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I'm surprised that Viking listed this as a children's literature. There's nothing risque in it of course, and it is structured a little like Alice in Wonderland, but I think it will appeal to both children and adults with its playful style and malleable language. There are a lot of puns, rhymes and plentiful wordplay.
Rushdie is ceaselessly inventive, and his stories within stories are both traditionally complex, and compulsively readable. I quite like the central symbol of the source for all the ...more
Rushdie is ceaselessly inventive, and his stories within stories are both traditionally complex, and compulsively readable. I quite like the central symbol of the source for all the ...more

Absolutely beautiful story!
I was a bit wary of reading it since I didn’t care for Rushdie’s Luka and the Fire of Life which is akin in that they’re both YA/children’s books and were both written for one of his sons. But Haroun is a lot deeper than Luka, and a lot more enjoyable.
On the surface, it’s a fun quest story about Haroun trying to get his father’s storytelling talent back. On a deeper level, there’s all sorts of metaphor about free speech; about how if speech is truly free, it MUST inc ...more
I was a bit wary of reading it since I didn’t care for Rushdie’s Luka and the Fire of Life which is akin in that they’re both YA/children’s books and were both written for one of his sons. But Haroun is a lot deeper than Luka, and a lot more enjoyable.
On the surface, it’s a fun quest story about Haroun trying to get his father’s storytelling talent back. On a deeper level, there’s all sorts of metaphor about free speech; about how if speech is truly free, it MUST inc ...more

I finally finished it! Hurrah! Hurray! It took me ten days to read this 210 page children’s book. I loathed it up until the last two chapters, then it was not loathsome merely meh, hence the two stars. I cleaned my house rather than read this book. I didn’t care for the characters, all the characterization was used up in their names: Princess Batcheat was batsh@t. This magical realism could have been a much better novel were it fantasy. (Which makes me want to read more magical realism. Is it al
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Outstanding story about stories! I loved the concept of a sea of stories with a wellspring where all stories originate. Rushdie's use of language was actually one of the main characters. I will visit this one again.
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Dec 31, 2008
Mekenzie Larsen
marked it as to-read


Dec 30, 2010
Cassie
marked it as to-read

Mar 29, 2011
Ivana
added it

May 02, 2011
Shellie (Layers of Thought)
marked it as to-read
Shelves:
genre-poetry-short-stories-plays



Mar 21, 2012
Reem
marked it as to-read

Feb 09, 2014
Michaela
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Oct 21, 2014
Neverdust
marked it as to-read

Nov 02, 2014
Sophie
marked it as to-read

Nov 19, 2014
Anki
marked it as to-read-wishlist

Feb 21, 2015
Beth
marked it as retelling-fairy-tales

Oct 23, 2015
Molly Ringle
marked it as to-read

Jan 04, 2016
Kyle
marked it as to-read

Jun 13, 2017
Carrie
marked it as to-read