Haroun and the Sea of Stories

Literature often transcends pre-set boundaries of category or genre. Prime examples include the chronicles of Alice and Gulliver originally conceived to satirise society and later metamorphosed into children's classics, and more recently the popularity of the Harry Potter novels among adult readers. 'Haroun and the sea of stories' could be placed in a similar category. It can be read as a fairy tale or as a satire that addresses everyday problems, narrates social conditions and broaches political issues.
Regarded by readers and critics alike as one of the master storytellers of the present day literary world, it is not surprising that Mr.Rushdie has conjured up a fantasy based on the world or rather the ocean of stories, named after the ancient Indian treatise Kathasaritsagar.
The protagonist Haroun Khalifa is a young boy who leads a happy middle class life distinct from the rich, poor, `super-rich' and `super-poor' people inhabiting a nameless sad city.
Haroun's father Rashid Khalifa is a famous story teller - the Shah of Blah with fabled oceans of notions, who often refers to the streams of story water he drinks to keep up the supply of wondrous tales that pour forth from within him. Haroun takes this as an eccentric statement by his father, and soon discovers that the ocean of stories indeed exists, and that only he could save it from total annihilation.
Haroun's world is suddenly taken apart when his mother elopes with their neighbour Mr.Sengupta, a mean clerk who had forever questioned the significance of Rashid's tales ('What's the use of stories that are not even true?') and Rashid loses his gift to spin wondrous yarns. When Rashid is summoned by a politician to campaign through his stories in the Valley of K, the two decide to risk taking the trip which turns out to be both hilarious and fascinating.
On board a peacock-shaped houseboat on the 'Dull Lake', Haroun discovers to his surprise and horror that his father is going to cancel his subscription to the streams of the Story Ocean. After a squabble with the water genie Iff who has come to disconnect the story tap, Haroun manages to get a ride on the machine-hoopoe Butt to Kahani, the second moon of the earth that contains the ocean of stories.
Kahani also contains two diametrically opposite worlds, the land of Gup characterised by perpetual light inhabited by the Guppies who love to talk, and the land of Chup that is permanently dark and cold and is home to the Chupwallas who worship Bezaban, the prince of silence. The Guppies and the Chupwallas are mortal enemies, and when Haroun lands on Kahani, there is a terrible crisis looming on Gup - The cult master of Chup, Khattam-Shud has kidnapped the Guppie princess Batcheat intending to sacrifice her to Bezaban and worse, has started polluting the story ocean to destroy it completely.
Accompanied by Iff, Butt, Mali the floating gardener and a pair of loopy fishes called Goopy and Bagha, Haroun sets forth to save the ocean. The rest of the story deals with how he succeeds in this endeavour and is rewarded with a 'synthesised' happy ending courtesy P2C2E (Processes Too Complicated To be Explained).
The text sparkles with witticisms concealing thoughts, and thoughts that evoke spontaneous laughter. There is a lot of wordplay as can be expected from a Rushdie novel. The dialogues are characteristic of Mr. Rushdie's works, with the characters speaking peculiar dialects of Indianised English - Oneeta Sengupta's consoling words to the Khalifas, the conversation of Butt/Buttoo, the rhyming banter of Goopy and Bagha, the foolish babble of Prince Bolo, the songs of Mali and the petty quarrels between the mud-men and mud-women in Buttoo's bus are sure to evoke laughter in even the most curmudgeonly reader.
A beautiful passage describing the dance of the shadow warrior Mudra who speaks through gestures (Abhinaya) conveys that duality exists even in Kahani, and that creatures of silence and darkness could be as charming as the children of light and speech. So is the abstraction describing how emotions influence the atmosphere, with miserable thoughts causing the atmosphere to stink and brighter ones clearing out the smog. The ridiculous antics of silly Prince Bolo to save Princess Batcheat seem justifiable when he is described as being just like love - dashing, gallant and a little foolish.
Above all these, the main theme of the book is brought forth implicitly - That story-tellers cannot be silenced, and the ocean of stories would continue to surge with its many threads mixing and intermingling perpetually to generate fresh stories that would keep flowing. Looking a little deeper, it conveys that the magic of fiction has the power to soothe, restore, edify and sustain the harried, quotidian protagonists of everyday life.

An instant classic. This is a story that is meant to be read over and over, out loud, silently, in public, or in the comfort of one's own bed.
The words flow and flow, lyrical and rhythmic, while spinning this beautiful fantasy. After reading the book, I find myself talking like the characters, chuckling to myself on the subway suddenly reminded of something in the book.
In fact, when I was reading this book on the way to work, I had people come up to me and ask "How is that?" (Which is unheard of, especially for New York Commuters!). All I can say is, "Just Delightful. Highly Recommend you read it."

This book works simply as a beautiful fantasy story about a boy who saves a world of make believe, and can also be taken as a deeper meditation on creativity, the dangers of authoritarianism, the value and the honest weaknesses of democracy, the important of history, and the occasional importance of maintaining an illusion. It is easy to read, great for children, and illuminating for adults. An excellent introduction to Salman Rushdie.

This has to be one of the biggest surprises I've had lately. A family member was assigned this book for school, so I got to read it and wow what a colorful and imaginative ride! I was aware of Rushdie and thought of him as a more academic, purely literary type that college professors would promote, like Milton or James Joyce or one of those many authors who force you to slow down your reading in order to get their points.

Well this is nothing like that, it is more like a roller coaster but with better emotional payoff. The story and setting are colorful and the plot twists fresh and unexpected. Characters are unlike any you've met before, and the dialogue and narrative are full of puns and playfulness. And beneath it all? Tons of subtext and allegory, woven in so expertly that you literally could just ignore it and still have a fun read. But if you take the trouble of going back for the inner meanings and symbols and whatnot (like they were doing in the school assignment) you find meaningful, thoughtful and somewhat moving messages that enrich the total experience.

Why this book is not more famous, I don't know but as literature it makes the Wizard of Oz (which is supposedly allegorical, too) look dull and awkward by comparison, even taking into account the century of literary change in between. Haroun is perfectly fine for young readers but there's no reason for adults to miss out.

My advice: don't be thrown off by the long, analytical reviews and don't expect that you have to think like a college student to enjoy this. Just grab a copy, open it up and begin. Don't load it down with expectations. Just read -- you will have fun!

When adult authors start writing children's books on their own, they fit into one of two categories. Either they have no prior child-lit experience and simply write stuff that they think kids would like (Elmore Leonard comes to mind) or they go 180 degrees in the opposite direction and worship those works of children's literature and folklore that they feel a special kinship towards. In such cases as these, adult authors will write children's books or stories that owe a great deal of allegiance to "The Wizard of Oz" and "Alice's Adventures In Wonderland". Michael Chabon and A.S. Byatt are guilty of this sin. So too, though in a far more lighthearted way, is Salman Rushdie. A self-proclaimed Wizard of Oz enthusiast (you could do worse than to read his 1992 essay on the subject), Rushdie ties his one and only kids' book to a host of literary, musical, and cinematic sources. The result is a children's book for adults. Like fellow author Byatt, Rushdie lacks the easygoing literary style that separates a book that is "good" for kids from something as highly enjoyable as the latest Harry Potter novel. "Haroun and the Sea of Stories" is the kind of book to inspire operas. Not children.

Haroun's having a hard time at the moment. His mother just ran off with the upstairs neighbor. His father Rashid, the self-proclaimed Ocean of Notions and Shah of Blah (which is to say, a storyteller) has found himself unable to tell any more tales, what with his wife's abandonment and all. As for Haroun himself, he can't concentrate on anyone or anything for any longer than eleven minutes. When a local politician hires Rashid to speak at his upcoming rally, father and son travel without any particular high hopes. Things take a turn for the bizarre, however, when Haroun wakes up the night before the rally to find a water genie in his bathroom. The water genie has just attempted to turn off Rashid's connection to the Sea of Stories, the source of his once glib tales. Haroun is having none of it, however. With one of the genie's tools in his possession, he insists on clearing up this cancellation and instead finds himself embroiled in a magnificent war on an epic scale. In the land of Kahani, Haroun must help new friends defeat the evil enemy of stories, Khattam-Shud, and preserve the precious Sea of Stories from pollution before all the tales in the world go terribly terribly wrong.

This is a quest novel with two separate quests smooshed into a single hero. Readers will note right from the start that much of this book is reminiscent of the film of "The Wizard of Oz" (though not the original story, interestingly enough). Always a fan of rock and roll, Rushdie also allows himself some Beatles references and a liberal (and well-utilized) smattering of Hindustani words throughout the text. At the heart of "Haroun", however, is Rushdie's outraged cry against the jihad placed on his head after the publication of "The Satanic Verses". Remember, "Haroun" was published in 1990 and even the lovely little dedication poem at the front of the book is a reference to the fact that Rushdie was unable to spend as much time with his son as he would have liked. The result is a thinly veiled metaphor of a book in which a boy fights against someone who sees words themselves as a threat. The tale is at its best when Haroun notes the good army bickering and debating each and every plan of action before going into a fight. Haroun thinks that such talk would be considered mutinous anywhere else, but is reminded that there is little point in being given freedom of speech without being allowed to use it.

The problem comes when you try to view this story as something kids would enjoy to read. At first glance, it seems ideal. There are funny animals and a likable hero with parent problems. There's a villain of great evil and a fantastical world not too far from our own that anyone would like to visit. But the book, for all its charms, is obviously meant for adults. The moments when the title tries to be silly try a little too hard. The characters you are meant to love are given only the lightest of descriptions. For people like Mali, the vegetable gardener, you're supposed to root (ha ha) for them simply because they exist. Not because they've won your admiration or liking. Thankfully, Rushdie is redeemed in part when being funny. Prince Bolo and his beloved Princess Batcheat are so blandly stupid that it's a joy to read about them. Unfortunately, such moments of lightness are few and far between. Kids who slog through this title will be far more interested in the premise than the actual product. It is, in a word, dullish.

Which isn't to say that die-hard Rushdie fans won't adore it. Of course they will. This is the master at work doing what he loves. But just because an author is good at one form of writing (adult fiction) it doesn't mean he can slip effortlessly into another. Children's literature is probably one of the most difficult forms of writing to do well. Though "Haroun" is a noble effort and a fun read, it will not be remembered as a particularly good title for kids.

This is one of my favorite books! Rushdie wrote it for his son, whom he couldn't see because he was living in hiding to escape assassination during the infamous "fatwa" period of his life. It's a charming story that is a "children's story" in the same way that Alice in Wonderland is a children's story (but enormously better!) You need to get through about the first 20 pages before you get hooked--then you get hooked! This is a fantasy adventure story and a passionate defense of freedom of speech. It was written by a gifted author who was separated from his family because what he had previously written (The Satanic Verses) had deeply offended religious fanatics who put out a contract on his life. Rushdie later wrote another book for his other son called Luka and the Fire of Life. I highly recommend that too!

I've heard about Salman Rushdie. Both good and bad. The only way to find out the truth for myself was to read one of his books. Being the naturally lazy man that I am, I grabbed the smallest book of his I could find. Little did I know that this book was a fairy tale, and not something that would rouse Islamic fundamentalists.
Anyway, I already purchased it and decided to read it anyway. At first, I saw that Rushdie had a great imagination and could weave a great story.
This book is about Hauron, a boy living in a glum city where his dad is a prime storyteller. He travels to a far away city, only discover that a Water Genie has stopped his dad's faucet to the sea of stories. In order to help his father, he travels to the Sea of Stories and engages in a war to save the sea, and his father, while meeting interesting characters and seeing interesting sights.
The book starts off well, with Rushdie's almost poetic use of language. The book, however, slowly digresses. Not that Rushdie's work disintegrates, but as the fairy tale progresses, with even more characters, and even more anomalies, it gets pretty dull after a while. The ability to shock or dazzle the reader is weened away until it becomes a chore to finish the book.
I would say that this book is good for a change of pace, and at only 200 pages, won't take too long to read, but I could only marginally recommend it.

I was recomended to read Haround and the sea of stories by a friend. I am an avid fantasy reader and hate bad books. I know its bad to say that a book is bad without giving a reason so here is mine:

The Plot: to save a sea f stories and thats what we have. we have an author who thinks his story is the "One story to rule them all". Or at least thats what I think he meant =P

The characters: All of the characters are stereotypical and 2D. We have the Father, Rashid, who lost his powers but not his wisdom. (want a character like this, see "Another Fine Myth"), We have a warrior love interest that has the cheeziest line: "you may be a good boy, but I am a very bad girl indeed." Kind of made me think of Xena, except without the whole princess. We had rhyming Luv fish that literally made me tear a page out of the book for stupidity. We have a bird that say's bt but but alot. and a bussdriver that does too. We have an unintresting Genie without any real character traits, And we have a heroe who doesn't beleive. The bad guy of the story, is actually intresting. He is a religious, Scientific, Silence loving, stereotypical office worker?? if this book is to be bought for anything it should be for him. to bad he only has an apearance on all of 8 pages..

The Kathasaritsagara by Somadeva is one of the earliest collections of tales - preceding the Arabian Nights or Reynard the Fox etc. Kathasaritsagara is normally translated as "The Ocean of Story". Salman Rushdie plays on the ocean of story idea in Haroun and the Sea of Stories.
Haroun is the son of a storyteller, a storyteller (the Shah of Blah) who loses his ability to tell stories when his wife leaves him. Haroun himself is less impressed with stories questioning their usefulness when they are not even true. Accidentally intercepting the genie sent to shut off his father's story supply, Haroum becomes involved in the rescue of the ocean of stories.
Rushdie tells the tale with a great deal of humor - the mail bus driver who skips all the mail stops so that Haroun can see a magnificant view; abbreviations such as P2C2E for processes too complicated to explain; shadows that have detached from their substantial-being creating two separate lives, the substantial's and the shadow's. The result is an entertaining tale with a great deal of social and political implied commentary. Ultimately, however, there is a bit too much of the cute and clever. The book is worth reading, certain children will enjoy it immensely, but in a hundred years it will be known for being a minor work of Rushdie if Rushdie is still known.

I did not have the patience to sift through the non-important, excess language in this story. I purchased the book hoping for an enchanting fantasy from a different perspective. Instead I found the story tiresome. At first the book progresses well enough, setting the sad stage of a once great story-teller's broken heart. When the son tries to remedy the situation and travels to the water world the book loses all momentum. The language becomes Dr. Seuss-ish, repetitive and ridiculous so much so that the whole point of conversations are lost and staying focused becomes a chore. I couldn't handle it and just had to stop half way through the story. I skimmed the rest of the book. This type of writing is definitely not for me!