Salman Rushdie, Quichotte

Catherine Pesso-Miquel (Université Lyon II)
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Summary

The eponymous character in the novel is an American of Indian origin, in his seventies, called Ismail Smile, who works as a sales executive for his cousin, the owner of Smile Pharmaceuticals Inc. He spends his days on the road, selling opioid pain-management drugs, and his nights in tawdry motels where he absorbs overdoses of junk television and becomes besotted with a beautiful talk show host of Indian origin, forty-years his junior, called Miss Salma R. When his cousin fires him, it affects him little, as he is now intent only on meeting the object of his love. Under the pseudonym of “Quichotte”, he leaves Arizona and starts off on a quest leading to New York City, where Salma R resides. T…

3080 words

Citation: Pesso-Miquel, Catherine. "Quichotte". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 11 May 2020 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=38992, accessed 29 March 2024.]

38992 Quichotte 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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