midnight's children by Salman Rushdie?

Question

I started this book this morning and I'm kind of impressed; it's different from the american and english literature i've grown so accustomed to reading, but I have a feeling that the history of india is some necessary knowledge one must have while reading this book. In that sense, I fear I'm missing out because I don't know much about 20th century india. I'm only on page 100 right now, and the main character isn't even born yet. I've never read a book with such a long beginning. To those of you out there that have read this, what were your thoughts on this book, and particularly the first 100 pages?

Answer 1

I think "Midnight's Children" is still Salman Rushdie's best novel to date and a ripping good read. If you think you need some background on India in the 20th century, there are lots of webpages to read out there. I never worried that the main character hasn't been born yet by page 100 - in one of my favourite books of all times, "Tristram Shandy" by Laurence Sterne, the hero isn't actually born until the very end of the book.