Amid ‘Satanic’ Panic, One ’80s Teen Discovered Rushdie’s Charms

SCOTT HUTCHINS on discovering Salman Rushdie: NPR

In 1980s Arkansas, one concern trumped all others: Satan. He whispered backwards on our rock albums. He possessed otherwise good people’s bodies and brought them to sin. His worshippers — it was honestly believed and confidently proclaimed — lived among us.

So when my stepmother opened our town’s first bookstore I was amazed by one book in particular: an infernal red and black volume called The Satanic Verses.