Salmon Rushdie story The Little King

At one time, for all the wrong reasons, Salman Rushdie was the most famous living author in the world. It's amazing that he survived that time and that he has continued his writing career, though the time of the jihad has left its mark - his material since then has never seemed as vibrant or vital as the stories from his youth. Then again that's true of many writers - a style and milieu established and then eclipsed followed by a descent into mannerism. Reading Rushdi's story The Little King in current New Yorker shows as all that at one time seemed so distinctive and au courant in his style - maximalism to the extreme, over the top satire, comic riffs, never say anything once that could be said twice. Now this style feels like a throwback, which it is. Sadly, it also seems at odds w his material- a satire about a Indian-American dentist, dr smile, ha ha, who developed a powerful opiate , sets up a Corp that Rivas the (unnamed) Sacklers, and eventually comes crashing to the ground for various sexist and illegal practices - hardly material rife for satire. The plot such as it is involves dr smile's brother developing a huge crush on a tv talk show personality; smile assists in his quest to meet her once she becomes addicted to smile's rx - they do meet an the tv star seems just as you'd expect like a spoiled, self-centered addict. One has to wonder whether this whole story is Rushdie's best shit at one of his exes, herself a model and tv personality. Either way, a story that seems way out of touch w issues of today - a misplaced relic from the 70s.

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