A Book A Week (a reprisal): Haroun and the Sea of Stories by Salman Rushdie

Haroun and the Sea of Stories by Salman Rushdie, Granta, 1990, via Penguin paperback (personal copy)

Some books come back to us again and again, each time leaving a slightly different print on our brains. Haroun’s tale of his adventures on the moon Kahani is one of those stories for our family. We have read this book out loud three times now, and several of us have read it individually. The beautiful and twisty language is so much fun to read aloud. Here’s what I said about the book when we read it back in February of 2010. 

The inventive and lyrical language of the book lends itself to fun out-loud reading. Haroun’s father is a storyteller, but after a family upheaval dad has lost his gift of gab. Haroun sets off on a wild fantasy to help restore the flow of his dad’s stories as well as saving the source of that flow—the Ocean of the Streams of Stories—from the nefarious plot of a fiction-hating poisoner. With fairytale elements, imaginative characters (genies, mechanical birds, Plentimaw fishes) emotional honesty, and outright silliness, this book would appeal to middle-grade readers, but is also easy to follow for younger kids. The glossary includes an explanation of the names in the book, many of which are Hindustani in origin. I cannot recommend this one enough.

I’ll add one more bit this time. This book packs a lot of inspiration for me as a writer and appreciator of stories. The idea of a story tap that brings the Ocean of the Streams of Story right to the mouth of the storyteller is fabulous metaphor. The description of the way in which the stories live in the Ocean—their colors, their mingling, their age, their major qualities—is just such a cool way of thinking about the storytelling process. I aspire to be as creative as a Plentimaw Fish, and as judicious as a Floating Gardener. To see what I mean, you have to read this book. 

Rusdhie has published another book in this universe, Luka and the Fires of Life. We have not read it yet, but if Rushdie delivers a little brother that’s anything like Haroun, the book will be delightful to read.