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babyseagull's review against another edition
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Colonisation
Moderate: War
Minor: Genocide and Torture
notthatcosta's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
I kinda went all over the place with this one - I was dreading starting it because it's so damn long (the longest book I've read, in fact) and to be honest I remain unconvinced that this book (or any book for that matter) has any right being over 600 pages.
I tend to struggle with first person narration at the best of times, but when it's this indulgent, tangiential and scattered as this it became a slog to try and follow the plot. With a story as expansive, there were also a lot of characters (many having multiple names) which also made it hard to know which threads to pay attention to. Even our narrator often switched how he referred to himself...
While I would say Gabriel García Márquez's 100 Years of Solitude is a far better execution of a similar story (and even provided a graphic to help you follow the family tree), I really enjoyed book 2 because of its focus on the family and its dysfunction, which is always a winner for me in a novel. When it was meandering preamble about ancestors who you don't get much time with or our antihero being kind of awful, I was less invested.
On the positive side, it has a great premise and most of the plot is pretty riveting despite the execution being spotty. I can see why it's so beloved, because it's a remarkable work of fiction despite my critiques.
I tend to struggle with first person narration at the best of times, but when it's this indulgent, tangiential and scattered as this it became a slog to try and follow the plot. With a story as expansive, there were also a lot of characters (many having multiple names) which also made it hard to know which threads to pay attention to. Even our narrator often switched how he referred to himself...
While I would say Gabriel García Márquez's 100 Years of Solitude is a far better execution of a similar story (and even provided a graphic to help you follow the family tree), I really enjoyed book 2 because of its focus on the family and its dysfunction, which is always a winner for me in a novel. When it was meandering preamble about ancestors who you don't get much time with or our antihero being kind of awful, I was less invested.
On the positive side, it has a great premise and most of the plot is pretty riveting despite the execution being spotty. I can see why it's so beloved, because it's a remarkable work of fiction despite my critiques.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Genocide, Gore, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, and Classism
cazastrophe's review against another edition
2.0
It felt like it went on forever.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, and War
jedore's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I am the sum total of everything that went before me, of all I have been seen done, of everything done to me. I am everyone everything who is being in the world affected was affected by mine. I am anything that happens after I’ve gone, which would not have happened if I had not come.”
Midnight’s Children is the life story of a man born at midnight on the day India gained independence from Britain.
First, I would like to give my respect to anyone else who made it through this book. This is NOT an easy read!
Here’s what made it extremely challenging for me:
1) Not knowing enough about India’s history to understand much of what I was reading. As it’s written in an allegorical style without clear explanations, in my opinion, this book is best read with solid knowledge in place.
2) The storytelling is a bit manic and tough to follow.
3) Salman isn’t a fan of commas.
4) It’s not a book that creates any sort of emotional attachment with any of the characters.
While I understand it’s inclusion in 1,000 Books to Read Before You Die as it is quite brilliant, I’m not so sure about Modern Library’s choice to include it their top 100 books. The inclusion in the former is why I pushed myself through to the end. I feel like I should get some sort of achievement ribbon or something 😁
Despite the unusual writing style, I am smarter now than I was when I started and I might be able to have a 10 minute conversation about India, which I wouldn’t have been able to do before!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Religious bigotry, Abandonment, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Bullying, Child death, Police brutality, Death of parent, and Classism
Minor: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, and Animal death
travisppe's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
This is a remarkable book. Uniquely written with a vibrancy that is rarely seen in literature. It is also very dense, difficult, and complex. I can’t say I always had a ton of fun reading it. I’m impressed and have nothing but respect for this accomplishment but I doubt I’d ever reread this.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Forced institutionalization, Excrement, Death of parent, Abandonment, Colonisation, and War
Minor: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Infertility, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Car accident, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Classism, and Deportation
serendipitysbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
It’s impossible to do justice to Midnight’s Children in a quick Instagram review. It won the Booker in 1981 and has twice been judged the Best of the Bookers to mark the prize’s 25th and 40th anniversaries. It’s sweeping and epic, a magical realism infused family saga that parallels the post-colonial history of India and references many classic Indian - and other - tales. I loved the narrative style with Saleem’s recounting his life story to his wife feeling like a direct address to the reader. Listening on audio undoubtedly amplified this effect. And the audio was fabulous, with the narrator really bringing intonation, personality and verve to Saleem’s voice. Saleem’s life was full of fantastic twists and turns right from the beginning. He was born at the exact moment of India’s independence, and like the 1000 other midnight children born in the hour between midnight and 1am he has special powers. He was also swapped at birth with another baby. This novel manages to explore weighty themes such as identity, religion, colonialism, the importance of storytelling, partition and the porousness of all sorts of barriers, legacy, and truth in a thoroughly engaging way, with a deceptively light, often irreverent, touch. A layered, richly detailed, unforgettable story. It’s just unfortunate that it was an attack on the author which finally promoted me to pick this up.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest, Violence, and Islamophobia
steveatwaywords's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Those familiar with and fond of Rushdie's elliptical storytelling will only find this work an enormous pay-off. The events of narrator Saleem's life--magical or no--mythical or no--sprawl across this book in peculiarly narrow (a childhood painting) and grand (political rebellions) lines, and yet these cohere only through the compulsion of our bizarre narrator's juxtaposition, and on their own form no truly satisfying "story."
And yet somehow (as Rushdie always seems to), in the connotations of each event, in the constructions of their relations, pre-birth to post-adventure escapades become the incarnation of Rushdie's India, not quite paralleling history personal to politic but drawing lines between attitudes, motivations, and therefore significances.
I completed the novel not understanding all of the tricks Rushdie pulls (perhaps like Picture Singh's snake charming in the magician's ghett0), but realizing that he is always in command of the charming.
And yet somehow (as Rushdie always seems to), in the connotations of each event, in the constructions of their relations, pre-birth to post-adventure escapades become the incarnation of Rushdie's India, not quite paralleling history personal to politic but drawing lines between attitudes, motivations, and therefore significances.
I completed the novel not understanding all of the tricks Rushdie pulls (perhaps like Picture Singh's snake charming in the magician's ghett0), but realizing that he is always in command of the charming.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Sexual content, and Violence
ruthywithas's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I wasn't really a fan of the writing style, though it was written incredibly well. I enjoyed all the references to South Asian culture. I really didn't click with the main character.
Content Warnings
Minor: Genocide, Violence, Grief, and Death of parent
laurikas's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I'm at a loss of what to write here as a review.
I've never read anything quite like this, of this magnitude or with such intricate writing. It reminded me a lot of 100 years of solitude, but chutneysised.
It is a book to read again and discover yet more nuances - nose and knees, knees and nose. I guess I can only say it will have a special place in my heart for years to come.
Ps. Better review to come, perhaps one day, perhaps not.
I've never read anything quite like this, of this magnitude or with such intricate writing. It reminded me a lot of 100 years of solitude, but chutneysised.
It is a book to read again and discover yet more nuances - nose and knees, knees and nose. I guess I can only say it will have a special place in my heart for years to come.
Ps. Better review to come, perhaps one day, perhaps not.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Alcoholism
Minor: Bullying and Dementia
doromid's review against another edition
challenging
dark
slow-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence