The Midnight Palace

The Midnight Palace
by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

 

 

 

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Zafon, Carlos Ruiz. 1994. THE MIDNIGHT PALACE. Translated by Lucia Graves.
       New York: Little, Brown and Company. ISBN 978-0-316-04473-8.

PLOT SUMMARY: The Midnight Palace is told by Ian, a now elderly narrator who recounts the adventures of his group of friends in the secret club The Chowbar Society. Roshan, Michael, Isobel, Siraj, Seth, Ben and Ian were all orphans at St. Patrick’s in Calcutta in 1932. In their sixteenth year, their world turns upside down with the arrival of the evil and mysterious Jawahal. Aryami Bose is the other narrator of the story who recounts the events of 1916 that include her, her daughter Kylian, and Kylian’s husband Lahawaj Chandra Chatterghee. The story begins with Lt. Michael Peake saving newborn twins from the evil Jawahal. Why does he want them? How are their lives connected to his? For their safety they are separated, until 16 years later when Ben and Sheere are brought together by the danger and terror instigated by Jawahal.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS:
Ben and Sheere’s story has many cultural markers that connect the story to 1930s Calcutta. In The Midnight Palace, we have characters who have Bengali and English names that reflect the multicultural atmosphere of Calcutta under British control. The orphanage is called St. Patrick’s and is run by Mr. Thomas Carter. The young lieutenant who is in love with Kylian and saves the newborns Ben and Sheere is Michael Peake. The children from the orphanage are also a mixture of cultures: Michael, Isobel, Seth, Ian, and Ben; and Roshan and Siraj. Reflecting the native inhabitants of Calcutta are Aryami Bose, Kylian, Lahawaj Chandra Chatterghee, and Bankim.

The descriptions of the city itself offer another example of the mixture of English and Bengali terms. The White Town part of Calcutta is inhabited mostly by British and Europeans, while the Black Town is the district inhabited by Bengali people. Grey Town is inhabited by Muslims. There is mention of the ancient name of Calcutta, Kalighat, named after the goddess Kali. In addition to Chowringhee Road, Jatindra Mohan, and Acharya Prafulla, we have Cotton and Brabourne Streets. There is mention of two bazaars in the city, Shyambazar and Machuabazar.

The energy and inventiveness of the early 20^th century is exemplified in the work of Chandra Chatterghee: the first telegraph, the first electric power grid, and the first rail network in Calcutta that would modernize the city and free it from British rule.

The mythology and deities of Hindu are represented in Chandra’s story collection called Shiva’s Tears and in the many instances of the mention of Kali. Kali, the goddess of time and change, represents the inevitability of both. The story itself marches forth from 1916 to a time when the young characters are either dead or elderly. At one point in the story, a young Seth meets a street beggar who gives him valuable information. Seth wants to know what he can do in return. “The beggar’s eyes shone and he smiled bitterly.  ‘Can you make time go backward, Seth?’” (p.201).  Ian tells of the night of horror and how it impacted Ben. He says, “. . .in the book of life it is perhaps best not to turn back pages. . .” (p.225). There is no going back, only forward, wherever the path of life, destiny leads.

The Midnight Palace is an engaging adventure, historical, and horror story that could be about any group of friends in any location, but Zafon's masterful use of cultural markers give this novel a unique sense of time and place in 1930s Calcutta.

REVIEW EXCERPTS:

Publishers Weekly: “Zafon delivers an often creepy adventure, first published in Spain in 1994, populated with some wonderful characters. . . Zafon adeptly establishes his characters (including some fun and believable teenage repartee) and makes good use of his setting. His Calcutta has many of the mystical elements that many writers associate with the city, but it also shows the political strain of a city subject to years of hostile colonization and ready to break free. Just as importantly, Zafon delivers moments of genuine horror, as well as expert plot twists that move the story along.”

USA Today: “This novel’s plot is as dark and threatening as the Calcutta night that envelops the opening scenes, in which the lives of newborn twins are at risk . . . The Spanish author best known in the U.S. for translations of his mystically informed novels, including The Shadow of the Wind, also writes wonderful books for teens. The Midnight Palace should not be overlooked by adults in search of literary excellence.”

Note: book reviews from: http://www.carlosruizzafon.co.uk/midnightpalace/reviews.aspx

AWARDS:
USBBY-United States Board on Books for Young People, Outstanding International Books (OIB) List for 2012, Grades 9-12.
http://www.usbby.org/list_oibl.html

CONNECTIONS:

The website for the book and the author: http://www.carlosruizzafon.co.uk/midnightpalace/index.aspx

A brief history of Calcutta: http://www.lonelyplanet.com/india/kolkata-calcutta/history

More detailed history of Calcutta: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Kolkata

Other books by Carlos Ruiz Zafon:
THE ANGEL’S GAME. ISBN 978-0767931113.
THE PRINCE OF MIST. ISBN 0316044776.
THE PRISONER OF HEAVEN. ISBN 978-0062206282.
THE SHADOW OF THE WIND. ISBN 978-0143034902.