Haroun and the Sea of Stories - Salman Rushdie

Salman Rushdie claims that he wrote it for his son. But, is this really meant for adolescents!

Salman Rushdie is a known english writer. Any wonder, his language skills earned him much praise and knighthood.

Well, one who has read some good stories from Arabian Nights can not comment on his stories.

But, these are supposed to be from one, who often depicts a city, its men as realistic as he can!

Salman Rushdie is better known for midnight's children - his grand book on mumbai(bombay!)

One would only give him some marks as he still writes well.

• 
  • Flag This Review
  • Irrelevant
  • Fake
  • Junk
• Thank You! We appreciate your effort.

This is the novel which I have completed recently. Though it was from a TV anchor’s interview I came to know about this book and not by my own preference to read it, but I thoroughly enjoyed the novel. As it ‘s written in the perspective of little boy, I loved it the most and now it’s in the list of one of my most favorite books.

The last time I read a “Salman Rushdie” was almost four years back. It was “Midnight’s Children”, and the language was too high and I could neither enjoy it nor read further after a couple of chapters. But thankfully “Haroun and the sea….” Was in a simple language. As the author dedicated the book to his son, he chose to write it in a lucid language making it an evident choice for ‘Books for Children’.

After reading some of those NRI authors who claim themselves as new age writers, who write nothing more than stereotyped melodrama which predominantly has Male chauvinism, freedom of a married women etc as the central theme but contributing nothing to either to the theme or to a fine read, I was not interested in the so called contemporary writing. ‘Everything happens for a reason’ by kavita daswani, French lover by Taslima Nasreen are a few to name. Infact after reading French Lover, I tore the first two pages and threw it away. Actually I have the habit of writing my name or putting my signature in the first two pages of the novels I buy, but this novel was such a bad one and indeed the worst of the novels I have read until date.

But “Haroun and the sea…” which I started with no anticipations turned out to be an alluring plot which talks about a virtual world where is totally out of the earth:). Well the “Kahani” is not a part of the globe but comes as non-explored cosmic body where in you find a sea made of numerous streams of stories and a villain who tries to destroy the epicenter of the source with anti-stories.

Though I’m not good in deciphering metaphors and allegorical scripts, the underlying thought in this novel didn’t require a great intellect to reveal it, but even a guy with a small-town breeding like me could even understand it. Not to forget the analogous characters which reside in the “kahani” have shared a lot or to be more appropriate have borrowed a lot of characteristics from their counterparts in the real world.

One such example would be the shadow warrior. His face paint is green and lips are scarlet, May be it’s a striking semblance with the made up face of a “Kathakali” Dancer who expresses with his “Mudras”. Though the climax is more predictable, the virtual world brought in by the author with all those close-to-real life characters made it a worthy read.

• 
  • Flag This Review
  • Irrelevant
  • Fake
  • Junk
• Thank You! We appreciate your effort.

It's hard to believe that Rushdie could write such a mesmorizing children book in the post-modern sytle. The book fits the children literature genre as it avoids didactic elements that most children hate.

Most fellows in googlejust compete to compare factual reference outside the book without enjoying the book itself which is the main idea that this text suggests.

It's too bad most people can't see the dismantle of Binarism. In this children book, Haroun makes the other earth's moon go round again. People in Gup and Chup would experience both light and darkness.

I am aware that Rushdie was banned in many Muslim countries( It's a religious and cultural right to ban it). But in academic shere where I am working now, we have to be as secular as we could to maintain diversity of thought.

I am also aware that each reader has different paradigm to judge things. Then, We can disagree with author.

To enjoy the story, we should not compare things in the real world with Fiction. Fiction is a kind of things human being want to release their tension. It's out of fashion to study social influence in Fiction( we call this kind of study Positivism).

It seems to be a lengthy book for young adult. By the way, I think this book will be wonderful introduction for freshmen people in literature major.

Rushdie's language is a kind hybrid( not dry like the first world's one)

The core idea of how the story works is absolutely profound. The book mocked a bunch of things such as the Monarch in general, the dictatorship controlling speech and the mass. This text did not suggest which side of the moon is the perfect place.

I don't think this book truly cherish the British regime. In the late part of the story "it's not as if we really let our crowned heads do anything very important around here."

I guess that P2C2E(Processes Too Complicated To Explain) in the story is Intertextuality claiming that each text has somehow borrowed things from other text. Author's creativity is therefore devalued as the matter of the teller. I agree that the copy right stuff sometimes can exploit people.

Many common idea shouldn't somebody's commodity.

One thing I can't answer is why the Chup land has to start war with Gup first?

Maybe you can help me!

• 
  • Flag This Review
  • Irrelevant
  • Fake
  • Junk
• Thank You! We appreciate your effort.