Victory City
Salman Rushdie
Victory City
Salman Rushdie
The epic tale of a woman who breathes a fantastical empire into existence, only to be consumed by it over the centuries - from the transcendent imagination of Booker Prize-winning, internationally bestselling author Salman Rushdie.
In the wake of an insignificant battle between two long-forgotten kingdoms in fourteenth-century southern India, a nine-year-old girl has a divine encounter that will change the course of history. After witnessing the death of her mother, the grief-stricken Pampa Kampana becomes a vessel for the goddess Parvati, who begins to speak out of the girl's mouth. Granting her powers beyond Pampa Kampana's comprehension, the goddess tells her that she will be instrumental in the rise of a great city called Bisnaga - literally 'victory city' - the wonder of the world.
Over the next two hundred and fifty years, Pampa Kampana's life becomes deeply interwoven with Bisnaga's, from its literal sowing out of a bag of magic seeds to its tragic ruination in the most human of ways- the hubris of those in power. Whispering Bisnaga and its citizens into existence, Pampa Kampana attempts to make good on the task that Parvati set for her- to give women equal agency in a patriarchal world. But all stories have a way of getting away from their creator, and Bisnaga is no exception. As years pass, rulers come and go, battles are won and lost, and allegiances shift, the very fabric of Bisnaga becomes an ever more complex tapestry - with Pampa Kampana at its center.
Brilliantly styled as a translation of an ancient epic, this is a saga of love, adventure, and myth that is in itself a testament to the power of storytelling.
Review
Chris Gordon
Before we consider Salman Rushdie’s new novel, let’s pause for a moment to reflect on the dreadful, violent, and public attack on him last year. Incredibly, this act of terror did not deter his heart, although the physical repercussions remain terrible: Rushdie lost an eye and the use of a hand. And yet, still, here we have Victory City – a title released mere months after his hospital stay, which is both optimistic and wonderfully grandiose. The themes of this novel are fantastical, yet it is also clearly a story about how power is oh so fleeting, but stories – good stories, kind stories – remain with us.
Victory City is the epic account of Pampa Kampana’s 250-year life, which begins in 14th-century India. After witnessing the suicide of her mother, the grief-stricken young Pampa Kampana becomes a receptacle for the goddess Parvati. Granting her powers beyond Pampa’s comprehension (women’s equality, for example), the goddess tells her that she will be instrumental in the rise of a great city called Bisnaga, which means ‘victory city’ – the new wonder of the modern world. With the stage set, we follow Pampa through battles, questions of leadership and mythology, and we discover that fate – hubris – is always our undoing.
This novel is disguised as a translation – a reckoning, even – of a long verse created by Pampa Kampana to guide the human spirit. All our human trials, tribulations, and follies are recorded in this verse. The pages are found buried amid the ruins of a broken and discarded palace – like treasures, the words are hidden until they are needed.
This novel is for all that understand that mythology is the perfect means of illustrating creation. This novel will be (eagerly) read by Rushdie’s fans, but it is also for those readers that want to take time out from their daily life and to head to a timeless space where anything is possible.
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