Midnight's Children

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Summary: A book that will be read one hundred years from now
Review: The book is magical - a blend of history and absurdity that yields profound insights into the human condition. Set around the independence of India, it affords the reader some insights into that sub-continent. Of course, many lesser forms, such as TV programs, do the same thing. This book goes far beyond that buoyed by its wonderful humor (I promise you won't forget the black mango or Saleem as a 10-year-old "comforting" his distraught and beautiful aunt. This book both celebrates and transcends time and place - while you will learn much about India and Pakistan, you do not need that knowledge to appreciate the insights into the human condition that come shining through. There is sadness and disappointment beneath all of the hilarity of Saleem's adventures, behind the irony of Rushdie's description of the Indo-Pakastani war in which "only three bombs were dropped", but those three bombs killed nearly all his family in both India and Pakistan. This book will make you laugh out loud, sigh inwardly, and ponder the human condition. Midnight's Children succeeds at doing for the birth of India what Thomas Pynchon failed so miserably to do for the birth of the U.S. in Mason & Dixon.

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Summary: incredible
Review: Excellent storytelling - with a mixture ofopinions, philosophy and history that is never boring, blended with endless surprises.

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Summary: The best magical fiction book ever written.
Review: Midnight's Children potrays the life of Saleem Sinai, one ofthe many children born precisely at the stroke of midnight of August15,1947 when India woke up to its freedom. All through the book, the undercurrent of satirism runs. Every character captures the Indian mentality. The book is a reflection of how India has grromed herself over the years. The metaphorical and rich language accentuate every situation and every character. The blend of satire, fantasy and fact, truly places it as the best work of Rushdie.

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Summary: On the shelves for over 15 years and still a page-turner
Review: A masterpiece of fiction, Midnight's Children is not to bemissed. Rushdie is the master of suspense, humor, drama and historyin this page-turner. Midnight's Children is chock full of illusion, humor, history, drama, mysticism and more....a full plate for many readers, and yet you cannot put it down once you enter the world of the protagonist, Saleem. Rushdie keeps you guessing, makes you laugh out loud, and provides small clues along the way through the birth of a nation, and the life of Saleem. Rushdie is never predictable, and neither is Saleem. The author has a definitive knowledge of not only India, Islam and the culture, but also of that which we call the human experience. His characters are real, and at times surreal. Saleem experiences life and the trials and tribulations with humorous hindsight, and the foundation of a culture unknown to many in the west. Of all of Rushdie's books, this is one that will definitely be the classic in the ages to come.

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Summary: A book for desert island reading
Review: Knees and a nose, a nose and knees. Around these improbable features Salman Rushdie builds a narrative that takes in the history, sounds, and smells of India. I have read this book about 6 times over a number of years and never seem to tire of it. I have read all of the Booker Prize winners and most of the shortlisted nominees. There are a couple that come close, but I still smile to myself with pleasure when I think of the joy that reading "Midnight's Children" brings me. It has also informed my reading of Rushdie's other books and led me to admire this master wordsmith even above Peter Carey, my other favourite. "Midnight's Children" is about a group of children born at midnight on the eve of Independence. They each have a special characteristic. Critically, two of them are swapped at birth and raised in circumstances which allow Rushdie to portray the real India - a multiplicity of parallel dimensions ... hindu / parsi/ islamic/ mega-rich/ shockingly poor. And so terribly divided since that fateful day in 1947. That Rushdie gives us the panorama while at the same time amusing us with his wordplay is an aspect that this book achieves at a higher level than in his other books. Bringing to mind aspects of Indian life, particularly the teaming hordes of Bombay (or Mumbai as it now called by the fundamentalist hindu government), does help with comprehending the scale of much that Rushdie writes about. It is, after all, his home town. Nevertheless, I think the writing can be enjoyed just for the pleasure it gives to the reader. I think it's about time I read it again

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Summary: A smorgasbord of a novel.
Review: So what was all the fuss about? The Book to beat all Bookers, the Booker of Bookers... a breathtaking, beguiling and even bulging book packed with words spun by a master of the written form - yeah, I liked it! Certainly, it's a bit of a plateful and a touch overcooked in parts, but this smorgasbord of a novel left me stuffed and satisfied at every sitting. Like Marquez with his 'One Hundred Years of Solitude', Rushdie captures a whole continent, a civilisation, as he takes us through the birth of the newly independent India, seen through the eyes of his protagonist, Saleem Sinai. He lays the story before you with a brilliance that dazzles and a style that leaves you wanting more. No indigestion tablets needed here, just a comfy armchair and a footstool to digest the often bizarre plot lines that pepper this feast of fiction. It's funny too, and that's what made it for me - that and the characters (especially Saleem), who are painted with a warmth and sympathy that makes them all the more endearing. I guarantee that as soon as you taste the starter you'll be drooling for the main course, and the dessert will just melt in your mouth. Don't rush it - sit back and enjoy this 'Midnight' feast

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Summary: Absolutely fantasmic
Review: What a joy. This book is full of life and jokes and history. I frankly expected a chore when I picked this one up but it has been anything but that. I, too, had first heard of Rushdie after Satanic Verses and attempted to read a few pages of the that book at another book store. A few weeks later the Penguin Rep suggested Midnight's Children to me and it has been a wild ride ever since. Read it no less than a chapter at a time to get the full weight of the book

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Summary: How brilliant and beautiful!
Review: This book is so beautifully written that I have to put it down after awhile to take it all in. It's like a giant puzzle incorporating history, politics, religion, and individual lives, and Rushdie never once loses a strand. It's rare that a book is hilarious and moving at the same time. Midnight's Children is a true masterpiece.

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Summary: A hilarious book!
Review: The first Rushdie I read, I encountered this book when laid up with a knee injury. My only knowledge of Rushdie was the infamous death threat; I assumed he was a serious (read "non-fiction") academic. To my great surprise and delight, I soon learned that his wicked humor is what must be so upsetting to the overly religious. The incisive humor, the joyful use of language and the strong element of fastasy/magic... all conspire to create a great read. Still my favorite Rushdie. Bob Bingenheimer ([e-mail]

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Summary: A very original, vivid history of modern India
Review: And so I've been there - in the depth of the jungle, in the thin air of the high mountains, I've been blinded by the blue, I've been dizzy with the thousands of whispers, colours, smells; I've felt the cold and the wind and the heat and the never ending showering rain - and above all, those extraordinary people: a pregnant woman stopping a crazy mob, a good doctor with a formidable nose, fakirs and politicians and military men, and midnight's children, so very much like me, and so different. This is Salman Rushdie's India to me: not just a foreign exotic country, it's but me myself - in a different form. It was a fascinating, unforgettable journey