Rating: 
Summary: a ferociously charming tour of india
Review: Midnight's Children is a long and sometimes arduous exercise in fantastical realism, a would-be folk tale about the history of India since its independence from Britain. The narrator's birth occurs at the exact moment of national independence, and from then on his life is something of an anthropomorphic mirror of the development of his nation. This book is neither a fictional autobiography nor a literary history of modern India. Well, actually it's both, but really it's about the dangers of being ancient in a modern world, and the pitfalls of trying to bring tradition into a rational, contemporary framework. Rushdie is one of the most eloquent writers of his generation, and inherits from Nabakov the role of linguistic perfectionist - every sentence is rolled up in allegory, wordplay, and, most importantly, meaningfullness.
Rating: 
Summary: Not a fan of Rushdie, however...
Review: Midnight's Children is certainly an interesting read, and I admire Rushdie's attempt at writing a very different type of novel. I will spare you the novel synopsis, as others have probably gone to great lengths to recap the story. Keep in mind, that the story does flip back and forth in the memories of the writer (which is different from Rusdie). I didn't particularly like the Satanic Verses and I read this novel for a class on Expatriate Literature. As Expatriate Literature goes, this was a great exploration of the theme. Well worth reading.
Rating:
Summary: A ...Trip into History
Review: This is a book to take on vacation... or a book to read at home if you cannot afford a vacation! If you allow it, this book will completely pull you into it's pages and have you eating, sleeping, and dreaming it's story. Besides being an amazing book with a plot that twists more than Chubby Checker, it's to some extent a pocket history of India. Sadly, I wish I had read it as part of a literature, history or culture class to know and appreciate more of the story BEHIND the story.
Rating: 
Summary: Top of my list
Review: This book ranks as my all-time favorite read. I haven't read anything else by Rushdie yet, so I can't comment on his other work. But I can't even imagine another book knocking this one off the top of my list. From a story-telling standpoint, it is thoroughly entertaining and unpredictable throughout. The characters are truly interesting and well-developed. And the way in which Rushdie manages to weave the narrator's story into the modern history of India and Pakistan on many levels is masterful. I think that this book will hold up for the ages as a prime example of the effective use of allegory, symbolism, poetic prose, and other literary techniques. I am completely awed by Rushdie's sheer creativity, intelligence and skill. After reading this book, I now have new additions to my responses to the age old questions: "What five people would you most like to have dinner with?" and "What five books would you want to have with you on a deserted island?"
Rating:
Summary: Awesome.
Review: This is the first Rushdie book I've read, and I am completely blown away. An autobiographic account of an unlikely protagonist whose life is intertwined with the destiny of his country, Midnight's Children is an all-encompassing account of post-independence India, its people, cultures and politics. An eclectic cast of gifted children, army generals, impotent husbands, religious zealots, movie actresses play out their extraordinary parts in the tranquil valley of Kashmir, "magical" slums of Old Delhi, an oppulent British estate in Bombay, the enchanted jungles of Sundarban and military encampments in Pakistan, connecting dots that bring out a picture which is astounding and surreal even to a native like me.
Rating:
Summary: Simply a "must read"
Review: I don't have the time or inclination to go into a long rant about what makes this book so outstanding, but I will say that it is by far the best book I've ever picked up. I learned a lot about India and its turbulent history, but that was just an added bonus. As with any great novel, some of the characters in the book reminded me of myself, and taught me some things about myself, but that too was just a bonus. Rushdie's writing style is very pleasing and his methods of storytelling are far better than anything I've ever read. Those are the things that make this book so great. You simply MUST read it!
Rating:
Summary: I Liked It
Review: Reading "Midnight's Children", much like Gabriel Garcia-Marquez's "One Hundred Years of Solitude" is in a way like reading a dream. The people and places are surreal and distorted, yet familiar at the same time. In a lot of ways, its similar to the distorted vision from which we view the world as children, where everything seems larger than life and more important than it really is. I've read articles where Marquez and Rushdie's writing styles have been favorably compared before and if you've read one, the similarities will become immediately apparent upon reading the other. Rushdie has done a fantastic job of telling a story with a political message that doesn't really feel like a political message because it was so masterfully told. Like most good books, this is one you find yourself remembering for a while.
Rating:
Summary: Highly recommended
Review: This book came highly recommended by my English professor, who - if she had a choice - would name this Booker of Bookers one of the top three novels ever written. I decided to see if this was true.
I wasn't instantly impressed with this book when I started reading it. Sure, I liked the imaginative prose and his "magic realism" elements, but I didn't really feel like I connected with any of the characters in the book. It was only when I looked at my clock and realized it was three in the morning that it hit me. I had devoured almost half the book and I kept going because I wanted to see what would happen. When I finally finished the book, I realized that she was right: if not one of the top three, then definitely high up. The characters were unique, the plot was highly entertaining, and Rushdie's prose was simply outstanding. He is truly a talented and very creative author. Everyone should try this book out, it's very magnificent once you get into it.
Rating:
Summary: Possibly One of the Best Books Ever Written
Review: There is only one thing to call this book, and that is excellent. This is an excellent book. It is the most modern novel to make any of the Top 100 lists of all-time great books. This one deserves everything people say about it and more. This is possibly one of the best books ever written. I can't say this book is for everyone. That's not really saying much because I don't think a book exists that is suited for everyone, save for maybe a dictionary. Still, this is an intense, methodical book. Those looking for a quick read are best suited to seek something else, because this one is not a quick read by any stretch of the imagination. Within that intensity and thickness one finds the brilliant yet insane world of Saleem Sinai, the main character of this story. Both allegorical and literal, this story winds though such a myriad of well-woven sub-stories that one needs to put the book down every few pages to think about what was just read. From his birth to the book's finality, we rise up the ups and fall down the downs with Saleem. We are twisted, confused, wrought out, and yet manage to survive through thick and more thick. From front to back, side to side, this narrative thoroughly tosses you about. From chapter to chapter one never knows where you're going to end up. With excellent writing plus both laughable and dramatic scenes, Rushdie shows why he is one of the greatest writers of our time. Truly an instant classic, this book is a must read for those who want to explore some of this generation's greatest. This work is wonderful, beautiful, exasperating, and terrifying. All of these things Rushdie manages to squeeze into one pickle jar of a character in Saleem Sanai. Excellent.
Rating:
Summary: Ambitious, but too long
Review: I had never read any of Salman Rusdie's work until this novel. (I was told this was a good place to start with Rushdie.) I admired very much the ambition of MIDNIGHT'S CHILDREN. Rushdie is to be commended for trying to write a great book. He almost did it. The first half is really vivid and enthralling. Rushdie's prose is truly winged. However, somewhere about halfway through the novel (about the time the narrator leaves Pakistan), I lost interest and the rest of the book became a chore to finish. There really wasn't much of a payoff either, considering all the time invested in reading such a thick book. I think MIDNIGHT'S CHILDREN would have been a much stronger book had it been pruned by at least a third. There were also too many loose ends for my taste. I'm glad I read the book though, and I think I have a pretty good idea of Rushdie's strengths and weaknesses as a writer now. It's not a bad book, but it's far from being a masterpiece.
| 
