Midnight's Children
Published on 1. May 2008
Book
Paperback/Softback
672 pages
978-0-09-951189-2 (ISBN)
Description
'A wonderful, rich and humane novel... a classic' Guardian
Born at the stroke of midnight at the exact moment of India's independence, Saleem Sinai is a special child.
However, this coincidence of birth has consequences he is not prepared for: telepathic powers connect him with 1,000 other 'midnight's children' all of whom are endowed with unusual gifts. Inextricably linked to his nation, Saleem's story is a whirlwind of disasters and triumphs that mirrors the course of modern India at its most impossible and glorious.
*WINNER OF THE BOOKER AND BEST OF THE BOOKER PRIZE*
**A BBC BETWEEN THE COVERS BIG JUBILEE READ PICK**
WITH A NEW 40TH ANNIVERSARY INTRODUCTION BY THE AUTHOR
Born at the stroke of midnight at the exact moment of India's independence, Saleem Sinai is a special child.
However, this coincidence of birth has consequences he is not prepared for: telepathic powers connect him with 1,000 other 'midnight's children' all of whom are endowed with unusual gifts. Inextricably linked to his nation, Saleem's story is a whirlwind of disasters and triumphs that mirrors the course of modern India at its most impossible and glorious.
*WINNER OF THE BOOKER AND BEST OF THE BOOKER PRIZE*
**A BBC BETWEEN THE COVERS BIG JUBILEE READ PICK**
WITH A NEW 40TH ANNIVERSARY INTRODUCTION BY THE AUTHOR
Reviews / Votes
Totally different to anything I'd read before: hilarious at times, frustrating at times, exploring how history is linked into our lives, plus lots of metaphors about chutney * Skinny * A wonderful, rich and humane novel that is safe to call a classic. * Guardian * Midnight's Children is also full of such zest for every messy aspect of life that you can't help but feel inspired * Guardian * Rushdie's novel took a post-colonial "empire fights back" spirit, and a deep personal understanding of the politics of Indian partition, and exploded them into something teeming with imaginative life... He inhabits a hybrid consciousness, with a telepathic connection to the other children of midnight, and tells its stories for all he is worth. * Observer * The extraordinary alchemy of Midnight's Children was its miraculous fusion of the fantastical and the historical. * Evening Standard * A magical-realist reflection of the issues India faced post-independence including culture, language, religion, and politics... It's a truly incredible work. * Verdict * A head-spinning tale... Rushdie's masterpiece virtually invented a new language for Anglo-Indian literature * Reader's Digest * Totally different to anything I'd read before: hilarious at times, frustrating at times, exploring how history is linked into our lives, plus lots of metaphors about chutney * Skinny * Fresh and witty * Eastern Eye * One of the most important books to come out of the English-speaking world in this generation * The New York Review of Books *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Vintage Publishing
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 198 mm
Width: 130 mm
Thickness: 38 mm
Weight
447 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-09-951189-2 (9780099511892)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Book
10/2023
Vintage Classics
€24.00
Available immediately
E-Book
09/2010
1st Edition
Vintage Digital
€8.99
Available for download
Person
Salman Rushdie is one of the world's most acclaimed, award-winning contemporary authors. Translated into over forty languages, his sixteen works of fiction include Midnight's Children - for which he won the Booker Prize in 1981, the Booker of Bookers on the 25th anniversary of the prize and Best of the Booker on the 40th anniversary - Shame, The Satanic Verses, Quichotte and Victory City. His latest book, Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder was a number one Sunday Times bestseller. A former president of PEN American Center, Rushdie was knighted in 2007 for services to literature and was made a Companion of Honour in the Queen's last Birthday Honours list in 2022.