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Loading... Haroun and the Sea of Stories (1990)by Salman Rushdie
  
Best books about books (115) » 8 more No current Talk conversations about this book.  Adya | May 28, 2017 |  After several false starts on Satanic Verses I wasn't anticipating enjoying this (though I had read some Rushdie short stories once that I enjoyed). This was a light, sometimes humorous, sometimes tedious story of Haroun the son of a storyteller who loses his ability to spin tales when his wife (Haroun's mother) leaves. Because of mythical elements and wordplay, the tone is light and fun, though difficult to follow. Was a great way to burn a couple of hours. (  ) Jamichuk | May 22, 2017 | A thoroughly enjoyable story that would have benefitted from reading in one sitting. There are plenty of puns and silliness and satire but it is also just a fantatsical story, It did flag a little towards the end but I did enjoy it a great deal. amyem58 | May 5, 2016 | There was once, in the country of Alifbay, a sad city, the saddest of cities, a city so ruinously sad that it had forgotten its name. Haroun's family is the only exception to the sadness. Haroun's father is Rashid, a storyteller known for his cheerfulness. Everything changes when Haroun's mother leaves. Rashid is no longer cheerful, and he loses the power of story. In his determination to help his father recover his talent, Haroun undertakes a fantastical journey to the Ocean of the Streams of Story. Underneath the layers of fantastical creatures and lands is a story of a young boy in a broken home. Haroun's mother left, Haroun's father is sad all the time, and Haroun blames himself. He thinks he needs to do something to fix things. Many children in broken homes will identify with Haroun's situation. Rushdie has the skill to combine message, characters, and plot without anything seeming forced. The language is simple enough for children to understand, and the allegories are complex enough to hold the interest of adult readers. (  ) cbl_tn | Sep 17, 2015 | These were my journal entries in 2004: Rushdie is a damned good writer. I'm LOVING this. As with Satanic Verses, I'm savoring every word, every line, trying not to go too fast because I don't want it to be over. I'm halfway through and I can't afford any more time to read it. One more week until school's out and I'll find out what happens in this magical world of (Kahini?) I'm inspired to read Arabian Nights after this. And of course, more and more Rushdie. I'll journal more when I'm finished. Thank you for sending this to me! edit journal entry | upload journal entry pic | back to top Journal entry 5 by cmjuliep from New Hartford , New York USA on Friday, June 25, 2004 Finished it in the park on a perfect day. Ah....summer is here. Loved it...will pass on and buy myself one for my permanant collection---I want to read it to my son when he's a bit older and I want it available to my students, too. 2008: My son would never enjoy this book! :( He is so different from me. ( ) engpunk77 | Aug 14, 2015 |
". . . [a] remarkable new children's book . . . [T]he experiences that lie behind 'Haroun and the Sea of Stories' are nearly as fantastic as anything in the tale. . . . full of comic energy and lively verbal invention." Is contained inContains
Amazon.com Amazon.com Review (ISBN 0140157379, Paperback)Immediately forget any preconceptions you may have about Salman Rushdie and the controversy that has swirled around his million-dollar head. You should instead know that he is one of the best contemporary writers of fables and parables, from any culture. Haroun and the Sea of Stories is a delightful tale about a storyteller who loses his skill and a struggle against mysterious forces attempting to block the seas of inspiration from which all stories are derived. Here's a representative passage about the sources and power of inspiration:So Iff the water genie told Haroun about the Ocean of the Stream of Stories, and even though he was full of a sense of hopelessness and failure the magic of the Ocean began to have an effect on Haroun. He looked into the water and saw that it was made up of a thousand thousand thousand and one different currents, each one a different colour, weaving in and out of one another like a liquid tapestry of breathtaking complexity; and Iff explained that these were the Streams of Story, that each coloured strand represented and contained a single tale. Different parts of the Ocean contained different sorts of stories, and as all the stories that had ever been told and many that were still in the process of being invented could be found here, the Ocean of the Streams of Story was in fact the biggest library in the universe. And because the stories were held here in fluid form, they retained the ability to change, to become new versions of themselves, to join up with other stories and so become yet other stories; so that unlike a library of books, the Ocean of the Streams of Story was much more than a storeroom of yarns. It was not dead, but alive. (retrieved from Amazon Thu, 12 Mar 2015 18:17:52 -0400) The author of The Satanic Verses returns with his most humorous and accessible novel yet. This is the story of Haroun, a 12-year-old boy whose father Rashid is the greatest storyteller in a city so sad that it has forgotten its name. When the gift of gab suddenly deserts Rashid, Haroun sets out on an adventure to rescue his print.… (more) |
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Wikipedia in English (1)
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- A story is like a movie in a reader’s mind. I devoured the book and took it to the kitchen, and to other places in the house until such time that I finished the book.
- Salman Rushdie uses puns effectively in this book. Each character’s name may seem like a normal name to readers who don’t know the Hindustani language but when actually learnt, it opens up another door in their brains as to what he meant and why. For example, Khattam-shud means ‘The End’ when we read books written in English. Once, you know this, you can relate to the connection between Khattam-shud and the land of Chup (silence)
- At the time when Salman Rushdie wrote this book, he was in confinement to protect him. He had been a target after an incident and this book is all about having the right to talk freely and this message develops in the Land of Gup. There is the beauty in free speech no doubt. However, there is a time when free speech can get harmful and the beauty of silence shines through. Although, Silence has its own beauty, Salman Rushdie encourages free speech over silence for creativity to prevail. I couldn't agree more. (