Offspring Fictions: Salman Rushdieâs Family Novels is the first book-length study that examines families and especially the parent-child relationship in Rushdieâs core works. It argues that Sigmund Freudâs concept of the family and the authorâs variations thereon are central to a full understanding of the four novels MidnightâsChildren, Shame, the controversial The Satanic Verses and The Moorâs Last Sigh, a quasi-sequel to Rushdieâs 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 Rushdieâs 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 Rushdieâs family tetralogy.
Acknowledgements
Rushdieâs Tetralogy
Introduction
Chapter 1: Reading the Novels
Midnightâs Children
Chapter 2: The Child Is Father of the Man: Creating Progeny in Midnightâs Children
Chapter 3: Days Full of Potential Mothers and Possible Fathers: Saleem Sinaiâs Multiple Family Romances
Chapter 4: âThe Mother-Goddess In Her Most Terrible Aspectâ: The Murder of Childhood and Dialogue
Shame
Chapter 5: Sins of the Parents: Monstrous Mothers and Absent Fathers
Chapter 6: âDiscrete Parameters of a Family Squabbleâ: Family Antagonisms
The Satanic Verses
Chapter 7: Absent Fathers and Fallen Sons: The Satanic Verses
Chapter 8: âPleasechu Meechu, Hopeyu Guessma Nayymâ: Giving a Voice to Satanic Doubt
The Moorâs Last Sigh
Chapter 9: Uprooting the Family Tree: The Moorâs Last Sigh
Chapter 10: Conflicting Parents, Contesting Authors: Who Writes the Moor?
Chapter 11: From Ganesh to Dumbo: The First and the Last of the Family Novels
Select Bibliography
Index