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Description edit
If you like to read a fiction that is so unrelistic that you like it then read it.
Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit
Summary edit
This is not the best book ever but he is what it is.
Mr. Buttoo gives him a second change and both Rashid and Haroun travel to the city of "K". During their first night there, Haroun awakes in the night to discover a water genie named Iff, who he travels with to Kahani. He then finds that...
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(warning: may contain spoilers)
Characters/People edit
- Haroun Khalifa: The son of Rashid. He must journey into Kahani to restore his father's storytelling talents before everything that's gone wrong gets even worse.
- Rashid Khalifa: Haroun's storytelling father. Also known as "the Ocean of Notions" and the "Shah of Blah."
- Soraya Khalifa: Haroun's mother
- Khattam-Shud: Leader of the Cult of Silence and the ultimate villain
- Butt the Hoopoe: Haroun's mechanical flying and talking bird machine, on which he journeys through Kahani
- Iff: A water genie from Kahani who originally comes to disconnect Rashid Khalifa's supply of story waters and reluctantly finds himself involved in a much larger plot.
- Prince Bolo: Add a description of this character.
- Prince Bolo: Prince in the land of Gup. Dashing but a little foolish.
- Batcheat: The princess in the land of Gup and love of Prince Bolo.
- Mr Buttoo
- Mr Sengupta
- Chattergy
- Blabbermouth
- Guppees
- Prince Bolo
- Kahani
Quotes edit
-
“They put on opposite acts, so nobody knows what they really feel; which may of course be a third thing completely.”
Haroun -
“Iff replied that the Plentimaw Fishes were what he called 'hunger artist'-'Because when they are hungry they swallow stories through every mouth, and in their innards miracles occur; a little bit of one story joins on to an idea from another, and hey prsto, when they spew the stories out they spew the stories out they are not old tales but new ones. Nothing comes from nothing. Thieflet; no story comes from nowhere; new stories are born from old-it is the new combinations that make them new.”
Iff the Water Genie
Setting & Locations edit
- Ocean
- Mali
- Chupwalas
- Gup City
- Dark Ship
- Walrus
- Chup City
- Valley of K
- Dull Lake
- Lagoon
- P2C2E: Processes Too Complicated To Understand
- Twilight Strip
- Moon (Kahani)
- Wall
First Sentence edit
There was once, in the country of Alifbay, a sad city, the saddest of cities, a city so ruinously sad that it had forgotten its name.
Table of Contents edit
1. The Shah of Blah
2. The Mail Coach
3. The Dull Lake
4. An Iff and a Butt
5. About Guppies and Chupwalas
6. The Spy’s Story
7. The Twilight Zone
8. The Shadow Warrior
9. The Dark Ship
11. Haroun’s Wish
12. Princess Batcheat
13. Was it the Walrus?
Glossary edit
- Abhinaya: is, in fact, the name of the Language of Gesture used in Indian classical dance.
- Alifbay: is an imaginary country. Its name comes from the Hindustani word for 'alphabet'.
- Batcheet: is from the Hindustani 'baat-cheet', that is 'chit-chat'.
- Bat-Mat-Karo: is from the Hindustani and means 'Do-Not-Speak'
- Bezaban: is from the Hindustani and means 'Without-a-Tongue'.
- Bolo: is from the Hindustani and comes from the verb 'bolna' to speak. 'Bolo! is the imperative: 'Speak!'
- Chup: derived from the Hindustani word (pronounce the 'u' like the 'oo' in 'good') mean 'quiet'; 'Chupwala' means something like 'quiet fellow'.
- The Dull Lake: which doesn't exist, gets its name from the Dal Lake in Kashmir, which does.
- Gup: derived from the Hindustani word (pronounce the 'u' as in 'cup') means 'gossip'. It can also mean 'nonsense' or 'fib'.
- Haroun and Rashid: are both named after the legendary Caliph of Baghdad, Haroun al-Rashid, who features in many Arabian Nights tales.
- Kahani: in Hindustani means 'story'.
- Kaamosh: in Hindustani means 'silent'.
- Khattam-Shud: in Hindustani means 'completely finished', 'over and done with'.
- Kitab: in Hindustani means 'book'.
- Mali: in Hindustani means 'gardener'.
- Mudra: who speaks Abhinaya, the Language of Gesture, is also named after it, in a way. A 'mudra' is any one fo the gestures that make up the language.
Themes & Symbolism edit
- Dangers of Censorship: Any kind of censorship stops the progression of ideas and enlightenment.
- The Power of Story: Imagination is the most important cognitive process. Humans need to read in order to use the imagination and in order to consciously and subconsciously experience archetypes. This makes people emotionaly stable, keeps them sane and helps them become more intelligent.
Series & Lists edit
This book is in Endicott's Adult Fairy Tales Reading List. (community list)
This is book 662 of 986 in 1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up. (authoritative list)
Preceded by Truckers, and followed by La casa pintada/The painted house (El Barco De Vapor).
Authors & Contributors edit
- Salman Rushdie (Author)
First Edition edit
Original Language: Add the language.
Publisher: Add the publisher.
Country: Add the country of publication.
Publication Date: Add the publication date.
ISBN: Add the ISBN.
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Add the publisher.
Country: Add the country of publication.
Publication Date: Add the publication date.
ISBN: Add the ISBN.
Page Count: 224
Awards edit
- Mythopoeic Fantasy Award (1992: Children's Literature, #1)
Classification edit
- Library of Congress: Add the Library of Congress Classification.
- Dewey: 828'.914
Subjects edit
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