Haroun and the Sea of Stories
Cover of the first edition | |
| Author | Salman Rushdie |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Magic realism |
| Publisher | Granta |
Publication date | 27 September 1990 |
| Publication place | United Kingdom |
| Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) |
| Pages | 224 |
| ISBN | 978-0-14-014223-5 |
| OCLC | 22274689 |
| 823/.914 20 | |
| LC Class | PR6068.U757 H37 1990 |
| Followed by | Luka and the Fire of Life |
Haroun and the Sea of Stories is a 1990 children's novel 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.
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. 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.