Reviews tagging 'War'

Vidurnakčio vaikai by Salman Rushdie

6 reviews

goldripred's review against another edition

reflective sad slow-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

4.5

Surprisingly good as everything wraps up at the end. I find this a characteristic charm of Rushdie where you find yourself longing for the end where he ties up all the characters, all of the disparate ends of history into an arc you can trace. I really enjoyed parts of this novel and found it informative in understanding the history. It had significant gravitas towards some of the most heart-breaking segments such as the Bangladeshi genocide. I felt exhausted and appalled after reading that segment which was the purpose of narrating that storyline. It was a book that aimed to explain ALL of India’s history 30 years after independence even through the tracks of Pakistan and Bangladesh. It was hopeful towards the beginning and slowly lost its optimism until the reader feels the legacy of being an Indian as Rushdie describes it: constantly trampled under the weight of history. Overall, an enlightening experience. Highly recommend. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Torture, War, and Rape

cazastrophe's review against another edition

2.0

It felt like it went on forever. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Rape, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Suicidal thoughts, Racism, Kidnapping, Violence, War, Racial slurs, Self harm, Pregnancy, and Police brutality

vistacanas'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! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Religious bigotry, Abandonment, and War

Moderate: Classism, Bullying, Police brutality, Death of parent, and Child death

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Alcoholism

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. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Excrement, Forced institutionalization, Abandonment, Bullying, Colonisation, and War

Minor: Body horror, Car accident, Alcohol, Animal death, Police brutality, Sexism, Classism, Deportation, Infertility, Violence, Alcoholism, Islamophobia, Medical content, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Torture, Animal cruelty, Child death, and Grief

lanid's review against another edition

adventurous funny mysterious

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Minor: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death of parent, Pregnancy, War, Animal death, Colonisation, Incest, Religious bigotry, Suicide, Torture, Infidelity, and Body horror

vibartolomei's review against another edition

adventurous funny relaxing slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual content, Murder, and War