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3.88 AVERAGE
3.88 AVERAGE
funny
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
funny
informative
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
To say I've devoured this book would be a lie, so I'll just state the truth.
It took me two weeks to finish it, and this is all due to the enormity, the greatness, the ever expanding world of this book. There are longer books in literature, yes, but this book, in its almost 650 pages, manages to give several points of discussions about a different variety of topics.
The story, which starts from the end like most magic realist books, is meant to be the autobiography of Saleem Sinai. Saleem tells us who he is, as every respectable biography does, and he says that his birthday is important because he was born on August 15th, 1947, on the stroke of midnight, right when India gained its Independence from the British rule. Now he's about to turn 31, but the clock is ticking, and he needs to tell his story before he forgets and it is lost forever.
In a meta-narration where Saleem, our narrator, tells us about the past but also comments in the present about what happened in a precise moment, we are thrown back into pre-Independence India as Saleem starts the story by recounting his grandfather's Aadam Aziz story of how he met his grandma, in 1915, Kashmir. The place is not casual at all, because Kashmir will be one of the most reclaimed territories by both India and Pakistan after the Partition, and it's not casual everything started there, in that paradise. It's not a coincidence the grandfather is called "Aadam".
It all starts from a perforated sheet where Aadam sees bits of his future wife Naseem. The perforated sheet, as well as the theme of holes in general, is recurring in this book, and greatly connects the beginning and the end that you can't fail to see the parallels, the mirrors.
In this story, nothing is casual, especially the fact that Saleem was born on midnight. He, and the other children born at midnight of the same day, possessed great powers. But there are secrets behind Saleem's birth, secrets that will make or break relationships, obsessions, love and hatred. You know what they say, the more powerful you are, the more feared you will be.
I wish I could say more than this, but I don't want to spoil anything to you, because this book really manages to shock you until the very end. The writing is flowing, fresh, you never get annoyed because you want to know how did that happen, what will be of this or that character. The story may seem all over the place because Saleem starts retracing his origins back to his grandfather, but it isn't at all. It is a story full of history, hybridity, identity, religion, politics... it is a world in its own right, with tragic moments made less sad by the grotesque, by the irony and the sarcasm Rushdie is able to deliver majestically.
It isn't just Saleem's story, it is a story of a country divided, partitioned. A country that is looking for a mother, for a father, someone to guide them, to mend the cracks. But Saleem knows that it's impossible, because there are cracks - like the one in the perforated sheet - that you can't mend, that you won't be able to mend, especially if your fate is doomed.
Rushdie is a British author but he is also Indian, which mean this novel also deals with the problem of hybridity, because Saleem also moves to different places in his life.
I could say more but I think you should read for yourself the waste number of topics that this book discusses, because they can't be narrowed down. I think lovers of magic realism but also fantasy will like this book.
It took me two weeks to finish it, and this is all due to the enormity, the greatness, the ever expanding world of this book. There are longer books in literature, yes, but this book, in its almost 650 pages, manages to give several points of discussions about a different variety of topics.
The story, which starts from the end like most magic realist books, is meant to be the autobiography of Saleem Sinai. Saleem tells us who he is, as every respectable biography does, and he says that his birthday is important because he was born on August 15th, 1947, on the stroke of midnight, right when India gained its Independence from the British rule. Now he's about to turn 31, but the clock is ticking, and he needs to tell his story before he forgets and it is lost forever.
In a meta-narration where Saleem, our narrator, tells us about the past but also comments in the present about what happened in a precise moment, we are thrown back into pre-Independence India as Saleem starts the story by recounting his grandfather's Aadam Aziz story of how he met his grandma, in 1915, Kashmir. The place is not casual at all, because Kashmir will be one of the most reclaimed territories by both India and Pakistan after the Partition, and it's not casual everything started there, in that paradise. It's not a coincidence the grandfather is called "Aadam".
It all starts from a perforated sheet where Aadam sees bits of his future wife Naseem. The perforated sheet, as well as the theme of holes in general, is recurring in this book, and greatly connects the beginning and the end that you can't fail to see the parallels, the mirrors.
In this story, nothing is casual, especially the fact that Saleem was born on midnight. He, and the other children born at midnight of the same day, possessed great powers. But there are secrets behind Saleem's birth, secrets that will make or break relationships, obsessions, love and hatred. You know what they say, the more powerful you are, the more feared you will be.
I wish I could say more than this, but I don't want to spoil anything to you, because this book really manages to shock you until the very end. The writing is flowing, fresh, you never get annoyed because you want to know how did that happen, what will be of this or that character. The story may seem all over the place because Saleem starts retracing his origins back to his grandfather, but it isn't at all. It is a story full of history, hybridity, identity, religion, politics... it is a world in its own right, with tragic moments made less sad by the grotesque, by the irony and the sarcasm Rushdie is able to deliver majestically.
It isn't just Saleem's story, it is a story of a country divided, partitioned. A country that is looking for a mother, for a father, someone to guide them, to mend the cracks. But Saleem knows that it's impossible, because there are cracks - like the one in the perforated sheet - that you can't mend, that you won't be able to mend, especially if your fate is doomed.
Rushdie is a British author but he is also Indian, which mean this novel also deals with the problem of hybridity, because Saleem also moves to different places in his life.
I could say more but I think you should read for yourself the waste number of topics that this book discusses, because they can't be narrowed down. I think lovers of magic realism but also fantasy will like this book.
adventurous
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
3.5 stars. I don't know why I keep trying with magical realism genre.
I can't help but draw a comparison to "100 Years of Solitude" by Gabriel García Márquez. Both books have an undeniable sense of importance and accomplishment, of a story far grander than one read can possibly comprehend. Both are tonally similar, with language at once dense and dancing, confounding and startlingly funny at the same time. And with both, I couldn't wait to get to the end.
I can't help but draw a comparison to "100 Years of Solitude" by Gabriel García Márquez. Both books have an undeniable sense of importance and accomplishment, of a story far grander than one read can possibly comprehend. Both are tonally similar, with language at once dense and dancing, confounding and startlingly funny at the same time. And with both, I couldn't wait to get to the end.
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
challenging
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Okay technically I didn't even start this. I looked at reviews before I started and was put off by the magical realism and the heavy symbolism, much of which I suspected would just go over my head.
adventurous
challenging
funny
hopeful
I'm not sure I really understand this book, but I liked it quite a lot. Saleem's life did not mirror India's quite as exactly as I was anticipating when I began the book, but I still feel like I got a lot more out of this book by reading some of India's history before starting this novel.
It continues to shock me how young India is, and yet simultaneously being so old. The fact that this nation was ever born, let alone continues to survive, is really shocking.
To be honest, I'm struggling to figure out what to write about this book. The writing is funny, much funnier than I was expecting. There's interesting ideas about what exactly history is and who shapes it, about the roles of fact and faith in communal and personal lives, and about the unifying and divisive role of tradition can play within both families and nations. Plus it's a great vocab builder.
I really enjoyed this book, but it's definitely dense and demands a little bit of effort from the reader.
It continues to shock me how young India is, and yet simultaneously being so old. The fact that this nation was ever born, let alone continues to survive, is really shocking.
To be honest, I'm struggling to figure out what to write about this book. The writing is funny, much funnier than I was expecting. There's interesting ideas about what exactly history is and who shapes it, about the roles of fact and faith in communal and personal lives, and about the unifying and divisive role of tradition can play within both families and nations. Plus it's a great vocab builder.
I really enjoyed this book, but it's definitely dense and demands a little bit of effort from the reader.