Midnight's Children

Reading Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie took me a long, long, long time. This is a big book with many pages.  At least a half of a dozen times I contemplated quitting before I reached the end. Rushdie's style of writing is wordy, winding and exhausting to read. He used way too many words and added an enormous amount of unnecessary detail. Sometimes what he wrote was nasty and provocative. My opinion is not shared by many because this book won a lot of awards and is included in the best books of the century list. The story intertwines the life of Saleem Siani. Just as Saleem was born in 1947 his country of India became an independent country. Saleem was born just after midnight. All the children born in India during the first hour of being an independent country were given special gifts. Saleem's gift is that he can read other people's minds. Also, his huge and dripping nose has an incredibly accurate sense of smell. With his telepathic powers he gathers all the children born in that hour together to compare their talents. The book is full of Indian history and cultural changes. Rushdie is critical of Indira Gandhi's politics. I am glad I read it to the end but now it is time for some lighter reading.