Haroun and the Sea of Stories

Haroun and the Sea of Stories
Cover of the first edition
AuthorSalman Rushdie
LanguageEnglish
GenreMagic realism
PublisherGranta
Publication date
27 September 1990
Publication placeUnited Kingdom
Media typePrint (hardback & paperback)
Pages224
ISBN978-0-14-014223-5
OCLC22274689
823/.914 20
LC ClassPR6068.U757 H37 1990
Followed byLuka 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]

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.

  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