''East, West'' () is a 1994 anthology of short stories by
Salman Rushdie
Sir Ahmed Salman Rushdie (; born 19 June 1947) is an Indian-born British-American novelist. His work often combines magic realism with historical fiction and primarily deals with connections, disruptions, and migrations between Eastern and We ...
. The book is divided into three main sections, entitled "East", "West", and "East, West", each section containing stories from their respective geographical areas (in the "East, West" section both worlds are influenced by each other). Though Rushdie himself never divulged the exact inspirations for his stories in ''East, West'', it is commonly thought that the central themes of each of his stories are drawn from his personal experiences as an immigrant in England during the time of the ''
fatwas'' issued against his life. Rushdie weaves in many pop cultural references into his stories, just as television and Western media such as
MTV and movies like ''
Rambo
Rambo is a surname with Norwegian (Vestfold) and Swedish origins. It possibly originated with '' ramn'' + '' bo'', meaning "raven's nest". It has variants in French (''Rambeau'', ''Rambaut'', and ''Rimbaud'') and German (''Rambow''). It is now best ...
'' have become popular throughout the world and on the Indian subcontinent. The influence and travels of Indians and Indian culture is also shown in the West.
Contents
''East''
*''Good Advice Is Rarer Than Rubies'' - A young woman attends the Consulate so she may join her husband from an
arranged marriage in England, only to derail her interview with incorrect answers, in order to remain in India as an independent woman.
*''The Free Radio'' - Examines government attempts during the State of Emergency to address high birth rates with sterilisation of poor men.
*''
The Prophet's Hair'' - A
moneylender
In finance, a loan is the lending of money by one or more individuals, organizations, or other entities to other individuals, organizations, etc. The recipient (i.e., the borrower) incurs a debt and is usually liable to pay interest on that d ...
is driven mad after finding a stolen lock of the Prophet's hair. His family enlists an infamous burglar to steal it, in the hopes that the moneylender will regain his sanity once he is separated from the hair.
''West''
*''Yorick'' - A fictionalised account of the childhood life of
Prince Hamlet
A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...
and his father's court
jester Yorick
Yorick is a character in William Shakespeare's play ''Hamlet''. He is the dead court jester whose skull is exhumed by the First Gravedigger in Act 5, Scene 1, of the play. The sight of Yorick's skull evokes a reminiscence by Prince Hamlet of t ...
, that then proceeds to influence the events of the widely recognised play Hamlet by
Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...
.
*''At The Auction of the Ruby Slippers'' - Various members of a destitute world attend an auction to bid for the
ruby slippers
The ruby slippers are the magic pair of shoes worn by Dorothy Gale as played by Judy Garland in the 1939 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer musical film '' The Wizard of Oz''. Because of their iconic stature, the ruby slippers are among the most valuable items ...
of
Dorothy Gale
Dorothy Gale is a fictional character created by American author L. Frank Baum as the protagonist in many of his ''Oz'' novels. She first appears in Baum's classic 1900 children's novel '' The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' and reappears in most of it ...
in ''
The Wizard of Oz'', in the hope their transformative powers will help them achieve personal and political ends.
*''Christopher Columbus and Queen Isabella of Spain Consummate Their Relationship (Santa Fé, AD 1492)'' -
Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus
* lij, Cristoffa C(or)ombo
* es, link=no, Cristóbal Colón
* pt, Cristóvão Colombo
* ca, Cristòfor (or )
* la, Christophorus Columbus. (; born between 25 August and 31 October 1451, died 20 May 1506) was a ...
waits in desperation for his patron Queen Isabella to agree to sponsor his voyage to the edge of the known world, i.e. to discover the Americas.
''East, West''
*''The Harmony of the Spheres'' - The protagonist reflects on his relationship with a friend whose
schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by continuous or relapsing episodes of psychosis. Major symptoms include hallucinations (typically hearing voices), delusions, and disorganized thinking. Other symptoms include social wit ...
leads to his suicide.
*''Chekov and Zulu'' - Two friends with codenames
Pavel Chekov
Pavel Andreievich Chekov (russian: Павел Андреевич Чехов) is a fictional character in the ''Star Trek'' universe.
Walter Koenig portrayed Chekov in the second and third seasons of the original ''Star Trek'' series and the ...
and
Hikaru Sulu
Hikaru Kato Sulu is a fictional character in the ''Star Trek'' media franchise. A member of the crew in the original ''Star Trek'' series, Sulu also appears in the animated ''Star Trek'' series, the first six ''Star Trek'' movies, one episode ...
are involved in a mission to collect intelligence on radical Sikhs in Britain following
Indira Gandhi's assassination.
*''The Courter'' - A teenage boy retells the story of the Indian woman who raised him and his siblings, and her relationship with the 'porter' of their building, whose title she mispronounces as 'courter'.
{{Rushdie
1990 short story collections
Jonathan Cape books
Short story collections by Salman Rushdie
Short stories set in India
Arranged marriage in fiction
Indian diaspora in fiction
Cultural depictions of Indira Gandhi