78. India

 Quichotte by Salman Rushdie

Although I have read other works by Rushdie many years ago (Satanic Verses, Midnight's Children, Grimus, Haroun and the Sea of Stories) this was the most recent and is still quite fresh in my mind. 

It mainly follows the story of Quichotte (with, the author tells us, many different pronunciations but for this it should be 'Key-shot') and his quest to cross America and woo his beloved Salma R. Quichotte himself, however, is the creation of Sam DuChamp, an Indian-American author of spy novels.

Quichotte is joined on his road trip by his imaginary son Sancho, and they face antagonism from post-9/11 Americans and, in one small town, surreal creatures that come out at night.

This novel brought me back to Rushdie, and I look forward to rereading Midnight's Children (considered by many to be his masterpiece) and exploring some of his other works.

Quichotte was shortlisted for the Booker Prize 2019.