Haroun and the Sea of Stories (1990)

Haroun and the Sea of Stories is certainly a children's book, make no mistake about it. And the storyline is accordingly rather simple, though the storytelling is rather good. As for a genre, Rushdie does a very good job of following the conventions of fairy tales and folk tales, repeating many odd and funny sayings or expressions, interesting and funny names for things and people (you'll find a Hindustani glossary at the back that will explain where some names come from), and characters distinct with singular odd features or talents.

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the story is the "adult elements" that are not necessarily children's stuff (perhaps going back to the original folk tales where nothing is as sugar-coated or watered-down as today's lame versions.) Mother runs off with someone else, politicians deceive people and make them unhappy, Haroun's father, like today's pop-stars, gets recruited to sway the vote of the masses, weird religious sect worships weird statue and performs bloody rituals sewing mouths shut, etc. All of these daily adult stuff is well-woven into the fantastical. The fantastical is nothing shocking or even novel, but perhaps stories and fairy tales are always made up of old ones retold and reshaped, or so we find out in Haroun and the Sea of Stories.

Later addition: Rushdie explained that when he went to the south of India, he had a chance to hear one of the most famous storytellers. Apparently, the tradition of oral storytelling is very strong in the south, even though the south has a very high literacy rate. And these storytellers, like the one he saw, perform for hours, starting many stories in stories, singing, dancing, etc. And since they hold thousands of people captivated by their stories for many hours and due to their immense popularity, they are often recruited by political parties to tip over the balance (apparently, the two main parties have about 50-50 votes in the region, so a small sway goes a long way.)
Rushdie also commented on why he explained the foreign words he used in Haroun but did not explain the ones in Luka and the Fire of Life, his latest children's novel, written for his younger son. He said that in the second book, the names do not really add to the story, though it is true that you may enjoy it more if you do know what the words mean. In Haroun, the names of things are an active part of the story; they help move the story forward (he spoke very much like a creative writing teacher about all this, a lot of writing theory...) ( )

Haroun's father, Rashid, (also known as The Ocean of Notions and The Shah of Blah), is a master storyteller who is much in demand.

When Haroun's mother runs off with their neighbor, Rashid completely loses the ability to tell stories.

Haroun's desire to help his father leads to wonderful adventures.

This is storytelling at its very best! Fantasy, adventure, humor, allegory and more all wrapped up in one incredible package, and all so skillfully told. It's brilliant!

I was left with the feeling that Rushdie gave his imagination full rein with this book.

I loved Haroun and the Sea of Stories! This would be a great book for parents to read aloud to older children. ( )

Haroun and the Sea of Stories is the most accessible of Salman Rushdie’s novels, and this little book is almost perfect. No, seriously—in the way that The Great Gatsby, The Old Man and the Sea, or A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich is perfect: a brilliantly cut, brightly polished little gem, with well-drawn, believable characters working through a well-paced, reasonable (given the magical realism of the circumstances) plot.

Set in an imaginary Kashmir, in a fictional now, Rushdie’s masterwork (and I say this knowing full well what a truly magnificent book Midnight’s Children is—but it, like Moby Dick, is a wonderfully, humanly flawed work, of such scope and complexity that perfection is unthinkable) is appropriate for children, in spite of the adult themes which spark the plot. Haroun, himself a child, undertakes to save his father’s career (and marriage) by traveling with a water genie to Earth’s second moon. Here, he must intervene in a war and reverse an intentional environmental disaster to save the Sea of Stories, from which his father draws the stories he tells for a living.

Of course, it all works out in the end and Haroun learns the value of stories. Read it as an environmental metaphor, as an allegory for contemporary degradation of our humanity, or simply for fun—but read it.

read this book. ( )

A great story that is, in many ways about stories. A truly remarkable read. ( )