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elijah1370 's review for:
Midnight's Children
by Salman Rushdie
From the early pages of this book, Rushdie’s biggest inspirations are obvious: Joyce, Marquez, and Pynchon. He consistently shows the best of these writers. MC also contains some of the most frustrating elements of reading these writers.
I felt this book had immense literary and cultural merit. I also thought it was beautiful crafted, funny, and insightful. I think this book could benefit from a deep reading and literary analysis. However, I didn’t particularly enjoy reading it. Similarly to Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace, I recognized that the book was great without actually enjoying the reading experience. It isn’t a coincidence that they were published only a few years apart, when portentous mega-novels were acceptable and even encouraged and every serious author had to reference Gravity’s Rainbow.
I think the best way to think about this is as Rushdie’s Ulysses or One Hundred Years of Solitude. It’s big, rambling and never considers brevity. Instead of getting bogged down in every aside, ramble or obscure subplot, let the book wash over you and receive what catches your interest. Then I think you can both enjoy the work and understand it’s greatness.
I felt this book had immense literary and cultural merit. I also thought it was beautiful crafted, funny, and insightful. I think this book could benefit from a deep reading and literary analysis. However, I didn’t particularly enjoy reading it. Similarly to Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace, I recognized that the book was great without actually enjoying the reading experience. It isn’t a coincidence that they were published only a few years apart, when portentous mega-novels were acceptable and even encouraged and every serious author had to reference Gravity’s Rainbow.
I think the best way to think about this is as Rushdie’s Ulysses or One Hundred Years of Solitude. It’s big, rambling and never considers brevity. Instead of getting bogged down in every aside, ramble or obscure subplot, let the book wash over you and receive what catches your interest. Then I think you can both enjoy the work and understand it’s greatness.