Divorce had a crippling effect on me: Rushdie

The Booker prize winning author said, 8220;I got very worried that I8217;d lost it because the break-up of my marriage suddenly intervened in an extremely emotionally violent way and there were two months or so 8211; May, June 8211; where I really couldn8217;t work.

He said, 8220;Divorce is a very difficult thing and it was very painful for me. I think the only shred of dignity that remains in these situations is to keep your mouth shut.8221;

Rushdie met Padma at a magazine launch party in 1999, while still married to his third wife Elizabeth West. He wed Padma five years later.

Renowned as a literary workhorse, the author, who faced death threats from Muslim extremists after a fatwa was imposed on him in 1989 for his controversial book The Satanic Verses, became increasingly concerned.

8220;My book lay in front of me like an unfinished bridge. You8217;ve got all these girders and bits8217; hanging out like nerve endings and the question is, how can you rejoin them? I became very panicky.8221; Rushdie said.

Finally, however, he beat his demons and completed his novel The Enchantress Of Florence, which is jam-packed with romance and scintillating love scenes.

8220;Panic makes you work and there was a moment when I got so frightened that I was going to lose the book completely that it just drove me back to it and gave me back the ability to concentrate,8221; he said.