Book Review: "Midnight's Children" by Salman Rushdie
“Reality is a question of perspective; the further you get from the past, the more concrete and plausible it seems - but as you approach the present, it inevitably seems more and more incredible.”
Midnight’s Children is a prime example of the genius of its author’s penmanship in compiling an interesting piece of fiction - rich in history and reflections on its events - without ever letting the reader feel bored through the narration of facts, not as they were, but rather, allegorically through a different approach which is more personal and intimate in a narrative construction tied to the life-story of the narrator. It is notable, particularly for the employment of magical realism to address the postcolonial condition of India, by rewriting the history itself in a new light. It constructs the story of the newly Independent nation through Saleem Sinai’s “pickling of time” with a richness of magic. Many characters in the novel, the 'children of midnight', are gifted with supernatural powers like the narrator, Saleem Sinai, and in the coexistence of the realistic and the fantastic, a new historical contemplation is carried out from a fresh view point into the cultural, social, political, and military histories of India and Pakistan.
Midnight’s Children gives life to the history of India’s journey from British colonialism to independence, through Saleem who is the first born of the independent nation - being born at the stroke of midnight on August 15, 1947. Saleem, now thirty and fading away with a degenerative skin disorder which makes his skin flake - cracking “like an old jug” - sits to pen down his autobiography as a last resort to give meaning to the events of his life. The elaborate tale of the one “mysteriously handcuffed to history” of nation by destiny begins with all its grandeur - addressing Soothsayers, prophesies and encompassing the multitudes of the people of the Indian subcontinent, in both the pre and post Independent era: “I have been a swallower of life; and to know me, just the one of me, you’ll have to swallow the lot as well”. Magic is in the air from the very beginning as the narrator reconstructs his past starting from his grandparent’s personal history and interlinks with the history of India such that, Saleem’s life, him being born at the exact time as that of India’s birth, becoming a reflection of the incidents happening in the country.
It tells the story of generations and ties the history of India such that they were caused by various incidents happening in the Sinai family. It is filled with unexpected twists, highly creative and clever. The writing is also easy and beautiful. Despite the length and density of the novel it is quite accessible, hilarious and highly entertaining.
Post a Comment