The Novel and History: Salman Rushdie's "Midnight's Children" Now A Film
I often enjoy novels in which the historical backdrop is so powerful a force that it is almost a character by itself, informing all the meta-events of the novel. It is only the consummate skill of the author not to allow the other characters and their personal and parallel stories to be overwhelmed the tsunami sweep of history. Recent examples in my reading include The Hakawati by Rabih Alameddine a multi-generational Lebanese story that traces the history of a family four generations and the history of the Middle East in the late 19th and 20th century, (full review here), and Tea Obreht's exquisite novel of families in The Tiger's Wife, set in what was once Yugoslavia over the course of WWI, WWII, and the
recent wars that resulted in its dissection into new territories (full review here.)
I am very happy to see that one of my favorite big historical/fiction novels Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie has now made it to the big screen. It has been years since I read the novel* (though numerous scenes are firmly etched in my memory) but I now feel a call to re-read it before the film eventually makes its way to my corner of the world. And I recommend it as one of Rushdie's best works. In the meantime, above is the trailer for the film (adapted and narrated by Rushdie), and below is a fascinating hour long "conversation" with Salman Rushdie on the novel and the history that inspired it.
*To show you how many years it has been -- the book cover on this post is from the 25th anniversary print of the novel. I read it in 1972.
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The Novel and History: Salman Rushdie's "Midnight's Children" Now A Film
I often enjoy novels in which the historical backdrop is so powerful a force that it is almost a character by itself, informing all the meta-events of the novel. It is only the consummate skill of the author not to allow the other characters and their personal and parallel stories to be overwhelmed the tsunami sweep of history. Recent examples in my reading include The Hakawati by Rabih Alameddine a multi-generational Lebanese story that traces the history of a family four generations and the history of the Middle East in the late 19th and 20th century, (full review here), and Tea Obreht's exquisite novel of families in The Tiger's Wife, set in what was once Yugoslavia over the course of WWI, WWII, and the
recent wars that resulted in its dissection into new territories (full review here.)
I am very happy to see that one of my favorite big historical/fiction novels Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie has now made it to the big screen. It has been years since I read the novel* (though numerous scenes are firmly etched in my memory) but I now feel a call to re-read it before the film eventually makes its way to my corner of the world. And I recommend it as one of Rushdie's best works. In the meantime, above is the trailer for the film (adapted and narrated by Rushdie), and below is a fascinating hour long "conversation" with Salman Rushdie on the novel and the history that inspired it.
*To show you how many years it has been -- the book cover on this post is from the 25th anniversary print of the novel. I read it in 1972.
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The Knight
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