Tuesday, May 30, 2006

Midnight's Children - Salman Rushdie


A very well narrated story of Cucumber/Snot nose, perennially sinus infected Saleem Sinai who having born on the stroke of midnight, 15th Aug 1947.. yes the same time as our nation is gifted with (questionable) powers of being able to enter other's thoughts. In the process of which he comes across hundreds of children who happen to have been born around the same time and have all been gifted with some big or small miraculous power depending on how far from midnight they entered this world. They all end up forming the Midnight's children community and as with all groups end up with conflicts about how they could possible take over this world... aka X men style and slowly the community disintegrates.
And one fine day Saleem loses it all... his powers, his family, his country..even his memory and ends up in Bangladesh fighting for Pakistan. And when he is finally rescued back to India with all his powers gone, but with an ultra sensitive nose.. he meets Parvati, another midnight child.. He then gets sucked into the chaos of Emergency and manages to reunite the members of M.C.C.

Its a first person account of the events as narrated by Saleem to Padma, his caretaker/servant/lover... The references and the linking of various events is very well done and at no point does the book take the reader for granted...
Recommended - After all its won the booker of bookers prize.