“Everything I want is in my words and all I need is words.” This line, spoken by Pampa Kampana, the hero of Ciudad Victoria, comes at a moment when the famed miracle worker, seer, and poet loses sight after a brutal act of vengeance. The voice of Salman Rushdie, the celebrated writer and defender of free expression, echoes as the memory surfaces again.
Although the book was drafted before Rushdie faced a violent attack last August, the blend of fact and fantasy and the luminous hope it carries feel sharper now. In a time when yesterday’s headlines invite quiet reflection, the tale presses forward with a seriousness that mirrors real events and their consequences.
The book’s arrival in American bookstores this week prompted anticipation and delight. Critics applaud Rushdie’s return. After two earlier works that used satire to examine American culture, Rushdie’s Indian heritage, and the broader world of magical realism, Ciudad Victoria reveals what the book itself hints at: the miraculous and the everyday exist on one continuum.
fact and fiction
Ciudad Victoria unfolds as a landscape of imagination, prose, and symbol that goes beyond the visible layers of history, politics, and culture. The kingdom Vijayanagar, where Kampana is born and tested, did exist in South India between the 14th and 16th centuries. Its ruins, now recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage site under the name Hampi, bear witness to the era’s rulers, Hukka and Bukka, mighty armies, clashes with northern sultanates, and early encounters with European powers.
The narrative threads a story of self-sacrifice by remarkable women that shapes Kampana’s destiny. Rushdie assigns him not only the crowning achievement of a magical kingdom and the memory of its people but also authorship of Jaraparajaya, meaning Victory and Defeat. The text presents this as a Sanskrit manuscript penned before Kampana’s death at an astonishing age, translated for readers in simple language by a narrator who offers the voice of a poet and storyteller rather than scholarly precision.
In Rushdie’s crafted history, conflicts emerge between a plural, egalitarian, exuberant society and forces of fundamentalism, orthodoxy, chastity, extremism, fanaticism, sectarian hatred, ignorance, and intolerance. The book becomes a portrait of a utopia where women are not subjected to patriarchy, where peace and integration prevail, and where a state aspires toward lofty ideals.
It also acts as a defense against forgetting and erasing history, a gesture that feels urgent today as religious nationalism in India challenges the Islamic legacy. Above all, the work stands as a celebration of storytelling as a sacred craft. Kampana turns to fiction as a means to guard the crowd from unreality and to offer a people a way to imagine a more enduring truth.
Ciudad Victoria has earned praise from major outlets, with critics highlighting its entertainment value, fascination, and infectious charm. Publishers describe it as one of Rushdie’s most compelling works, noting its vivid energy and narrative force.
The joy of building a world
Rushdie agreed to discuss the attack in what was described as his only interview since the incident at the New York office of his literary agent and publisher. The hopes for renewed conversation with readers about literature and his latest work were strong, and he emphasized what mattered most to him.
In that discussion, he explained that Ciudad Victoria required a long arc to uncover its history. He recalled that the sound of the book was hard to locate and that Kampana emerged seemingly from nowhere. Once the voice, hero, and purpose crystallized, Rushdie felt a renewed urge to devote himself to creating an entirely new world and a remarkable artistic canvas.
“I am increasingly drawn to the pleasure principle,” Rushdie said in that interview, offering reflections that blend humility with a candid view of creative life. He noted that youth often projects wisdom while aging brings a sharper energy. For him, the aim of art is to bring joy and to treat that joy as a core objective rather than a mere afterthought.
The achievement of Kampana and the city of Bisnaga stands as a testament to this vision. A recent remark from a fellow writer, Hari Kunzru, described the work as a vibrant display of Rushdie’s talent and creative power, arguing that the author remains primarily a novelist and storyteller rather than a political symbol. In the closing pages of the book, the message endures: words win.