May 18, 2001 08:33 PM
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If u ever want to know what fantasy fiction is, then there is no better book than Salman Rushdie's midnights children. This book is strictly to those people who accept the writer's imagination, and are able to define with it; else any one seriously examining this book is going to find it full of gobley-gook.
The second important thing to read this book, is u should have the nerve and patience to read through Salman Rushdie's prose. Sometimes, there are sentences (without fullstop) carrying over 1 full page. Imagine one sentence from top to bottom of the page!! It's difficult to continue with that kind of writing but if u do cope with these minor things, then behold, for before u lies one of the greatest books written in history!
The story is as usual written in first person ( almost all of Salman Rushdie's books do ) and begins with a remark on our independence. Infact in real sense, it is an autobiography of the fictional character. He begins with his birth, which by the stroke of luck, was at midnight on the day India gained freedom. Similarly like him hundreds of other children are born too and they all have one thing in common, the power of telepathy! All the people born on the stroke of midnight on independence day, 1947, have these powers!
The story begins in Bombay, moves to Pakistan, then to Bangladesh, to Bengal, to so many places, before eventually ending at Bombay again. The character explains his journeys and what all he experiences with similar people born on the same day (midnight's children). The political and historic backdrop which Salman Rusdhie has used, works very well with the story. So well, that one might not notice that Gandhi is killed on a wrong day instead of January 30th 1948. Don't worry, the book is full of chronological disorders, but that was the way the book was written in the first place.
The events co-incide and influence his life in more ways than one. Rushdie also takes a dig at Indira Gandhi, as the Widow ( 'W' capital,pun intended), who is infact also the main villain of the story! The Widow is out to kill all the gifted children, coz she fears them. Of course, the gifted children as they are, do manage to escape. The author then returns to Bombay to carry on with his life in a pickle factory!
Rushdie's main charm lies in the way he has mixed all the political events of Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh effectively in the story; more so for the fact, almost all the events are at wrong times in history and yet its difficult to notice it!! Language has always been Rushdie's forte. I cannot think of any other writer who can convey a 4-pageful of facts in 4 lines. On a lighter vein, this book could be a good GRE supplement for verbal section!!!! The humour and sarcasm too are very well written and placed in the book.
This book rightly deserved the booker for the best book, and even more rightly deserved the booker of bookers i.e the best book in 25 years. Ya, its that GOOD!! and its a must-read for a book-lover.
