Haroun and the Sea of Stories

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Haroun and the Sea of Stories
Haroun and the Sea of Stories (book cover).jpg
Cover of the first edition
Author Salman Rushdie
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Genre Magic realism
Publisher Granta
Publication date
27 September 1990
Media typePrint (hardback & paperback)
Pages224
ISBN 978-0-14-014223-5
OCLC 22274689
823/.914 20
LC Class PR6068.U757 H37 1990
Followed by Luka and the Fire of Life  

Haroun and the Sea of Stories is a 1990 children's novel [1] by Salman Rushdie. It is Rushdie's fifth major publication and followed The Satanic Verses (1988). It is a phantasmagorical story that begins in a city so miserable and ruinous that it has forgotten its name. [2]

Contents

Haroun and the Sea of Stories is an allegory for problems existing in society at the time of its publication, especially in the Indian subcontinent. It presents these problems from the perspective of the young protagonist, Haroun. Salman Rushdie dedicated this book to his son, from whom he was separated for some time. Many elements of the story deal with the problems of censorship, an issue particularly pertinent to Rushdie because of the fatwa against him issued in 1989 by Ayatollah Khomeini. [3] The book is highly allusive and contains puns in multiple languages. Many of the major characters' names allude to some aspect of speech or silence.

It is available as an audiobook read by Rushdie himself.

Plot summary

At the beginning of the story, protagonist Haroun Khalifa lives with his father Rashid, a famous storyteller and doctor, and his mother Soraya, until the latter is seduced by their neighbour "Mr. Sengupta" to leave home. Rashid is hired to speak on behalf of local politicians but fails his initial assignment. Rashid and Haroun are taken to the "Valley of K" by courier "Mr. Butt," to speak for "Snooty Buttoo," another politician. Attempting to sleep aboard Buttoo's yacht, Haroun discovers "Iff the Water Genie," assigned to detach Rashid's imagination, and demands to speak with Iff's supervisor, the Walrus, to argue against this decision. They are then carried to the eponymous "Sea of Stories" by an artificial intelligence in the form of a hoopoe, nicknamed "Butt" after the courier. In the Sea of Stories, Haroun learns the Sea is endangered by antagonist "Khattam-Shud," who represents the end.

In the Kingdom of Gup, King Chattergy, Prince Bolo, General Kitab, and the Walrus announce their plans for war against the neighbouring kingdom of Chup, to recapture Bolo's betrothed Princess Batcheat and to stop the pollution of the Sea of Stories. Rashid joins them here, having witnessed Batcheat's kidnapping. Thereafter, Haroun and his companions join the Guppee army of "Pages" toward Chup, where they befriend Mudra, Khattam-Shud's former second-in-command.

Haroun, Iff, Butt the Hoopoe, and Mali, the stories' gardener, investigate the Sea's "Old Zone" and are captured by Khattam-Shud's animated shadow, who plans to plug the Story Source at the bottom of the Sea. Before he can do so, Mali destroys the machines used by Khattam-Shud to poison the Sea, and Haroun restores the Sea's long-annulled alternation between night and day, thus destroying the antagonist's shadow and those assisting him, and diverting the giant "Plug" meant to seal the Source. In Chup, the Guppee army destroys the Chupwalas' army and releases Princess Batcheat; whereupon Khattam-Shud himself is crushed beneath a collapsing statue commissioned by himself. Thereafter the Walrus promises Haroun a happy ending of his own story. On return to the human world, Rashid reveals Haroun's adventures to local citizens, who expel Snooty Buttoo.

When Rashid and Haroun return home, the people of their city are loosened from the shackles of their misery and remember the name of their home, Kahani. Soraya returns to her son and husband. [4]

The novel concludes with an appendix explaining the meaning of each major character's name.

Places

Characters

Allusions/references to other works

Adaptations

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References

  1. "Grammar, Style, and Usage". Writing Explained. Archived from the original on 1 May 2007. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
  2. Lurie, Alison (11 November 1990). "Another Dangerous Story From Salman Rushdie". The New York Times. Retrieved 4 May 2009.
  3. The Satanic Verses controversy
  4. Kullmann, Thomas (1996). "Eastern and Western Story-Telling in Salman Rushdie's Haroun and the Sea of Stories". webdoc.sub.gwdg.de. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
  5. Rushdie, Salman (1990). Haroun and the Sea of Stories . London: Granta Books. pp.  215. ISBN   978-0-14-015737-6. Haroun and Rashid are both named after the legendary Caliph of Baghdad, Haroun al-Rashid, who features in many Arabian Nights tales. Their surname, Khalifa, actually means 'Caliph'.
  6. Actually meaning "speak!", since bolo is the imperative form of Hindi bolna "to speak".
  7. "बातचीत – Meaning in English". shabdkosh.com. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
  8. This being a pun once again, meaning 'gossip'. S.v. 'gap', McGregor, R. S. (ed.): Oxford Hindi-English Dictionary. Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2002.
  9. Davis, Peter G. (4 November 2004). "Good-Time Charlie". New York . Retrieved 28 August 2019. Review of Haroun and the Sea of Stories opera.