would just love to hang out there, hang out with movie stars but help land mine victims, too. I think there’s too little glamour in volunteer work.”

    “the popular boys in my school who ranked hot girls said they’d have put me at No. 1 if I hadn’t shaved my head or worn lederhosen.”

    And a quote about her from a Harvard classmate: . “I can’t think of anything that make her anything like other people. I don’t know if she has any human traits really,” says blockmate Jennifer L. Nelson ’03.

    Sounds like Salman picked himself a winner.

  11. Those Gawker snippets are just bursting with wow. She’s like a parody of a fameball, like a real-life version of someone in The Onion, like..like…[head explodes].

  12. Everytime I see Rushdie’s picture I think it’s a picture of Stanton Friedman, the UFO researcher who writes about Roswell. Ok-Ok–I watch the Sci-Fi channel. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanton_T._Friedman I wonder if there’s a connection? Except Stanton Friedman never has sexy desi ladies at his side while Rusdie appears to have a series.

  13. or the fatwa against him which gives him bad-boy appeal without the self-destructive tendencies that usually come with that appeal.

    i got kicked out of the local mosque… it didnt do anything for my love life 🙁

  14. i got kicked out of the local mosque… it didnt do anything for my love life 🙁

    Story please. If you have video then that would be even better.

  15. i got kicked out of the local mosque… it didnt do anything for my love life 🙁 Story please. If you have video then that would be even better.

    unfortunately the story isn’t worth mentioning… let’s just say an over eager rent-a-cop on a power trip. BTW I AM allowed in the mosque, though the mosque’s president doesn’t return my salaam as he walks past me pilfering food from the kitchen (bitterness intended -_o).

  16. I remember at the SAJA conference in 2004, when Rushdie and Lakshmi made a joint appearance, there was this guy there —I don’t think he was even a journalist, I think he was actually in realty–who was there basically b/c looked like a dead ringer for Salman and wanted to see him in person. I mean, he looked so much like him that I thought he was Salman and was somehow lost. He wasn’t even desi, he was like Greek or something. I wonder if that guy ever decided to capitalize on his resemblance on the NY social scene.

    I realize he likes the technology and all, but I have a hard time believing he’s actually on Facebook and writes on people’s walls. But who knows!

  17. I am jealous of this old man. I think it is in the name I guess the chick is born to a Chinese woman and a Hungarian man and never the other way!?

  18. Its good that he is getting laid because he has been a shit, irrelevant writer for the last 15 years.

  19. Rushdie may have stature in India, but in the West … “Short people got nobody Short people got nobody Short people got nobody To love”

  20. but I have a hard time believing he’s actually on Facebook and writes on people’s walls.

    agreed. plus stuff like… kissiepoo. your teddybear xxx . come on man. have some spine. but cant argue with the results, although min seems to be a little batty, plus i’m sure her next book deal will be a little easier to come by.

  21. How is this middle aged, chubby, balding guy with a fatwa over his head manage to marry so many times and date all these good looking women? He makes fatwas not look so bad…

  22. I will be surprised if it is actually true, I feel it is to deflect the accusations by pia that he is still hung up on Padma

  23. Actually, he strikes me as a modern-day Benjamin Franklin, highly intelligent, controversial, well-to-do, slightly (or more than slightly) balding, with a sardonic wit (I’m conjecturing from their pictures), and both Very successful with the ladies.

  24. alan Greenspan was also very successful with the ladies b/f settling down with Andrea Mitchel. ayn rand was very impressed

  25. It’s his silver-tongue. Some will (initially) fall for a man who can luxuriate them with flattering language. If he can make them feel nearly as compelling as his literary lady characters then they can overlook his wicked brows and sneering smile for a spell.

  26. Actually, he strikes me as a modern-day Benjamin Franklin, highly intelligent, controversial, well-to-do, slightly (or more than slightly) balding, with a sardonic wit (I’m conjecturing from their pictures), and both Very successful with the ladies.

    Are you saying Rushdie has Syphilis?

  27. rushdie may have a 12 inch wand
    I guess we’re saying he’s a cunning linguist.

    it’s one “ling-” or the other

  28. Why don’t most folks understand that sexy is between the ears? My man is balding,but his big dome is full of original ideas and witticisms. Talent combined with intelligence and compassion—very sexy.

  29. his big dome is full of original ideas

    my big dome often appears to have a mind of its own too.

  30. It’s so hard to keep track of, thanks half-desi for sharing the article. Enjoyed this bit, “I think when you are Salman Rushdie, you must get bored with people who always want to talk to you about literature.”

  31. “I think when you are Salman Rushdie, you must get bored with people who always want to talk to you about literature.”

    that makes sense. reminds me of the time frazier’s dad befriended a JD Salinger like character, who would go out to ballgames with Martie much to the chagrin of Niles and Frazier, who fancied themselves far more appropriate friends for the great writer than their plebeian pop. while waiting for dad and the great man to return home for dinner, a frustrated Frazier throws up his arms and exclaims: maybe they bumped into salman rushdie and went out for margaritas!

  32. ?his big dome is full of original ideas” my big dome often appears to have a mind of its own too.

    Good one, Manju, you deserve a PRIZE.