Book info

• Title Midnight's Children
• Author Salman Rushdie
• Year 1981
• Genre Historical

Born at the stroke of midnight at the exact moment of India's independence, Saleem Sinai is a special child. However, this coincidence of birth has consequences he is not prepared for: telepathic powers connect him with 1,000 other 'midnight's children' all of whom are endowed with unusual gifts. Inextricably linked to his nation, Saleem's story is a whirlwind of disasters and triumphs that mirrors the course of modern India at its most impossible and glorious.

Thoughts

I have read one Salman Rushdie book before, and it took me three months to plough my way through it. They are not my style at all, but as this one appeared on the list I have chosen as part of my Life List, I was ready to give it a try.

The trouble I have is that I can’t wade through the strange construction of sentences. There are some great descriptions, some lovely lines of text, but it’s so hard to get to them. The characters seem almost incidental to the underlying story, but I could never figure out what the story was trying to get to either.

I got 25% of the way through and I had to give up. 25% seemed a reasonable attempt at a book I wasn’t enjoying. It was a struggle and I was starting to dread reading. Life is far too short to be in that situation.

Rating: 1 / 5