Midnight’s Children: The Hooker of Bookers
Take the name “Salman Rushdie” and one’s mind gets lit by the controversial era of the Satanic Verses which had the recently knighted author get a fatwa issued against him. But the reason why he should be remembered, the greatest achievement in his life, is none other than “Midnight’s Children”. Midnight’s Children is a 1981 [...]
Sahil Khan
22.08.2008
Arts & Culture, Books
Take the name “Salman Rushdie” and one’s mind gets lit by the controversial era of the Satanic Verses which had the recently knighted author get a fatwa issued against him. But the reason why he should be remembered, the greatest achievement in his life, is none other than “Midnight’s Children”.
Midnight’s Children is a 1981 novel by Sir Salman Rushdie. It centre’s on the author’s native India and was acclaimed as a major milestone in post-colonial literature.
It won both the 1981 Booker Prize and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize. It was awarded the “Booker of Bookers” Prize, the best all-time prize winners, in 1993. This year, the novel got the “Best of Booker Award” through a public voting. Midnight’s Children is also the only Indian novel on Time’s list of the 100 best English-language novels since its founding in 1923. If the above achievements do not impress you enough to go out at once and buy this amazing book, let me also add that a book which states that guilt is a fog, optimism is a disease, freedom is a myth, fried spiders cure blindness and Gandhi will die at the wrong time” will sure send your neurons asking for questions and maybe then you will be forced by the fluids of your brain to go out and finally buy the book. So either ways do not…I repeat, DO NOT miss this book.
The book is surrealist fiction that deals with the history of India from 1910, passing through 1947 to the declaration of the emergency in 1976 through the eyes (and nose) of Saleem Sinai, who was born on the stroke of Midnight August 15, 1947. Being born at this exceptional time gives him the uncanny ability to connect telepathically to the other 1000 other midnight’s children and also has his paternally inherited nose which helps him to sniff out of dangerous situations. Through many unexpected events the amazing talent with which he is born, sets him on a path passing through the minds of probably all the most important people during our independence , even through our then prime minister Nehru himself. This biography written by the character Saleem Sinai himself shows him and his country (India) in a glorious light.
A highly recommended book which is perfect in the use of grammar, mockery and realism. Being an Indian I immensely enjoyed the book and I’m sure that it has and will continue to appeal to the global audience. This magical mix has brought Sir Rushdie to the levels of Günter Grass and Gabriel García Márquez. In all senses a wonderful read!
Ravi Mishra
[ratings]
[image courtesy: http://flickr.com/photos/32663872@N00/521659467/sizes/o/]
Well, honestly I don’t think I’d ever like to pick up this book ever again!Although his ideas are all correct, I felt extremely bored reading the book.It started off very well, but somewhere in between it lost….all its touch.