HAROUN AND THE SEA OF STORIES BY SALMAN RUSHDIE
PENGUIN BOOKS LTD (PAPERBACK), 1991
211 PAGES
BLURB FROM THE COVER
Haroun’s father is the greatest storyteller. His magical stories bring laughter to the sad city of Alifbay. But one day something goes wrong and his father runs out of stories to tell. Haroun is determined to return the storyteller’s gift to his father. So he flies off on the back of the Hoopie bird to the Sea of Stories – and an adventure begins.
EXTRACT
There was once, in the country of Alifbay, a sad city, the saddest of cities, so ruinously sad that it had forgotten its name. It stood by a mournful sea full of glumfish, which we so miserable to eat that they made people belch and melancholy even though the skies were blue.
REVIEW
This was my first time reading Salman Rushdie. He’s an author I’ve heard of but never got round to picking up. I couldn’t resist when I was in my library and saw this on the shelf. It sounded like a children’s fairytale or fable.
I really enjoyed this novel. I like the myth, fairytale and magic woven all the way through it. I thought the characters were well written and really interesting. I loved the concept of the novel, a gifted storyteller loses his gift and goes on a quest with his son to save stories and creativity. I found this novel a fun read. I liked the setting and the odd eccentricities of the world such as the places all being named with one letter and the confusion caused because there are so many duplicates. I loved the talking creatures and weirdness. I found this novel more impressive than I expected.
RATING
