MIDNIGHT’S Children by Salman Rushdie opens with the story of Saleem Sinai’s birth on the eve of India’s independence, August 15, 1947. This date of birth makes Saleem’s life magically entwined with the tale of the nation: his fate, his desires, and the shape of his nose. With the main character struggling through conflicting beliefs—defending customs in one moment, then criticizing them in the next—we have a s