The ''midnight's children'' of the title are the 1,001 children born in the first hour of Indian independence, Aug. 15, 1947. Two of these babies are born in the same Bombay nursing home on the very stroke of midnight: a boy born to wealth and a boy born to the streets. And, of course, a nursemaid switches babies: a street singer cuckolded by a departing Englishman is given the aristocratic Muslim infant and names him Shiva; a wealthy Kashmiri-descended family, the Aziz/Sinais, is given the ''cucumber-nosed'' English-Hindu and names him Saleem. Shiva and Saleem (the narrator) are destined to be mortal enemies from the stroke of midnight.
Saleem receives all the attention. His birth is celebrated with fireworks, and Prime Minister Nehru sends a letter saying that his fate will forever be entwined with that of India. Growing up on a Bombay estate, he bumps his head one day while hiding in his mother's laundry hamper and discovers a gift for telepathy. From the age of nine, he can enter other lives at will, see through walls, plumb all secrets, including the secret of his true parentage. But his telepathic gifts bring death and destruction and very little happiness. He discovers that every one of the midnight children is miraculously gifted; only Saleem is telepathic, but some can travel through time (and even report that India is destined to be ruled by a ''urinedrinking dotard'') and one can change sex at will. The extravagance of Mr. Rushdie's inventions will call to mind the hovering presence of Gabriel Garcia Marquez; call it a tropical synchronicity.
The midnight children are the hope of the nation, and they await Saleem's calling of a ''midnight parliament.'' The only thing inhibiting Saleem from embracing his political destiny arises from his fear of the murdering street tough Shiva, whom he knows to be the rightful inheritor of all his privileges. And so, because of Saleem's fear and guilt, the gifts of the midnight children are never pooled. When they do finally meet, it is during Mrs. Gandhi's ''Emergency.'' Because of the threat they pose to the Only True Succession, the 581 surviving midnight's children are sterilized, and then treated to an even deadlier procedure: They are sperectomized - drained of hope.
(Perhaps you wondered about the real reasons for the Emergency, the various Indo-Pakistani wars, the deaths of certain Indian and Pakistani political figures? Simple: to destroy Saleem, the Sinais and the gifted extended family of midnight's children. The plot of this novel is complicated enough, and flexible enough, to smuggle Saleem into every major event in the subcontinent's past 30 years. Saleem the Nose - variously called Snotnose, Stainface, Baldy, Sniffer, Buddha and Piece-of-the-Moon - knows).
Salman Rushdie's acclaimed Booker Prize winning novel, "Midnight's Children," tells the story of two sons switched at birth who were born at the very midnight hour when India awoke to independence and freedom. Although Rushdie also penned a novel, "Shame," about Pakistan, it is "Midnight's Children" that better serves as a metaphor for both India and Pakistan.
India and Pakistan became independent states on the stroke of midnight on Aug. 14 (Pakistan) and Aug. 15 (India), 1947. Like South Asia, Kashmir was partitioned at birth. A Muslim majority state ruled by a Hindu maharajah, it had been incorporated by India at independence. However, India's claim to Kashmir was contested by Pakistan, which invaded Kashmir shortly after partition.googletag.cmd.push(function() googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1499653692894-0'); );
The United Nations was called in to broker a ceasefire and divided Kashmir along a Line of Control but no final border was established. Further attempts were made by Pakistan to redraw the border by force, most notably in 1965 and then in 1999 when nuclear war was barely avoided after Pakistani military incursions in the Kargil region brought a strong rebuke by the international community. However, the Line of Control separating colonial India's midnight's children in the Northwest has remained unchanged. What has changed is the nature of the weapons in the possession of the combatants.
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
#DRCL midnight children is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Shin-ichi Sakamoto. It is based on Bram Stoker's novel Dracula. It is being serialized monthly in Shueisha's Grand Jump, with its chapters has been collected into two tankōbon volumes as of October 2022. #DRCL midnight children is a story set in 19th Century Britain that goes beyond gender, borders, and social status, following Mina Murray and her colleagues as they attempt to obtain victory against a foe from a far away land in the East.
From Dan Gemeinhart, the acclaimed author of The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise, comes an extraordinary story about a family of runaways who take up residence in a small town, and the outcast boy who finds his voice and his people--perfect for fans of Katherine Applegate and Kate DiCamillo. In the dead of night, a truck arrives in Slaughterville, a small town curiously named after its windowless slaughterhouse. Seven mysterious kids with suitcases step out of the vehicle and into an abandoned home on a dead-end street, looking over their shoulders to make sure they aren't noticed. But Ravani Foster covertly witnesses their arrival from his bedroom window. Timid and lonely, Ravani is eager to learn everything he can about his new neighbors: What secrets are they hiding? And most mysterious of all...where are the adults? Yet amid this shadowy group of children, Ravani finds an unexpected friend in the warm and gutsy Virginia. But with this friendship comes secrets revealed--and danger. When Ravani learns of a threat to his new friends, he must fight to keep them safe, or lose the only person who has ever understood him. Full of wonder, friendship, and mystery, The Midnight Children explores the meaning of home, what makes a family, and what it takes to find the courage to believe in yourself.
Distinctive narration and heart-pounding suspense will carry this kids-outwit-grownups tale deep into your heart to the place where courage is born. --Rosanne Parry, bestselling author of A Wolf Called Wander The Midnight Children has a touch of Roald Dahl, a dash of the Boxcar children, and a whole lot of honesty and heart . . . I laughed with the characters, was delighted by the brilliance of the storytelling voice, and unexpectedly moved as this tale about friendship, home, family and courage drew to an end. Told in a riveting voice, this is Dan Gemeinhart's best yet and that's saying something. --Padma Venkatraman, Walter Award-winning author of The Bridge Home
Somewhere swirled up in all magic, adventure and breath-catching suspense, there's a message here about true heart-connections. And about the joy of belonging even in a place where you never quite fit. The midnight children might sneak into town quietly, but there's nothing quiet about this sparkling story. It felt like fireworks in my heart. --New York Times-bestselling author Natalie Lloyd Praise for The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise A 2020 ILA Teachers' Choice
A 2019 Parents' Choice Award Gold Medal Winner
Winner of the 2019 CYBILS Award for Middle Grade Fiction
An Amazon Top 20 Children's Book of 2019
A Junior Library Guild Selection
A Bank Street Books' Best Books of the Year
A Bookriot 25 Of The Best Middle School Books For Today's Readers Pick
A School Library Journal Best Book of 2019
A 2020 Lone Star Reading List Selection Sometimes a story comes along that just plain makes you want to hug the world. The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise is Dan Gemeinhart's finest book yet--and that's saying something. Your heart needs this joyful miracle of a book. --Katherine Applegate, acclaimed author of The One and Only Ivan and Wishtree "Coyote's bold, engaging voice pops off the page . . . Gemeinhart infuses the story with moments of lyrical writing and folksy wisdom served up with a dollop of girl power." -The New York Times
It tells the story of a pair of children born when India gained independence from Britain. The novel includes negative portrayals of senior Indian political figures, which led to Rushdie being sued by former prime minister Indira Gandhi.
What follows is a retelling of 30 years of Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi history interspersed with the evolution of Saleem and his counterpart-turned-rival, Shiva. Along with multiple narrative threads that involve the concrete dramas of war, poverty, birth and death, the story dips into magical realism. All children born between midnight and 1 a.m. on that historic date harbor special powers. Saleem, for example, can conjure the entire crew of gifted kids into his bedroom using only his nose.
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