Midnight's Children: A NovelThe iconic masterpiece of India that introduced the world to “a glittering novelist—one with startling imaginative and intellectual resources, a master of perpetual storytelling” (The New Yorker) WINNER OF THE BEST OF THE BOOKERS • SOON TO BE A NETFLIX ORIGINAL SERIES Selected by the Modern Library as one of the 100 best novels of all time • The fortieth anniversary edition, featuring a new introduction by the author Saleem Sinai is born at the stroke of midnight on August 15, 1947, the very moment of India’s independence. Greeted by fireworks displays, cheering crowds, and Prime Minister Nehru himself, Saleem grows up to learn the ominous consequences of this coincidence. His every act is mirrored and magnified in events that sway the course of national affairs; his health and well-being are inextricably bound to those of his nation; his life is inseparable, at times indistinguishable, from the history of his country. Perhaps most remarkable are the telepathic powers linking him with India’s 1,000 other “midnight’s children,” all born in that initial hour and endowed with magical gifts. This novel is at once a fascinating family saga and an astonishing evocation of a vast land and its people–a brilliant incarnation of the universal human comedy. Forty years after its publication, Midnight’s Children stands apart as both an epochal work of fiction and a brilliant performance by one of the great literary voices of our time. |
Contents
HittheSpittoon | |
Under the Carpet | |
A Public Announcement | |
Manyheaded Monsters | |
Methwold | |
Snakes and Ladders | |
Accident in a Washingchest | |
AllIndia Radio | |
Love in Bombay | |
My Tenth Birthday | |
At the Pioneer Café | |
Alpha and Omega | |
The Kolynos | |
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Common terms and phrases
Aadam Aziz Ahmed Sinai Amina Sinai aunt ayah Ayooba baba baby badmaashes Baloch became began Begum beneath Bombay Brass Monkey buddha child chutney CUTIA dark Delhi djinns Doctor Aziz dream ears Emerald Evie Burns eyes face Farooq father fell finger girl grandfather grandfather’s green hair hand head Homi Catrack India inside Jamila Singer janum Kashmir knees Lifafa lips look magicians Mary Pereira Mercurochrome Methwold Methwold’s Estate midnight Midnight’s Children Mukti Bahini Mumtaz Nadir Khan Naseem never night nose once Padma Pakistan Parvati Parvati-the-witch perforated sheet Picture Singh Reverend Mother Sabarmati Sahib Saleem Sinai Sam Manekshaw secret Shaheed Shiva silence sister smell smile snake spittoon story Sundarbans tell tetrapod there’s things ticktock told turned voice waiting washing-chest watched what’s whatsitsname wife William Methwold window women Zafar Zagallo Zulfikar