Midnight’s Children: Book 3 & Conclusions

Book 3 took what seemed like an odd turn in the beginning. Saleem has amnesia and remembers nothing of his past. He is in Pakistan’s army and just sort of going through the motions. Throughout the course of the last chapters, he finds himself and his past, and makes his way back to Bombay where he grew up. He finally faces off against Shiva, the baby he was swapped with at birth, and finds a son of his own to pass his legacy off to.

At first it seems like a great departure from where this tale started, but if you look deeper, it all makes sense and is a good metaphor for many people’s lives. Midnight’s Children started with a lot of hope and dreams, but as Saleem ages, much of what he wanted and longed for fails to develop, and his life in the end matches nothing that he thought he wanted as a youth. As his life changes, so does the way his story is told and the feeling the book gives off. However, even in the end, when (nearly) everyone he has loved is dead and gone, a slice of hope exists. When all of Midnight’s Children have been dealt with by the Indian government, his own child shows a small piece of magic may still exist.

As my first step into reading 100 classics, I think Midnight’s Children has me off to a good start. It is an enjoyable read, in a very different style from what I am used to at least. I especially liked that, as told in first person perspective, the storyteller doesn’t have all the answers. People come in and out of his life and we don’t always know what became of them. Saleem’s tale has lost love, forlorn hope, but ultimately perseverance against insurmountable odds.