"Midnight's Children" by Salman Rushdie is a magical realist novel chronicling the life of Saleem Sinai, born at the exact stroke of midnight on August 15, 1947—the precise moment of India's independence. Telepathically linked to 1,000 other "midnight's children," each gifted with extraordinary powers, Saleem becomes a living metaphor for the newly born nation. Accidentally swapped at birth between a wealthy family and a poor mother, his personal history intertwines with India's turbulent post-colonial journey—from Partition to the Emergency. Winner of the 1981 Booker Prize and later the "Booker of Bookers," the novel masterfully blends history, fantasy, and political satire.
