Rating: 
Summary: Simply one of the finest novels of the 20th century.
Review: Brims with invention on every page. Recommended to anyone interested in fiction. Buy it in hardcover it is a novel you will want to re-read.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant
Review: There is little else to say. Rushdie provides a mystical portrait of independence. Make sure to read a book covering the history of India to gain a deeper understanding of this ever evolving land.
Rating: 
Summary: I wanted to like this book...
Review: I really, really wanted to enjoy this book, but I had to stop reading it I was so bored by it. I started reading it knowing that Salman Rushdie is a well-respected author and that the book was rated the best novel in the past 25 years, but I couldn't read the entire novel. Maybe I shouldn't say I don't like since I haven't read the whole book, but I don't know if I could. Perhaps it's because I'm only 16 and the only knowledge I have of Indian culture was a brief unit on the topic freshman year, or maybe I'm just not mature enough to read this book. I usually like every book I read, but this is one of the first I really just did not care for.
Rating:
Summary: It is a picture...
Review: I first read this novel in 1988.I was 15.I was entranced by its complexity and word play and the realism of its characters.I have read it five times to date, over a time span of 11 years. Each reading has given a different perspective, a different depth of thought and images that I had missed before. This is a novel of the intellect, for the intellectual and by an intellectual. Is it India? Yes. No. It represents the complexity and the clash of culture that is India.
Rating:
Summary: Mystical,magical,moving
Review: Being an Indian myself and more specifically a Bombayite(where a large part of the novel is based)I was hooked to this book.Rushdie writes beautifully weaving words and metaphors.The characters are all extremely believable and identificable.As far as History is concerned'Midnight's Children'may not be thoroughly accurate but this is a work of fiction and Historical errors are forgivable.Rushdie paints a poignant portrait of post-independent Bombay.A great work of Fiction.
Rating:
Summary: A masterpiece in every way!
Review: Brilliant, brilliant storytelling! The book is much like the juicy pickles it speaks of . . . "a special blend . . . containing the most exalted of possibilities . . . immortalized . . . giving shape and form . . . overpowering smells . . . strong on the palate . . . brings tears to the eyes even . . . but finally, the authentic taste of truth!" I didn't enjoy the last third as much as the rest, but what a beautiful ending! Rushdie has created a masterpiece, A must for every Indian, a must for every non-Indian! This book is fabulous even without regarding its political contexts.
Rating:
Summary: Not realistic, certainly not magical
Review: Presented as the pinnacle of the magic realism movement, this novel left me cold. There are aseveral reasons why one SHOULD like it: -about India -by an Indian (kind of) -"difficult" -Liberal/socialist -decadent However, no matter how these stack up -for me it was completely boring. I had no interest in any of the characters and as a metaphor for modern India it was markedly unmetaphorical. I learnt nothing of that country. I learnt a lot about the limitations of Magical Realism -an essentially lazy, self indulgent genre. The ego of Rushdie is prominent -as he wrote it he was clearly thinking "This is an important work". He should read Eliot, Proust and Dosteovsky -and learn his place
Rating: 
Summary: Great story-telling but not much else.
Review: Rushdie is a great plot-weaver, no question about it. However, as a native of the Indian subcontinent, I feel that he falls short in giving a true sketch of life there. Perhaps this is because he himself is a migrant. This is an aspect of the novel that many Westerners cannot really pick up on, but that sticks out in my mind. Also, it would help if Rushdie weren't such a pervert.
Rating:
Summary: Initially 'just' clever - but then...
Review: "Midnight's Children" is the first Rushdie book I've read, and only the second one by an 'exile Indian'. I'd heard so much about Rushdie's literary talent that I went off and bought it.At first I was a little disappointed, I must say. Rushdie's prose at the beginning of the book is clever, intelligent, witty - but it didn't touch me emotionally. I very much enjoyed reading it, but I wasn't too interested in what was going on. Then, before I'd noticed it, I was hooked. From the moment the narrator actually became a protagonist, I was involved in the plot. Driven on by the dozens of hints and foreshadowings, I simply had to know what would happen, and I began to care about most of the characters. More than that, Rushdie's novel is a rich tapestry of politics, magic, metaphor; there's so much imagination in this book, but it doesn't become overladen as other novels sometimes do. The author juggles his multiple plot lines, characters and his version of history and India deftly, and for me reading this novel was a real joy. P.S.: Some readers - and critics - have complained that Rushdie's India is not really India. So what? I believe that "Midnight's Children" can be enjoyed tremendously as an imaginative, clever, involving and intelligent novel. Why look for the 'truth' in it? While some readers with a limited knowledge of the country might take this novel's geography and history as 'the real thing', I don't think you should judge literature by its readers.
Rating: 
Summary: Literary marvel
Review: Rushdie's novel has always been on my "need-to-read" list, but only this year have I sunk my teeth into what (I surmised) may have become a dated novel. To my infinite surprise I discovered one of the true masterpieces of 20th century literature. My only complaint is that the latter half of the book does not seem to follow the impressive lyrical precedent of the first 300 pages - but this is to be expected as the beauty of the writing is unparallelled.
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