34 years after its launch, the satanic verses finds renewed interest among readers, the day after the attack of its author, the British Salman Rushdie. On Amazon, the book quickly appeared on the website’s French bestseller page. This Saturday at noon it ranked 4th in the paper version and 8th in the digital version. It was in position 40 on Friday night.

In the international version of Amazon, the satanic verses it rose to 10th place for the paper version and 21st place for the digital version.

But the book is also selling well on French platforms. On the Fnac site, the novel, which was still available in limited quantities in certain stores, quickly disappeared from most shelves. Same situation at Gibert where most of the new and used copies were sold this Saturday.

a million copies

Contacted by BFM Business, several Parisian bookstores also confirm that they have sold most of their copies of the work, until this Saturday morning.

The book, published in 1988, had sparked conflagration in parts of the Muslim world over a controversial chapter. The controversy began in India – the author’s country of origin – before spreading to the Muslim world. In 1989 Ayatollah Rouhollah Khomeini issued a fatwa against him.

The controversy earned him protection for decades, but also caused satanic verses a bestseller, it sold almost a million copies since its release. In 1989, the announcement of the fatwa had already revived sales.

However, stocks that are running low in French bookstores should fill up quickly. New copies will be delivered next week.