Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie
The novel tells the story of Saleem Sinai, who was born at the exact moment when India gained its independence. As a result, he shares a mystical connection with other children born at the same time, all of whom possess unique, magical abilities. As Saleem grows up, his life mirrors the political and cultural changes happening in his country, from the partition of India and Pakistan, to the Bangladesh War of Independence. The story is a blend of historical fiction and magical realism, exploring themes of identity, fate, and the power of storytelling.
The 64th greatest book of all time
Purchase from
Bookshop.org or
Amazon
- Published
- 1981
- Nationality
- Indian
- Length
- Moderate
- Pages
- 450-550
- Original Language
- English
- Avg User Rating
-
(4.1)
- Alternate Titles
-
- Mitternachtskinder
- Os Filhos Da Meia Noite
If you're interested in seeing the ranking details on this book go here
This book is on the following 74 lists:
- 1st on The Best of the Booker (Booker Prize)
- 2nd on The Greatest 20th Century Novels (Waterstone)
- 3rd on The 50 best books of the past 100 years (The Times)
- 3rd on Top 10 British, Irish or Commonwealth Novels from 1980 to 2005 (The Observer)
- 5th on 10 Great Magical Realism Books to Lose Yourself In (Forbes)
- 5th on The Ideal Library (Book)
- 8th on The Indian Fiction Top 25 (Jerry Pinto, Indian poet and novelist)
- 23rd on The 100 Best Novels Of All Time In English (The Guardian)
- 25th on Waterstone's Books of the Century (LibraryThing)
- 28th on Harvard Book Store Staff's Favorite 100 Books (Harvard Book Store)
- 34th on Top 50 Books (The Daily Telegraph)
- 35th on 50 Classics You Must Read Before You Die (Gyldendal (Denmark Publisher))
- 41st on 20th Century's Greatest Hits: 100 English-Language Books of Fiction (Larry McCaffery)
- 43rd on 100 Best Books (Montana State University)
- 44th on The Greatest Books of All Time (Reader's Digest)
- 46th on The 100 Greatest British Novels (BBC)
- 53rd on Top 100 World Literature Titles (Perfection Learning)
- 55th on Edmonton's Top 100 (Edmonton Journal)
- 57th on Our Users' Top 100 Favorite Books of All Time (The Greatest Books Users)
- 58th on Entertainment Weekly's Top 100 Novels (Entertainment Weekly)
- 65th on The 100 Stories that Shaped the World (BBC)
- 67th on In Which These Are the 100 Greatest Novels (ThisRecording.com)
- 71st on The Novel 100: A Ranking of the Greatest Novels of All Time (The Novel 100)
- 74th on The 100 Most Important Translations (Notos Magazine (Turkey))
- 76th on My Favourite Book - Australian Big Read (Australian Big Read)
- 87th on TrueLit's Top 100 Favorite Books (2023) (/r/TrueLit)
- 90th on The Modern Library | 100 Best Novels (Modern Library)
- 94th on The Telegraph’s 100 Novels Everyone Should Read (Telegraph)
- 100th on Le Monde's 100 Books of the Century (Le Monde)
- 100th on Radcliffe's 100 Best Novels (Radcliffe Publishing Course)
- 100th on The Big Read (BBC)
- 353rd on Fantasy and Horror: A Critical and Historical Guide (Book)
- 1,000 Books to Read Before You Die: A Life-Changing List (1,000 Books to Read Before You Die(Book))
- 1000 Novels Everyone Must Read (The Guardian)
- 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die (The Book)
- 100 Best Novels Written in English (The Guardian)
- 100 Best Political Books (Guardian)
- 100 Books, 100 Companions (Zeit Online)
- 100 Books to Love (Sunday Times)
- 100 Books to Read in a Lifetime (Amazon.com (UK))
- 100 Books to Read in a Lifetime (Amazon.com (USA))
- 125 Books We Love for Adults (NY Public Library)
- 200 Books That Shaped 200 Years of Literature (The Center for Fiction)
- 222 Best Books of All Time That Deserve a Spot on Your Bookshelf, With Picks from Bestselling Authors and Indie Booksellers (Parade)
- 25 acclaimed international writers choose 25 of the best books from the last 25 years (Wasafiri Magazine)
- 500 Must Read Books (The Daily Telegraph)
- 50 Books That Defined Their Era (Guardian)
- 50 Essential Reads by Contemporary Authors (Orange Prize for Fiction)
- 60 Essential English-Language Works of Modern Indian Literature (World Literature Today)
- 70 Classic Booker Prize-Nominated Novels, Recommended by our Readers (Booker Prize Library Readers)
- 70 Iconic Indian Books (India's 70th Independence Anniversary) (Hindustan Times)
- A Century of World Literature 1925 - 2025 (Der Spiegel)
- Best Books Ever (Book Depository)
- Best Foreign Work of Fiction Chosen by Francophone Writers (French literary magazine Transfuge)
- Booker Prize (Booker Prize)
- Books of the Decade (1980s) (The Independent)
- Books That Shaped an Era (TIME)
- Daily Telegraph's 100 Books of the Century, 1900-1999 (Daily Telegraph)
- From Zero to Well-Read in 100 Books (Jeff O'Neal at Bookriot.com)
- Harold Bloom's The Western Canon (The Western Canon (Book) by Harold Bloom)
- James Tait Black Memorial Prize: Fiction (James Tait Black Memorial Prize)
- Laila Lalami's Book Choices from "The Writer's Library" ( The Writer's Library: The Authors You Love on the Books That Changed Their Lives (Book))
- Nancy Pearl's 100 Good Reads, Decade by Decade (Book Lust (Book))
- NY Times Editors Choice 1980-1989 (NY Times)
- The 100 Novels That Have Most Enthralled "Le Monde" Since 1944 (Le Monde)
- The 80 Books Every Man Should Read (Esquire)
- The Best Of The 1980s (Sun-News)
- The Big Jubilee Read (BBC)
- The Booklist Century: 100 Books, 100 Years (BookList)
- The Modern Library: The Two Hundred Best Novels in English Since 1950 (The Modern Library (Book))
- Third World Novels… The Top 10 (New Internationalist)
- TIME Magazine All Time 100 Novels (TIME Magazine)
- Top 100 Works in World Literature (Norwegian Book Clubs, with the Norwegian Nobel Institute)
- Zeit Literaturkanon (https://www.librarything.com/award/335/ZEIT-Literaturkanon)