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Haroun and the Sea of Stories (Penguin Drop Caps) Paperback – January 1, 1991

by Salman Rushdie (Author)
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 2,013 ratings
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A captivating fantasy novel for readers of all ages, by the author of Midnight’s Children and The Satanic Verses

“This is, simply put, a book for anyone who loves a good story. It’s also a work of literary genius.” —Stephen King

Set in an exotic Eastern landscape peopled by magicians and fantastic talking animals, Haroun and the Sea of Stories inhabits the same imaginative space as The Lord of the Rings, The Alchemist, The Arabian Nights, and The Wizard of Oz. Twelve-year-oldHaroun sets out on an adventure to restore his father’s gift of storytelling by reviving the poisoned Sea of Stories. On the way, he encounters many foes, all intent on draining the sea of all its storytelling powers.
 
In this wondrously delightful story, Salman Rushdie gives us an imaginative work of extraordinary power and endearing humor that is, at its heart, an illumination of the necessity of storytelling in our lives.
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  1. Part of series
    Penguin Drop Caps
  2. Print length
    224 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publisher
    Granta Books/Penguin
  5. Publication date
    January 1, 1991
  6. Grade level
    12 - 6
  7. Reading age
    18 years and up
  8. Dimensions
    7.6 x 5 x 0.7 inches
  9. ISBN-10
    9780140157376
  10. ISBN-13
    978-0140157376
  11. Lexile measure
    940L
  12. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

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.

"And if you are very, very careful, or very, very highly skilled, you can dip a cup into the Ocean," Iff told Haroun, "like so," and here he produced a little golden cup from another of his waistcoat pockets, "and you can fill it with water from a single, pure Stream of Story, like so," as he did precisely that.

From Publishers Weekly

In a contemporary fable filled with riotous verbal pranks, Haroun, who unintentionally stopped time when he froze his father's esteemed storytelling ability, seeks to undo his error on a quest through a magical realm. "As eloquent a defense of art as any Renaissance treatise . . . saturated with the hyperreal color of such classic fantasies as The Wizard of Oz and Alice in Wonderland ," said PW.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ 0140157379
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Granta Books/Penguin; First Edition (January 1, 1991)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 224 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9780140157376
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0140157376
  • Reading age ‏ : ‎ 18 years and up
  • Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 940L
  • Grade level ‏ : ‎ 12 - 6
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.6 x 5 x 0.7 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 2,013 ratings

About the authors

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  1. Tim Supple

    Tim Supple

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  2. Salman Rushdie

    Salman Rushdie

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    Sir Salman Rushdie is the author of many novels including Grimus, Midnight's Children, Shame, The Satanic Verses, The Moor's Last Sigh, The Ground Beneath Her Feet, Fury and Shalimar the Clown. He has also published works of non-fiction including The Jaguar Smile, Imaginary Homelands, The Wizard of Oz and, as co-editor, The Vintage Book of Short Stories.

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Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
2,013 global ratings
Haroun and the sea of stories
5 Stars
Haroun and the sea of stories
Oh what a beautiful story! This was my first time reading Salman Rushdie and all I can say is that Haroun and the Sea of Stories is a creative, magical and sweet journey to protect what we most value as a society: words and speech. The whole story is an allegory of the importance of identity and speech and defeating ultimate evil Khattam-Shud or oppression.5 stars for the author's use of words, puns, jokes and specially for the name selection of the characters and places.
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Top reviews from the United States

amanooensis
5.0 out of 5 stars Fun, colorful, and -- if you want it to be -- thoughtful. Great!
Reviewed in the United States on July 6, 2015
Verified Purchase
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!
30 people found this helpful
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Gabriela Marotta
5.0 out of 5 stars Haroun and the sea of stories
Reviewed in the United States on June 22, 2023
Verified Purchase
Oh what a beautiful story! This was my first time reading Salman Rushdie and all I can say is that Haroun and the Sea of Stories is a creative, magical and sweet journey to protect what we most value as a society: words and speech. The whole story is an allegory of the importance of identity and speech and defeating ultimate evil Khattam-Shud or oppression.
5 stars for the author's use of words, puns, jokes and specially for the name selection of the characters and places.
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Gabriela Marotta
5.0 out of 5 stars Haroun and the sea of stories
Reviewed in the United States on June 22, 2023
Oh what a beautiful story! This was my first time reading Salman Rushdie and all I can say is that Haroun and the Sea of Stories is a creative, magical and sweet journey to protect what we most value as a society: words and speech. The whole story is an allegory of the importance of identity and speech and defeating ultimate evil Khattam-Shud or oppression.
5 stars for the author's use of words, puns, jokes and specially for the name selection of the characters and places.
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4 people found this helpful
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Katharine Gibson
4.0 out of 5 stars Haroun and the sea of stories
Reviewed in the United States on December 4, 2020
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This is a book about a young kid, Haroon who has to restore his fathers power to tell stories. He goes into a magical land and finds out that the sea of stories, where all stories are made is being poisoned. It is up to Haroun and his friends to save all stories from dying away. Lets start with the good. Haroun and the sea of stories is a wonderful fantasy, that locks you into the book and does not leave you out till the very end. It has likebeale charecters, a good writing style, and a very creative plot. There are a couple things I did not like. It felt like there were two aouthors. One would write about haroons adventure in the magical land, and one would write about Haroon and his friends. They did not seem to work together. This is only a minor complaint thougth, and I am probaly being picky. My second complaint is this: The part at the end seems like an excuse for a happy ending. It was not terrible but that was what I felt. Ultimately I recomend this book
2 people found this helpful
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Joyfully Retired
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant, delightful, and just plain fun!
Reviewed in the United States on October 18, 2017
Verified Purchase
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!
15 people found this helpful
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TonySueB
5.0 out of 5 stars If you love great writing, you will love this book. A great place to begin an acquaintance with Rushdie
Reviewed in the United States on October 11, 2015
Verified Purchase
Do not be intimidated by the fact that this was written by Salman Rushdie and all that may imply. He is a great author and this is an excellent book to start with. It is short and many layered. It was written as a bedtime story for his children. I did not know this when I bought the hardbound volume years ago. after reading it, I wondered if my five year old daughter might enjoy my reading it to her at night. I asked her to promise to allow me to read the first two chapters before she decided if she would let me go on. I received an enthusiastic request to read all of it.

In addition to being appealing to children - it is funny at time; it is an adventure and it is picturesque - it is about the creative process (writing in particular) and enjoys twists on popular western cultural icons and names as well as labels. It carries sophisticated jokes and word play that is pleasing to children on one level and to adults on another. Almost in the manner that Rocky and Bullwinkle appeal across age ranges.

I purchased the digital version and am going to create an audio book for my daughter at her request. She is now out of college...
13 people found this helpful
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UnHappy customer
3.0 out of 5 stars A good children's story.
Reviewed in the United States on June 9, 2016
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A good children's story. This is the first book I've read by this author. I'm not sure it's an accurate representative of his other works, but it was fun read. I think it would make a great children's book-I would certainly have enjoyed it as a kid.
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Short Stories
5.0 out of 5 stars The Formidable Short Stories
Reviewed in the United States on January 28, 2024
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The art of the language
One person found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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Steve C
5.0 out of 5 stars Good story
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 4, 2024
Verified Purchase
Good story, well told, might've been bought for the children, but I read it as well (shame this wasn't around in the 1950's when I started reading)
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U. B.
5.0 out of 5 stars The power of speech
Reviewed in Germany on March 31, 2023
Verified Purchase
A great book, not just for children. The scenery of much of the novel is the imaginary moon Kahani, where stories originate in an ocean of stories. Kahani is divided between the Land of Gup and the Land of Chup. In the latter, not just the freedom of speech is restricted, but it is even not allowed to speak. Khattam-Shud, the ruthless ruler of Chup, tries to poison the ocean of stories so that all stories go wrong and come to a bad end. Asked why, he says "... all worlds ... they are all there to be ruled". Central parts of the book are about the contrast between a liberal society ("And is not the Power of Speech the greatest Power of all?") and dictatorship. Most characters in the novel are male, nonetheless it is a girl that saves many lives by impeding an attempted assault initiated by Khattam-Shud. And there is a happy end.
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Emily
5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome read
Reviewed in Canada on August 5, 2020
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Awesome story. The book was itself was so pretty. Good story for kids wanting to read chapter books
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Client d'Amazon
5.0 out of 5 stars Très bien
Reviewed in France on March 16, 2021
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Bon état
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Sharida
5.0 out of 5 stars Mooi boek.
Reviewed in the Netherlands on June 9, 2020
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Boek is in goede staat en mooi om te zien.
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