Haroun and the Sea of Stories

All the stories have gone away. Not only have people stopped telling them, but the sea of stories is getting polluted, in a way. All the stories are mixing up and making the waters impossible to use. How important are stories to us? Aren't they just things to waste time? They aren't really necessary, are they?

Salman Rushdie's Haroun and the Sea of Stories, written in 1990, is a 211-page fantasy novel. I like this book because of the way it describes stories, as if they are actual things you can touch. Also, the idea that stories are useful for more than just having fun becomes clear when Rushdie describes a world without any stories. Why bother to tell stories about things that aren't true? Because things look pretty sad and boring without them.

Set in the sad, sad city of Alifbay, Haroun realizes something is wrong. One day, his mother stops singing in mid song. Another day, he asks one too many questions. Finally, on yet another day, his father's supply of Story Water is cut off. The stories have all stopped and Haroun must fix the mistake, bringing stories back to the world. Water Genies, mail delivery, Gup City, princes, and generals all lead Haroun toward the Sea of Stories.

Salman Rushdie's style is similar to Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland and Jean Ferris's Love Among the Walnuts. There's even a bit of a more grown-up Lemony Snicket (A Series of Unfortunate Events) here. Readers 15 years old and up will enjoy this book.