Rushdie's prose is dense, filled with great writing and magical imagery. The problem is that there's no real plot to make it chug along, so it's a very long read. I ended up skimming the second half of the book, so that I could brag that I finished it.

im not a wordsmith and will not be able to do this book justice.

the first few chapters are jumpy and staccato and difficult to read. once past this initial investment, rushdie unfurls a rich and complex story. as i continue to read, it seems the main character transitions from the current to the next... as the story unfolds offspring to offspring, generation to generation. of course this is all weaved with history in the kashmir region... delightfully vivid and imaginative. my favorite book so far

This is a lousy book. It's really amazing to me that the world had made such a fuss about such a mediocre writer as Salman Rushdie. The reason is properly that he is of somewhat Indian origin and that Khomeini got pissed off. Anyway Midnight's Children is a socio-political account. It revolves around some crucial times in newer Indian history, like the declaration of post colonial India on midnight August 15, 1947 and the declaration of state of emergency on June 25, 1975, the war with Pakistan, etc. Upon these historical facts Rushdie then brews an account inspired by magical realism and interspersed with personal experiences. Often Rushdie tries to be funny, but I didn't laugh one single time!

I've read another one of his books and thought it was very good. This one was too disjointed for me.
Frankly no one in our reading group enjoyed it.

I was really looking forward to this book. The subject, the repercussions till today ... I have lived a very long time in this geographical area and have therefore a deep interest.

Rushdie's book reminded me of so many visits of locals where at the end you were asking yourself, what was the purpose and what were we talking about? These instances and the book have one thing in common: a complete waste of time. And Indians, as well as Nepalis, are very good at that.

In Midnight's Children it seems that SR's ego - and boy, so called Indian intellectuals do sport quite some ego - simply went haywire. The book is an exercise in overtwisting a twist, in being oh so very clever or as the Germans say it approaches the subject 'from the back through the chest and into the eye'.

Midnight's Children is the sort of novel that defies an easy explanation. It's magical, but I wouldn't classify it as a fantasy. Though set in India and certainly an Indian novel, it was written in English and is very approachable to readers of different cultures. It's a long book, and dense, but not especially difficult read.

The book follows a character born at the exact moment of India's independence, and traces the rich history of that region along with the narrator's own story (and that of his family.) Written in the first person, the narrator evokes everything from humor to heartbreak. The novel's characters weave a rich tapestry that shows some of the diversity of the region at that time.

As an subjective telling of history, the novel unfolds in a circular pattern, accustoming readers to ideas more slowly and also repeating symbolic elements. On the one hand, it worked well, but when it felt repetitive I was reminded of the length and got a bit impatient. Overall, I would recommend this book widely, and consider it the sort of contemporary novel that may stand the test of time. (8.5/10)

This is my second experience with Salman Rushdie. I read Haroun and the Sea of Stories awhile back. I believe that I chose to read this after seeing it highly recommended in Nancy Perl's "Book Lust" lists. I am looking for novels that will engross me with a story, give me a characters that I care about, and have a narrative voice that I trust. Like Ellison's "Invisibile Man", one of my favorite novels, I found Rushdie's Midnight Children to create a compelling narrator whose voice lingers and reveals great truth about his nation and culture.

Some readers may not care for Saleem Sinai. He's unreliable as a narrator. He's loose with time and sequence and foreshadows. He meanders. He is struck with his self-importance. I found all of the digressions and explorations of Saleem Sinai to give the book its character and spice.

The premise of the novel is extraordinary. The concept of the magical Midnight's Children who are both all powerful and powerless in and India that is not accomodating to their powers is a potent allegorical device. Saleem's relation to his own gifts and his own connection to the fate of his nation is especially profound and I wish that I had more knowledge of history, especially the history of Pakistan, to be able to fully appreciate the scope of Rushdie's nation revealing efforts.

Ultimately, this is a book that is as much about a family and for those readers who are not into the allegorical and political dimensions of the book I still feel that it is worth giving the book 25 pages or so and seeing what you feel about it. If you can appreciate Saleem's voice and the story of his grandfather that begins the novel, you will certainly appreciate the book when Saleem enters his story and the plot moves more consistently through his life. Even missing the political and allegorical dimensions of the book, this can be read as a meditation on how a supremely gifted child succeeds and fails to be fully embraced by his family.

Midnight's Children sucked me in and was worth the effort to get through. I hope that you will be similarly blessed by this ambitious book.

5 stars

Salman Rushdie's voice is unique, and if you haven't read anything by him yet, Midnight's Children is a good place to start. Be prepared for intriguing characters, long flights of fancy, enough historical facts to keep the novel anchored in reality, and insightful comments on human nature. Winner of the Booker Prize when it was first published in 1980, it also received the prestigious "Best Book in 25 Years" Booker Prize.

Midnight's Children skyrocketed its author Salman Rushdie to fame winning him a Booker Prize. The novel has since been named the best novel ever to win a Booker. it was written in 1980 having every promise of becoming part of the English literature canon of great literature.
The book is long, dense, magic-realistic and episodic. Like David Copperfield the Bombay born narrator states he was born! Saleem Sinai was born on August 15, 1947 the very hour in which India gained her independence from Great Britain. Saleem is one of 1001 children born in this magical hour. All of the midnight children are granted special gifts. Saleem has a large nose and is able to smell better than anyone. He is also able to conjure up in his mind a meeting from time to time of all the midnight children! Saleem is born to a poor Hindu named Wee Winkie. A nurse switches the Aziz baby with Winkie so that Saleem ends up growing up in a well to do Muslim's doctor's home. Triumph but more often tragedy plague this family. Saleem's family is killed in the war between India and Pakistan. Saleem endures child abuse, poverty, impotence and sorrow . He meets many mentors especially women. His life's ups and downs mirror those of his native India in the first years of independence.
Rushdie writes in a vivid style filled with the sounds, colors, smells and volatile emotions of the Indian and Pakistani people. A knowledge of the Muslim religion and the history of India will help the reader understand the complex plot. Each of the thirty chapters is a gem of narration which requires close concentration on the part of the reader.
This book will not be to everyone's taste. It is a wild ride whose tour guide author is the brilliant author. Undoubtedly,much of the book is based on Rushdie's own youth in India. This book can be read allegorically and lends itself to rereading. It warrants discussion and analysis. An excellent novel which is probably the best fiction ever written on India!

This book took me a while to read. It is very wordy and a bit of a challenge, but if you are up for a challenge this book is definitely worth reading. The story is so different from anything I had ever read before, and it gives such a detailed depiction of India and her history.

After recently finishing Mistry's 'A Fine Balance' I planned to give myself a break from Indian lit for a while, but finding myself without a book on the other side of the country, the only books in the shop that called out to me were Indian - so I bought three!

Midnight's children is regarded as a classic, and deservingly so. I cannot help but contrast it with 'A Fine Balance' which I so recently read. Both are brilliantly written, inspiring books that intricately intertwine with India's tumultuous history. Yet they are as different as night and day. Midnight's children, although similarly passing through some quite dark hours of history, does not have the deflating, depression quality that the other book has. If anything Rushdie's writing shows symptoms of the 'disease of optimism' that his characters and his country so often succumb to in the novel. Despite the flawed narrator Saleem's neverending series of mishaps and his sense of inevitable doom, I couldn't help but feeling upbeat throughout this novel.

Part of what makes this book so interesting is that it combines history with fantasy. Not just in the usual sense of historical fiction, but in a more magical, mystical sense. I won't go into detail but this makes this book a delight to read. The first person narration is quirky, racing forwards and backwards and admittedly suffering from errors of memory and chronology but never too off-beat so as to get confusing (or rarely so).

Yet another book I highly recommend. Look forward to reading more of Salman Rusdhie's work in the future.

Midnight's Children centers around the protagonist, Saleem Sinai, recounting the story of his life to his lover one night. In his life is the entirety of Indian post-independent history; in and on his body are the markings and symbols that relate to his country. He is a member of a group of people born the evening that Indian was freed from British rule, each person born with special powers elevating them from the rest of the population. This story at its core is of the parallels that Saleem (and his friends) shares with India, and what a most unusual story it is. This book is 560 pages of complete storytelling mastery. It is an epic of magical realism, fully deserving its comparisons with "The Tin Drum" and "One Hundred Years of Solitude." Rushdie writes to the edges of the page and beyond, filling every sentence with originality and crazy invention that (wildly) has the control never to veer off into complete farce, which is indeed a gift. It is highly intellectual and complex, but written with deep humor and pathos, told by a narrator that continually holds the reader's hand to get them through the tough spots. The places that this book goes and the experiences it offers the reader could not be properly encapsulated in any review, so just note that it is worthy of all its praise and is easily one of the best books of the last century.

He (salman rushide) displays a unique style of writing in his Midnight's children, besides being very playful with his words and sentences. His work is not structured like a typical novel - list of characters, a plot/suspense and a climax..

In his view, after all this is a memoir, he describes how he has organized it. Each chapter is a jar of pickle. Has a raw material (character) and he adds the right amount of spices (characteristics) to make them irresistible.

His characters die before they are born, he has no interest in suspense. While each jar focuses on one character, bits and pieces of other characters are added to enhance/enrich taste of the pickle in making, exhibiting different characteristics. After tasking all the jars, one is only left with awe of characters. they are seasoned so well that one can't be judgemental about them and this applies to both the major and minor. There is no good or bad. They are just there!

Content however is common sense. He captures the pulse of South Asian families. (Indian/Pakistan/Bangladesh) across different economic statures and how they are affected by personal and political views of the day. He is exhaustive with the content (without being boring) that it is hard to notice anything missing from the book. (Of course there will be something missing, because it is a fixed edition and he acknowledges and convinces the reader that it is not his fault...)

What exhaustive book, can be complete without asking the basic question...

"Who what am I?". (Thats right, he plays with the words, makes his own sentences.)

Now who can conjure a new answer to that, and yet has anyone answered this question yet? here he goes...

"My answer (he says) : I am the sum total of everything that went before me, of all I have been seen done, of everything done-to-me. I am everyone everything whose being-in-the-world affected was affected by mine. I am anything that happens after I've gone which would not have happened if I had not come."

Although anyone can present arguments against Midnight's Children receiving the Best of the Bookers award, it certainly belongs on a short list for the best novels (and a very short list of the most important) of the last 3 decades. It's not as impenetrable as Satanic Verses, but contains so much brilliance, humor, and insight, that it's worth the effort.

Clever idea. Politically correct book. Historical fiction. An educational book for the uninformed western observer. Despite all these positives, there is little that drives the narrative, and much like the magical realism of Love in the Time of Cholera, the story is overly weighted by anecdote after anecdote and by the seeming inevitability of a trite conclusion. Rushdie's language is at times inventive and rich, and at moment's stirring. But overall the story is bogged down by inconsequential details, overly repetitive motifs and structure, and the lack of a really compelling and immediate story. As a middle-aged man, in general I no longer find novels highly engaging, so you can take that with a grain of salt as well.

Complex, interesting characters and plot. Best I have encountered. Imaginative. Brilliant. Plus a nice historical fiction backdrop.

Just finished reading this book and wrote this to my children.

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.. finally, finished reading 'Midnight's Children'. Am totally dumbfounded at how great this book is. Being more familiar with Indian History (and having lived through it), I am amazed at Rushdie's powers of imagination to merge real events with a magic carpet ride to make his point; many people like me lived through these historic events and were kind of oblivious to them....

I am amazed at how well he touches upon the culture, social habits, religion. ........

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I don't want to elaborate on the contents, because it is important for one to read this book without any preconceived notions. If you are a MATURE reader(am not talking about age) , you will not regret it.

This is a heavy weight book; you will need to constantly ponder on what you read. People familiar with Indian History, social habits, religions will be able to grasp it easier than others.




***** DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVE NOT READ THE BOOK ****************
***** DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVE NOT READ THE BOOK ****************
***** DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVE NOT READ THE BOOK ****************
***** DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVE NOT READ THE BOOK ****************

a few ramblings from me:

......
Being more familiar with the Indian History (and having lived through it), I am amazed at Rushdie's powers of imagination to merge real events with a magic carpet ride to make his point; many people like me (even though I can excuse myself partly because I was in the U.S. at that time) took Indira's Emergency declaration lightly and some even felt good about it, looking at the temporary results (trains running on time; a hiatus on bribery, government officials actually doing work....); Nehru (Indira's father) was one of the leaders of the freedom movement. The irony ..

It is a well known fact that Sanjay Gandhi (Indira's son) led the mass forced sterilization of mostly poor people. There was very little opposition; many even welcomed it (why should the poor have some many children, when they cannot afford them). Add the religious angle to it (Hindus vs Moslems)...

.. yes everyone knows that Morarji drank his own urine. Maybe, that's why he lived to a ripe old age..

.. how wonderful to have so many mothers and fathers.

.. my son who is NOT my son, but is the real grandson of my father ....

.. and Padma, the dung lotus ....


everyone will form their own impressions of the book. The metaphors, symbolism and irony cannot be missed. For me, the sprinkling of all the familiar things (Kolynos toothpaste., pan, spittoons,chutneys, pickles..) provided the relief in the form of nostalgia. Personally, I don't think of this as a political book, more of a glimpse of how times change with a twist of irony. Hey, life goes on....

The length and density of Midnight's Children was too much for 50% of my family and friends book club. Non-finishers included both 30-somethings and 60-somethings. Those of us who persevered found the book enriching and enlightening. The writing style and vocabulary were discouraging to the more concrete readers in the group. I will read another of his books someday, but I will not recommend it for book club!

This book won the Booker of Bookers, so when I saw it sitting on the shelf, it said, "I must be good, take me home!" After all, I've adored some other Booker winners.

Not this one.

Saleem Sinai is born at the stroke of midnight, August 15th, 1947, at the same moment that India becomes an independent nation. He knows that he must be special - he even receives a letter from the Prime Minister for such a fortuitious birth time. This book isn't just about him, though, it is about several generations of his family and the history of his country, all of which makes it into a lengthy literary saga.

I didn't like Saleem. He drove me crazy with his dodging of topics and endless diversions. I wasn't interested in his relationship with Padma and I got completely fed up with his self-important attitude. I understand that his condition is reflected by India throughout the novel, but that didn't mean I enjoyed reading about it just because it had literary value. His connection with the other midnight children was interesting, but once again his arrogance ruined it. He's an unreliable narrator to an extent, but not in the way that I like, if that makes any sense at all. He's just trying to make himself sound good. Maybe because he is, apparently, not very attractive.

India, as a country, was by far the most compelling character throughout the book. I loved reading about the different regions, about Bombay and Delhi, about how rapidly India was changing. I'd certainly recommend this book for insight into the culture and that is easily the best part of it. I wouldn't mind seeing the Kashmir region for myself, now, after reading about it so many times.

So, in the end? I think Midnight's Children was too literary for me. I can tell that I'd get more enjoyment out of it if I went through in a class and then had to write a paper on it to pick it apart. As I was going through, I actually picked out paper topics that would illuminate the subject matter better. I'm not quite crazy enough to go out and write a paper just now, though. If I ever have fewer TBRs waiting for me, I might pick it up again and see if I can catch some of the threads that I missed this time, but I don't anticipate that happening for a long time.

Oh, my goodness. What do I say about this? It's such a rich, excellently written story with lots of interesting action and characters. Bonus: Rushdie has a wicked wicked WICKED sense of humor. And, did I say that the writing is to die for? Envy the size of an elephant inhabited my body as I was reading this ... however, it didn't take any pleasure away from the reading of it. Okay, I'm gonna get bossy now: Put it on your to-do list.

Oh, my goodness. What do I say about this? It's such a rich, excellently written story with lots of interesting action and characters. Bonus: Rushdie has a wicked wicked WICKED sense of humor. And, did I say that the writing is to die for? Envy the size of an elephant inhabited my body as I was reading this ... however, it didn't take any pleasure away from the reading of it. Okay, I'm gonna get bossy now: Put it on your to-do list.

This book left me with no respect for the author or for the Booker prize.One of the 100 best books to read....REALLY?????????? Are we talking about the same book????? The most disgusting and unconvincing book I have ever read.

If this book was described by 1001 readers, I think you'd get 10,001 different views of what they experienced. Some knowledge of the history of India & Pakistan before and after independence and the partition will be helpful. Perhaps some "-ism" (magical real(ism), coming-of-age(ism); post-modern(ism); stream of .....) reading would prepare you for this. But neither is required to enjoy it. Having read many of the less than stellar reviews, it seems that many had preconceived notions that weren't met or they tried to make it a fast read.

This is not a "page turner" suspense novel; nor is it Joycean (or any other author's). It is Rushdie. This is what he writes and how he writes. Read it for its own style rather than trying to compare it with someone else.

I think too much effort is made by publishers and reviewers to put authors into groups. I'm sure the publishers do it to capture buyers with "if you like A, then you'll like B". Reviewers too often do it to show how many authors they have read rather than making valid comparisons.

Base your judgment of Rushdie (or any of his books) on what you like or dislike about his work rather than by "someone says he is like Marquez and he isn't, so I didn't like it".

Rushdie employs magical realism to unveil the soul of India. An incredible fiction that tells the true story of India's birth as a nation. I read the book years ago, and then felt it come to life as I spent 6 months wandering around India. A work of art, and one of my favorite books ever.

Dipping into controversial and expansive review of India's nouveau independence, Rushdie's autobiographical recitation (in fiction) of protagonist nasal-telepathic Saleem Sinai bestows lessons and conjures imagination.

Some novelists have received acclaim for making allegory through adventure - Coello for "The Alchemist" or Kosinski for "The Painted Bird." As great as those novels are, neither has the depth of review that this novel has. And, much to Rushdie's credit, this adventure intertwines with real events of the recent histories of India and Pakistan - thereby making it more relevant to those who lived or have heard about the many historical references contained throughout this book.

Being an American usually means reading little about the history or culture of India. We are ignorant of their struggles - and this book enlivens us to a certain degree - such that the reader can conclude from reading this book that this country has struggled as greatly since its independence from Britain, than it did under British rule. Forster's portrait of British degradation of India in "A Passage to India" made westerners believe that Gandhi's plight was both necessary and inevitable. This book tells us that freedom from British rule did not necessarily deliver better karma or even sounder ruling. The "Emergency" of Indira Gandhi delivers an appalling caricature of Indians being cruel to Indians - as Saleem must be emasculated by the ruling party's dictate - for reasons no more discernable than the German holocaust or any other genocide.

This book travels chronologically from Saleem's grandparents' romance to his 31st birthday. Saleem lives an incredible life -worthy of this book's size. His life - or really his son's life - is encapsulated in one sentence: "He was the child of a father who was not his father; but also the child of a time which damaged reality so badly that no one managed to put it together again; He was the true great-grandson of his great-grandfather. . ." It makes nonsense until you read the book - then this statement is both valid and true.

Amid this adventure we meet snake charmers, a succubus wet nurse, a witch, a 512-year old prostitute - as well as typical western literature characters, e.g. a man who shoots his wife and her lover, a corrupt general, and a son who kills his father out of pure hatred.

This is a thoroughly drawn portrait of a literary character. Amassing 445 pages in my hardback edition - each page having approximately 550 words - it is a long read. And, Rushdie's swirling writing style, where he touches upon a topic and a few paragraphs or pages later descends upon that same topic with more resonance or more detail, can leave readers feeling half empty at times as the complete description will not come to light until a later time. This is not a quick read. This is not easy reading. But, this is worthwhile reading.

Rushdie writes with great literary style. Full of metaphors and complete with magical insight, this book is understandably incorporated by many universities' English departments

I wanted to read a Rushdie book and I've heard this book being called the "Booker of the Bookers" (referring to the prize). Rusdie's writing may be poetic and beautiful, but it is hard to trudge through this fairly long book. Furthermore, Midnight's Children is not particularly educational as far as Indian history and culture. The author may deserve his great reputation for his writing style but don't expect to be entertained.

Reading this book made me feel like I was back in highschool and reading a required book for English class. My apologies to literature lovers who may consider me a philistine.

Salman Rushdie is the third author I've read recently that I'd put off reading for many years out of a misplaced fear I'd find his books dull and uninteresting--James Joyce and Thomas Pynchon are the other two authors. With great consternation and teeth-gnashing I finally picked "Midnight's Children" off the shelf and soon wondered what the heck had taken me so long.

To put it simply, "Midnight's Children" is a great book. It's a darkly comic odyssey through the history of India in the 20th Century told not only with touches of humor, but the supernatural as well. Reading the book can be an adventure, given the winding narrative that mixes past and present and the walls of print on each print, but it's an adventure worth the effort.

The story is told by Saleem Sinai on what he believes to be his deathbed. Padma, his caretaker and erstwhile fiance, begs to differ with this assessment, but aids Saleem by serving also as sounding board and editor. The relationship between Saleem and Padma continues to advance as he recounts the story not just of his life, but those of his parents and grandparents as well. His grandfather was a European-trained doctor in 1915 who returned to India, lost faith in God, and met Saleem's grandmother through a strategically torn sheet. His mother marries a poet on the run from assassins who hides out in their basement, but because he does not have sex with her winds up divorcing her. She then marries the businessman Ahmed Sinai and changes her name. On the stroke of India's birth, along comes Saleem. From this moment, his fate is tied with that of India. Like Saleem, the new nation of India--as well as Pakistan and Bangladesh--is finding its way and searching for its identity, though the answer is not really a happy one.

A side plot involves the "Midnight's Children," a group of children born in that first minute of India's existence. These 1001 children have supernatural abilities. Saleem can read minds while others master witchcraft, time travel, and so forth. This put me a little too in mind of the X-Men, though Saleem lacks the composure and leadership abilities of Charles Xavier and his rival Shiva is never as charismatic or evil as Magneto. (Recent TV viewers might compare this more to "Heroes" or "The 4400.") At any rate, I didn't particularly enjoy this subplot until at the end when it's used to demonstrate the madness of the Indira Gandhi regime.

Even if you're like me and have little understanding of India short of watching "Gandhi" you can still make sense of this book if you're willing to try. Make no mistake: this is not for the casual reader or the faint of heart. At the same time, the touches of humor--especially the bickering between Saleem and Padma about how to tell the story--and the supernatural make for an entertaining yarn. In the end you might also wonder what took you so long to find this wonderful book.

That is all.

"Midnight's Children" is Salman Rushdie's fictional rumination on the first 30 years of India's independence following British rule. Saleem Sinai, an Indian Muslim born on the stroke of midnight August 15, 1947, at the instant of India's independence, recounts a mystical, doleful tale of his own birth and trials as they coincided with those of India and Pakistan. All children born at the hour of independence were endowed with extraordinary gifts, the great potential of a new nation. Saleem of elephantine nose and dual parentage sees them all in his paranormally perceptive mind as he is witness to the initial optimism, two Indo-Pakistani wars, and India's oppressive State of Emergency instigated by Prime Minister Indira Ghandi.

"Midnight's Children" is an opinionated, critical tour of modern India's struggles with its own diversity and demons. Its overwhelming pessimism seems out of place now, as India has become one of the world's fastest-growing economies. The book must be viewed in the context of the time at which it was written, the late 1970s. Salman Rushdie has a lot to say, and says most of it more than once. He pulls no punches and makes no excuses for anyone. In spite of Saleem's first-person narration, Rushdie's fractured, repetitive prose style impedes its accessibility and slows the reader down. And I would not have thought it possible to pile so many metaphors on top of metaphors and remain coherent. "Midnight's Children" is a long, provocative lament but somewhat overworked.

"Midnight's Children" is Salman Rushdie's rumination on the first 30 years of India's independence following British rule. Saleem Sinai, an Indian Muslim born on the stroke of midnight August 15, 1947, at the instant of India's independence, recounts a mystical, doleful tale of his own birth and trials as they coincided with those of India and Pakistan. All children born at the hour of independence were endowed with extraordinary gifts, the great potential of a new nation. Saleem of elephantine nose and dual parentage sees them all in his paranormally perceptive mind as he is witness to the initial optimism, two Indo-Pakistani wars, and India's oppressive State of Emergency instigated by Prime Minister Indira Ghandi.

"Midnight's Children" is an opinionated, critical tour of modern India's struggles with its own diversity and demons. Its overwhelming pessimism seems out of place now, as India has become one of the world's fastest-growing economies. The book must be viewed in the context of time at which it was written, the late 1970s. Salman Rushdie has a lot to say, and says most of it more than once. He pulls no punches and makes no excuses for anyone. In spite of Saleem's first-person narration, Rushdie's fractured, repetitive prose style impedes its accessibility and slows the reader down. And I would not have thought it possible to pile so many metaphors on top of metaphors and remain coherent. "Midnight's Children" is a long, provocative lament but somewhat overworked.

Much has been written about the unique writing style of Salman Rushdie and Midnight's Children. It is hip to like it and thus call oneself a literary, and not unusual to dislike it as an uninitiated reader who cannot possibly know what to expect a priori. For what it's worth, here is my attempt to characterize the style. The book is written as a "stream of consciousness", long long long sentences, side-by-side repetition of adjectives for emphasis (hint hint hint!), use of synonyms similes parellels without punctuation or separators (again for emphasis), revealing the plot's end-game in advance yet (or thus) engaging the reader in the path to getting there, repeated summaries each to make an overarching point than to simply recollect the story so far, admitted insecurity and intermittent defense of the story's believability, and did I mention rechristening of events and characters with metaphoric names. If you could read and follow the last sentence in one shot, you are ready to read and enjoy Midnight's Children. The story-telling is hallucinatory on the surface, but enlightened underneath; deliriously exaggerated on the surface, but scrupulously balanced underneath; grossly fatalistic on the surface, but hopelessly optimistic underneath; carelessly raw on the surface, but meticulous genius underneath.

Never judge a book by its cover, judge it by its metaphors. Besides being one intense allegory, the book is a collection of the richest metaphors I've ever read in a piece of literature. Metaphors, mind you, and not its evil cousin, Analogies. Every event and character is first rechristened with its metaphoric name. In the process of writing the book, Rushdie has created a new vocabulary of words that become the best way (if not the only way) to describe those characters and events.

Spoiler alert: To pick from this new vocabulary, one way of characterizing the life of Saleem Sinai, and therefore the book, is Sperectomy: the draining-out of hope. To quote the last sentence of the book that sums it up "...because it is the privilege and the curse of midnight's children to be both masters and victims of their times, to forsake privacy and be sucked into the annihilating whirlpool of the multitudes, and to be unable to live or die in peace."

Midnight's Children is a great way to live vicariously through post-colonial India. If A Fine Balance is a bus-ride through India with a good commentator, Midnight's Children is your dark roller-coaster with ghosts popping out at you at every turn. If A Fine Balance is real in a touchy-and-feely way that you wish it was unreal, Midnight's Children is unreal in a mystical way that you will hate to, and yet force yourself to believe it is real; just like a post-traumatic nightmare, only it was a re-enactment.

The thing that really surprised me about Midnight's Children, by the end of it, was its generally sardonic attitude towards the magical symbolism and omens that are so central to the plot. So much is made of the mystical connections relating to the main character (Saleem Sinai), so much promise is set up in the story, that it's surprising when the abuse starts being heaped on Saleem with almost sadistic relentlessness. By the end of the story Rushdie has portrayed a startlingly pessimistic view of the "potential" of the innocent. And, with the obvious parallels between the life of Saleem Sinai and the development of modern India, Rushdie also exhibits a pessimistic and fairly depressing forecast for the future of one of the world's most populous nations.

But amidst all that is an epic; a collection of stories that seems almost like "A Thousand and One Nights" in its scope. The magical realism style Rushdie employs is far less confusing than that of Gabriel Garcia Marquez: where Marquez's rambling, stream of consciousness writing serves largely to (intentionally) disorient the reader, Rushdie (through a liberal use of semi-colons) gently guides the reader through narrative leaps spanning both time and distance. Astonishingly descriptive, Rushdie is almost more a painter than a writer in this book: the near 550 pages pass by with a very economical use of dialogue, and it is the scenes and descriptions that provide the meat and memories of the novel.

Those who are fans of Tolkein and other authors who write lavishly detailed stories simply cannot miss this novel. "Midnight's Children" plays out like an Oscar-winning film or a very vivid, elaborate dream.

It's no wonder that this book won the 1993 Booker of Bookers.
It is amazingly written and the story is hugely engaging. The narrative is delicious, Rushdie paints his book with the skill of a real artist.
An amazing read, and highly recommended by me.

Rushdie's book Midnight's Children is unbearable. The book is extremely repetitive and boring. Rushdie attempts to avoid this criticism by being "unique" and using a stream of consciousness technique that infuriated me consistently during the reading. The book is filled with supposedly "deep" metaphors, which are actually incredibly superficial and annoying. Rushdie's arrogance and narcissism is reflected by the main character of the book, Saleem, who spends the majority of a 500 page novel complaining about how life hasn't treated him fairly. Prior to reading the novel I was disgusted by what I knew of Indian tradition in general, particularly the caste system and pervasive racism in the country. This novel did little to enlighten western readers to some redeeming quality in their society, and left me, a staunch liberal, reconsidering how bad colonialism actually was. Since I realize that colonialism was one of the most immoral actions perpetrated by any group of people in history, it only goes to show you how negatively Rushdie portrays what should be a vibrant culture. Since this seems to be the only reason to market this novel towards western readers, I am forced to conclude that this novel is a complete failure.

had fair expectations. rushdie spends too much time being cutesy and obnoxiously witty. read a book on indian history instead.

This is great until you read 'The Tin Drum' by Gunter Grass and discover he just ripped it off and changed the setting.

This novel is very interesting, sometimes funny, sometimes very satisfying. But Rushdie's style can be described as broad, the novel wanders all over the place and I soemtimes found myself wondering what a particular portion had to do with the rest of the story line. Getting through this novel requires some work and dedication, but I still think it's worth it.

This novel is very interesting, sometimes funny, sometimes very satisfying. But Rushdie's style can be described as broad, the novel wanders all over the place and I soemtimes found myself wondering what a particular portion had to do with the rest of the story line. Getting through this novel requires some work and dedication, but I still think it's worth it.