Salman Rushdie and John le Carré reconcile after 15-year feud

Mon, 12 Nov 2012 17:42:00 +0000

After more than a decade of what the Guardian has called "one of the most gloriously vituperative literary feuds of recent times," the writers John le Carré and Salman Rushdie have reconciled. The Guardian reports:

Last month, Rushdie told an audience at the Cheltenham literature festival that he "really" admired Le Carré as a writer. "I wish we hadn't done it," he said of the 15-year-old feud which played out in the letters pages of the Guardian in 1997.

...Now Le Carré has also extended an olive branch. "I too regret the dispute," he told the Times.

According to the Times, the two began arguing "about the merits of freedom of speech versus the limits of religious tolerance," which began in 1997 when Rushdie penned a letter in the Guardian:

Salon.com > literary feuds

Salman Rushdie and John le Carré reconcile after 15-year feud