Haroun and the Sea of Stories
A captivating fantasy novel for readers of all ages, by the author of Midnight's Children and The Satanic Verses
"This is, simply put, a book for anyone who loves a good story. It's also a work of literary genius." --Stephen King
Set in an exotic Eastern landscape peopled by magicians and fantastic talking animals, Haroun and the Sea of Stories inhabits the same imaginative space as The Lord of the Rings, The Alchemist, The Arabian Nights, and The Wizard of Oz. Twelve-year-old Haroun sets out on an adventure to restore his father's gift of storytelling by reviving the poisoned Sea of Stories. On the way, he encounters many foes, all intent on draining the sea of all its storytelling powers. In this wondrously delightful story, Salman Rushdie gives us an imaginative work of extraordinary power and endearing humor that is, at its heart, an illumination of the necessity of storytelling in our lives.
"This is, simply put, a book for anyone who loves a good story. It's also a work of literary genius." --Stephen King
Set in an exotic Eastern landscape peopled by magicians and fantastic talking animals, Haroun and the Sea of Stories inhabits the same imaginative space as The Lord of the Rings, The Alchemist, The Arabian Nights, and The Wizard of Oz. Twelve-year-old Haroun sets out on an adventure to restore his father's gift of storytelling by reviving the poisoned Sea of Stories. On the way, he encounters many foes, all intent on draining the sea of all its storytelling powers. In this wondrously delightful story, Salman Rushdie gives us an imaginative work of extraordinary power and endearing humor that is, at its heart, an illumination of the necessity of storytelling in our lives.
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Community Reviews
My first read by Salman Rushdie won't be my last. I went in soft for the #AuthoraMonth challenge on Litsy and did not come away disappointed. Children's story be damned; I loved it for reminding me of how important stories are in our lives. It made me feel triumphant for teaching my students about the archetypal story pattern of all our lives: The Hero's Quest and that every story is the same story told in infinite variations. Thank you, Mr. Rush...read more
The Writer Salman Rushdie’s novel, Haroun and the Sea of Stories is an excellent short novel about the importance of storytelling. Rushdie is a skilled writer. In Haroun and the Sea of Stories, Rushdie has fun with the English language, Rushdie also includes many words from the Hindustani language of South Asia (Rushdie 1990 215-216). Many critics such as late writer Ursula La Guin view Rushdie as a “master fisherman” (La Guin 2008) from “the sea...read more
I don't know, I realize it's sort of for children but it really failed to engage me as much as other children's books. I feel like there was possibly supposed to be a deeper meaning about the importance of fiction/ freedom of speech but it wasn't super well-executed either.
This would be a great story for children. As I was mentioning to someone else for their own children, unfortunately, the mere fact that a book exists by this author with the word "Satanic" in the title is enough to probably prevent this great author from being recognized. Shame really. This story was too much fun, and a play on words at every turn. The characters are so fun, and you are going to want to watch your children read this aloud.
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