Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie

Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie

Genre: Adult Surreal Fiction

If writing styles could be cataloged into a pantry of aromas and tastes, there would certainly be a 'Rushdie' flavor. It would be dried plum. At once salty, sour, sweet with a little punch to add to its vaguely Old World exoticness. Rushdie's command of the lyricism of language is impeccable (and, at times, overwhelming). There are select metaphors and images that are astounding. I've only read his East, West collection of short stories, and I was fooled into thinking that Rushdie wrote in surreal yet simple parable form. No, no, he can certainly spin a tale, able to sustain a yarn (or two or twelve) for over 500 pages.

Not quite total magic realism, Midnight's Children contains undertones of meta-historical fiction. After all, the main character Saleem Sinai is one of the lucky (?) midnight children, born on the cusp of India's independence, and his life reflects the changes in the country. The reader will be introduced to a myriad of colorful characters, locales and tales. The only thing that detracts from this novel could be the double-edged literary style. When I was patient enough to focus, the story was exhilarating and unearthed hidden gems. When I wasn't, the book became a bog of quotation-less dialogue, hashes, dashes, Indian colloquialisms and strangeness.

Rating: Leaves a Lasting Impression

Jun 6th, 2011 4:43pm