Midnight's Children - post IV

Suddenly the book changes from a colourful history and personal childhood biography to something more fanciful. Sinai informs his parents that he can hear voices, he seems to think are angles, and is rewarded with a box round the ears for his trouble.

But he really can hear voices and discovers the ability to get into the thoughts of peple ranging from farmers to prime ministers and sitting at the top of the clock tower he spends his time surfing the inner thoughts of thousands.

But it takes a bike crash caused by Sinai’s attempts to get the attraction of an American girl to get the pieces to click together and he realises he can communicate with the other midnight children born in the country in the hour of independence.

This is where the bravery of Rushdie comes in because presumably he had a choice to keep it a history of India told through the eyes of one boy/man or he could take a fantastic turn and as a result of course do something that only literature can help you achieve. It reminds you of a cartoon where the impossible becomes possible and surely that is what a great imagination should be able to do.

More tomorrow…