Midnight's Children

Midnight's Children is a novel by Salman Rushdie. It centers on the author's native India and was acclaimed as a major milestone in Indian writing.

Midnight's Children is an allegory for the history of India. The life of the central character, Saleem Sinai, parallels India's history after independence. The story is based on the idea that some people born close to the midnight of August 14, 1947 (India's independence day) are endowed with some special magical powers (If you are surprised that this could be an idea for a novel that seeks to portray a person's voyage through India's history, do not be put off. These are fairly common in Rushdie's novels. The technical term given to such flights of imagination which still retain a strong connection to something very real and happening is magical realism.)

It ran into some controversy because of its open criticism of Indira Gandhi, India's Prime Minister and the 'Emergency' that she imposed on India.