Review: Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie (Book 1)

Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie is a two time winner of the Booker Prize and just a little intimidating (to me at least).  I started the book last year and, although captivated by it, I also found it tough going at times.  So, when I heard about a read-a-long hosted by Arti of Ripple Effects and Bellezza of Dolce Bellezza I thought this would be a great way to break the book down into small parts and finish it. The novel is broken into three "books" which divides nicely for a read-a-long.  First up,  

Book One:
In book one, we meet our narrator Saleem Sinai who tells of his birth on August 15, 1947  - the day India gained its independence from Britain. The novel parallels the history of India and many pivotal moments in the book, such as Saleem's birth, coincide with great moments in world or Indian history.  After recounting the story of his birth, Saleem takes us back to the story of his grandfather, Aadam in Kashmir.  Aadam falls in love with Naseem and their bizarre courtship takes place through a hole in a sheet (this, of course, has symbolic meaning). Saleem continues with the story, at the urging of his wife Padma, and fast forwards to 1942 when his grandparents are living in Agra with their five children.   Three of the five children are girls and are pursued by suitors.  Ahmed Sinai marries Aadam's daughter Mumtaz and she will ultimately give birth to Saleem on the birthday of modern India.

I have significantly skimmed the storyline in the summary above essentially only providing a sketch. The book is multilayered and the stories so fantastic it is impossible to get into too much of the plot without making a summary confusing.  Suffice it to say, there is a lot going on in Book One.  Saleem tells his story in an unedited style and it seems rushed at times - almost as if he needs to get the story out.  This style lends itself to a lot of detail and jumps forward and backward in time.  It does take some getting used to but by the end of Book One I have adjusted to it.

Overall, I am impressed by the many threads Rushdie has weaved together in the story so far and am looking forward to seeing what happens to those threads as we move into Book Two.  The image below of an Indian wall hanging reminds me of this novel - rich with detail and deeply layered.

Source

 You can read more recaps of Book One from the read a long participants at Arti's or Bellezza's blogs.  Book Two will be covered on April 30th.

Have you read Midnight's Children or anything by Rushdie?

Readalong of "The Space Between Us" by Thrity Urmigar

Lisa from Lit and Life is hosting "Thrity Thursdays" aka a readalong of The Space Between Us by Thrity Urmigar.  This is week two of the readalong (check out my post for week 1 here) and we are covering Chapters 7-12

The stories of Bhima and Sera's lives unfold in these chapters.  We are taken back to each woman's younger self when each were first married.  As we learn more about each woman's life, we are also given insight into each woman's mostly private suffering.  Sera's husband, Feroz, was physically and emotionally abusive - there is one scene that was hard to read because Feroz's rage was so intense and I could almost feel Sera's fear of him and anguish that she had married a man that would treat her that way.  We are also given glimpses into Bhima's younger life - interestingly she and her husband seem to be enjoying their young married life, despite their meager means, but betrayal is foreshadowed - I am anxious to read on and see what happens with Bhima's husband. 

In addition to the stories of these two women, the novel also provides glimspes of life in contemporary Mumbai.  Scenes of the slums and the markets are vivid.  I visited India in January - my friends and I took a 2 week tour through North India and finished our trip in Mumbai.  On the way into the city, we stopped at a slum in which most of the residents provide laundry service to households and businesses throughout the city.  I included two photos below because when I read descriptions of the slum in which Bhima and Maya live I  think of this scene. 

If you are interested in reading the book stop by Lit and Life and sign-up for the readalong.  For more thoughts on the book, stop by the blogs of the other participants:

Ti at Book Chatter
Dar at Peeking Between The Pages
Staci at Life In The Thumb
Kathy at Mommy's Reading
Bailey at The Window Seat Reader
Mari at Bookworm With A View

In addition, Swapna at S. Krishna's Books is hosting a giveaway for 4 of Thrity Urmigar's books and The Space Between Us is one of them! 

Readalong of "The Space Between Us" by Thrity Urmigar

Lisa from Lit and Life is hosting "Thrity Thursdays" aka a readalong of The Space Between Us by Thrity Urmigar.  I had this book on my shelf and was excited by the opportunity to read and discuss it with the group. 

We are reading the book in installments and will post about it each Thursday during July.  Having started the book, however, I doubt I will be able to read it in installments - I am completely engrossed and may have to just read right through it!

Chapters 1-6
In the first 6 chapters, we meet Bhima - a woman living in a Bombay slum who works as a servant for an affluent family.  Bhima's granddaughter, Maya, is a young adult who is pregnant and unmarried much to her grandmother's shame.  So far, we have been given glimpses into their lives in the slum and the strain in the relationship brought on by Maya's pregnancy which Bhima feels both shames her and means Maya will squander her opportunity at an education and ultimately better life outside of the slum.

We also meet Sera, the matriarch of the family for whom Bhima works.  Thus far, her character and those of her daughter and son-in-law are not well developed but the ground is being laid for a more in depth examination of that family.  Right now, we see the relationship between high class Sera and her servant Bhima.  There is an inherent tension between the two as they struggle to reconcile what seems to be a genuine likeness for each other with their stations in life.  I can see how "The Space Between Us" represents the "space" between each woman's class in society - Bhima even takes her tea on the floor while Sera sits at the table creating a physical space between.  I wonder if the title will symbolize more as I read on further.

If you are interested in reading the book (and thus far I heartily recommend this one) stop by Lit and Life and sign-up.  For more thoughts on the book, stop by the blogs of the other participants:

Ti at Book Chatter
Dar at Peeking Between The Pages
Staci at Life In The Thumb
Kathy at Mommy's Reading
Bailey at The Window Seat Reader
Mari at Bookworm With A View