“Midnight’s Children,” by Salman Rushdie

Atif Khan’s ratings:

1.      Premise 8

2.      Prose 9

3.      Plot 8

4.      Characters 9.5

5.      Overall 8.5

As I'm from India and the story is based in India and Pakistan, for me it was like listening the history by some kid who lives in fantasy because most of the historical facts which were given, were true. That's why if its name wasn't "Midnight's Children", it could be "History in Fantasy". The way "Salman Rushdie" described the historical facts and connected it with the story of Saleem, Amina and Aziz was mind blowing. But I was disappointed at once where I thought he'd meet his sister at somewhere end in the story, but it didn't happen. Overall I liked the book.

FM's ratings:

1.      Premise 7

2.      Prose 10

3.      Plot 7

4.      Characters 8

5.    Overall 8

Comments (optional - but try to keep it under 3000 words!)

The prose here is as good as prose gets.  Absolutely brilliant.  And that, presumably, is the chief reason why this book won the Booker Prize in 1981 and the Booker of Bookers in 1993.  Many of us have read at least one book that we loved, or at least were impressed with, that we struggled mightily to get through.  When I was young, “The Lord of the Rings” was one of the examples of that for me.  (Yes, it was actually 3 long books, but should be read as one work.)  “Midnight’s Children” was a struggle for me as well.  This was only 589 pages of mostly long, not-quite-rambling paragraphs and little dialog, though the content was captivating.  But it is also one of those books in which the Premise is essentially a biography (autobiography in first person) of a fictional character.  To me, that is no premise at all.  The 30 chapters were like 30 short stories that continued the thread of “the life and times of Saleem Sinai.”  Beautiful wrought – tediously paced.  So the plot gets a low score from me as well; though a “7” is relatively high, reflecting an appreciation for plot devices that very ingeniously tie the various episodes together.  Does this book deserve awards, prizes, accolades, in my opinion?  Definitely.  But I did feel like I was reading a book that was “good for me” in the way that eating Brussels sprouts is good for me, even if I have to choke down an entire plateful!

Here’s the February line-up!

“The Dog Who Came In From the Cold,” by Alexander McCall Smith [2-4-17]

“We Have Always Lived in the Castle,” by Shirley Jackson [2-11-17]

“Somebody Tell Aunt Tillie She’s Dead,” by Christiana Miller [2-18-17]

“Blade Runner 2: The Edge of Human,” by K. W. Jeter [2-25-17]

(As always, if there are any books you’d like to recommend for next month, please do so.  Also, if you have already read one on our previous lists, you are invited to send your ratings and or comments for that book!)