Footnotes and Tangents
A Slow Read of Midnight's Children
Midnight's Children #7: Longing for long trousers
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Midnight's Children #7: Longing for long trousers

Week 7/13: Footnotes & tangents for “Alpha and Omega” and “The Kolynos Kid.”

… Destiny, historical role, numen: these were mouthfuls too large for ten-year-old gullets. Even, perhaps, for mine; despite the ever-present admonitions of the fisherman’s pointing finger and the Prime Minister’s letter, I was constantly distracted from my sniff-given marvels by the tiny occurances of everyday life, by feeling hungry or sleepy, by monkeying around with the Monkey, or going to the cinema to see Cobra Woman or Vera Cruz, by my longing for long trousers …

Last Week | Reading Schedule | Characters | Further Resources

Welcome to Week 7 of a slow read of Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie. I am your guide, Simon Haisell, and this is Footnotes & Tangents, a book group and reading community where we take our time to live inside great stories.

Each week, I offer you my footnotes and tangents. And then you can join the discussion in the comments to let us know what caught your eye and ask the group any questions you may have. And if you’ve tumbled down a rabbit hole or taken your reading off on a tangent, please share where you have been and what you have found.

This week, we are reading the chapters “Alpha and Omega” and “The Kolynos Kid.” On my website, there is a reading schedule, with bookmarks designed by Lex Knowlton, a list of characters and a page of further resources.

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