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Midnight’s Children

Salman Rushdie

Start date: July 1, 2019

Finish date: September 30, 2019

Discussion: Current Group Reads

Why we're reading this: 3rd Quarter 2019 Long Read
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What Members Thought

Jan 29, 2022 Kenny rated it it was amazing

Shelves: brits, classics, magical-realism

Saleem Sinai is born at the stroke of midnight on August 15, 1947, the very moment of India’s independence. Greeted by fireworks displays, cheering crowds, and Prime Minister Nehru himself, Saleem grows up to learn the ominous consequences of this coincidence. His every act is mirrored and magnified in events that sway the course of national affairs; his health and well-being are inextricably bound to those of his nation; his life is inseparable, at times indistinguishable, from the history of h ...more

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Aug 11, 2017 Laura rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 1001-books-you-must-read-before-you, read-2017, 1000-guardian, historical-fiction, audio-books, fiction-20th-century, hf-india, book-and-movie, man-booker-prize

From BBC Radio 4:
1/7 To mark the 70th anniversary of the Partition of India, an ambitious new dramatization of Salman Rushdie's dazzling novel of love, history and magic. Saleem Sinai is born on the stroke of midnight on 15th August 1947, at the exact moment that India and Pakistan become separate, independent nations. From that moment on, his fate is mysteriously handcuffed to the history of his country. The story starts with Saleem's grandfather, Aadam, in Kashmir in 1915.

Part 1: The Perforate From BBC Radio 4:
1/7 To mark the 70th anniversary of the Partition of India, an ambitious new dramatization of Salman Rushdie's dazzling novel of love, history and magic. Saleem Sinai is born on the stroke of midnight on 15th August 1947, at the exact moment that India and Pakistan become separate, independent nations. From that moment on, his fate is mysteriously handcuffed to the history of his country. The story starts with Saleem's grandfather, Aadam, in Kashmir in 1915.

Part 1: The Perforated Sheet
Episode 1: The Perforated Sheet - Dr Aadam Aziz falls in love with a woman concealed behind a perforated sheet.
Episode 2: Hit the Spittoon - Aadam gives refuge to a young poet, scared for his life after the murder of the Hummingbird.
Episode 3: The Public Announcement - Saleem's imminent birth is accidentally announced to the world.

Part 2: The Birth of a Nation
2/7 Saleem Sinai is born on the stroke of midnight on 15th August 1947, at the exact moment that India and Pakistan become separate, independent nations. From that moment on, his fate is mysteriously handcuffed to the history of his country.

Part 3: Snakes and Ladders
3/7 Born at the moment of India's Partition, Saleem grows up in the care of two adoring mothers.

Part 4: All India Radio
4/7 Saleem indulges his ability to tune into other people's thoughts.

Part 5: Alpha and Omega
Alpha and Omega - Saleem continues to talk telepathically to all the other Midnight's Children, who all have their own unique magical powers.
Revelations - Mary's guilty secret finally becomes too much to bear.

Part 6: How Saleem Achieved Purity
The Indo-Pakistani war of 1965 changes Saleem's life forever.

Part 7: The Shadow of the Mosque
- The Shadow of the Mosque: With the help of Parvati the Witch, Saleem returns to Bombay.
- Midnight: Saleem is reunited with the other Midnight's Children in terrifying circumstances

Dramatised by Ayeesha Menon. Starring Nikesh Patel, Abhin Galeya and Meera Syal.

Sound design by Peter Ringrose
Produced and directed by Tracey Neale and Emma Harding.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0909rxg ...more

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