NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The epic tale of a woman who breathes a fantastical empire into
existence only to be consumed by it over the centuries—from the transcendent imagination of
Booker Prize–winning internationally bestselling author Salman Rushdie Salman Rushdie is one
of Time’s 100 Most Influential People of the Year • Victory City is a triumph—not because it
exists but because it is utterly enchanting.”—The AtlanticA BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: The New
York Times Book Review The New Yorker Time NPR The Washington Post Chicago Public Library
Polygon The Globe and Mail BookreporterIn the wake of an unimportant battle between two
long-forgotten kingdoms in fourteenth-century southern India a nine-year-old girl has a divine
encounter that will change the course of history. After witnessing the death of her mother the
grief-stricken Pampa Kampana becomes a vessel for a goddess who begins to speak out of the
girl’s mouth. Granting her powers beyond Pampa Kampana’s comprehension the goddess tells her
that she will be instrumental in the rise of a great city called Bisnaga—victory city”—the
wonder of the world.Over the next 250 years Pampa Kampana’s life becomes deeply interwoven
with Bisnaga’s from its literal sowing from a bag of magic seeds to its tragic ruination in
the most human of ways: the hubris of those in power. Whispering Bisnaga and its citizens into
existence Pampa Kampana attempts to make good on the task that the goddess set for her: to
give women equal agency in a patriarchal world. But all stories have a way of getting away from
their creator and Bisnaga is no exception. As years pass rulers come and go battles are won
and lost and allegiances shift the very fabric of Bisnaga becomes an ever more complex
tapestry—with Pampa Kampana at its center.Brilliantly styled as a translation of an ancient
epic Victory City is a saga of love adventure and myth that is in itself a testament to the
power of storytelling.
