The Opposition…

Midnight’s Children

Salman Rushdie

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Why we're reading this: April 23, 2013
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By Tiffany , WristStrong · 1 post · 5 views

last updated Jul 26, 2012 02:50PM

Maurice Sendak
By Tiffany , WristStrong · 2 posts · 14 views

last updated May 11, 2012 02:59AM

What Members Thought

Nov 15, 2009 Tiffany rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 1001-books__fromlist, 1001-books

What a large and massive book following the life of Saleem Sinai, born at the first moment of India's independence (midnight, August 15, 1947). The book begins with the lives of Saleem's grandparents and parents, then follows the maturation of Saleem and India, including birth, adolescence, war, revenge, death... as well as the other "midnight's children," those also born between 12 and 1 am on August 15, 1947, and magical realism, fate, curses, and talents/curses/idiosyncrasies passed down thro ...more

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Sep 07, 2010 Marieke rated it it was amazing

i need to reread this, but from what i remember, it was amazing. i mean, once you get over the vocabulary hump.

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May 28, 2007 Letitia rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Rushdie does it again. Though this book is more abstracted in structure than other things I have read by him, the lucious wordplay and beautiful language are there, drawing you into a beautifully metaphoric story. This book details the life of a boy whose existence mirrors that of India, from the birth of its Independence, with which his birth coincided. You have to have the usual toleration for wordiness and tangents that Rushdie always uses, but it's another coup d'etat for the master! ...more

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Jul 30, 2008 Pang rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction, readactor, constant-reader, 1001-books-to-read

Not a solid 4-star, but somewhere between 3 and 4.

I really enjoyed the way Rushdie wrote: playful and imaginative. I noticed right way. For example, in the beginning when Aadam Aziz was praying and hitting himself at the "point of the nose" as he bent down toward the earth,

Three drops fell. There were rubies and diamonds.

However, I couldn't get into the book. It wasn't a page-turner for me, though I could keep on reading once I started. The story was woven too complex for me at times, and I coul Not a solid 4-star, but somewhere between 3 and 4.

I really enjoyed the way Rushdie wrote: playful and imaginative. I noticed right way. For example, in the beginning when Aadam Aziz was praying and hitting himself at the "point of the nose" as he bent down toward the earth,

Three drops fell. There were rubies and diamonds.

However, I couldn't get into the book. It wasn't a page-turner for me, though I could keep on reading once I started. The story was woven too complex for me at times, and I couldn't catch on to the correlation between Saleem's life and the events that were going on in India right away.

In the end, however, I enjoyed it much better. Things started to make clearer sense for me. The book had a good ending... summarized all the human comedy and tragic that were portrayed earlier. I thought using pickles as an analogy to life was clever. Salty, sweet, spicy, etc. Many flavors.

One day, perhaps, the world may taste the pickles of history. They may be too strong for some palates, their smell may be overpowering, tears may rise to eyes; I hope nevertheless that it will be possible to say of them that they possess the authentic taste of truth ... that they are, despite everything, acts of love.

It was cleverly written. I think that if I go back and read it again, I would enjoy it more. But considering how long it has taken me this time around to finish, I'll wait until I have a bit more time to devote to it.

...more

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Mar 08, 2008 Angel rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

Here is another I read while in graduate school. I recall it was one of the best books I read, but it was also a heavy book, with a lot to consider and study. I was interested back then in looking at the magic realist elements. I was rushing to read it, since I had other books and assignments. The paper turned out ok, but not the best I have written. I basically wished I had more time to give this book its due. This is definitely one I will have to reread at leisure someday. It is probably Rushd ...more

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Jan 20, 2011 Catherine Newell rated it really liked it

Five stars for the writing (and more! if such a rating existed), five stars for the plot...but only three stars for the length, breadth, and width of this exhausting book. There are hundreds of pages that were near-to-mostly lost on me; perhaps if I had a PhD in 20th century Indian history I'd've understood a bit more. It's a great novel in the sense of it really does achieve greatness. But it is, as I've already mentioned, exhausting. ...more

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