I’ve wanted to read something by Salman Rushdie for quite a while, but I never seemed to find any time to do so. So, when my professor added this book to her course’s list, I was ready for it. I knew a little about Rushdie’s life, which is very interesting.

This is a book that will speak powerfully to any writer that suffers from the infamous “writer’s block”. In it, a storyteller, Rashid Khalifa, is left without the will to write or tell stories at all after his wife leaves him. This was the part that spoke to me the most, because I’ve never seen many good depictions of depressed people in fiction. Even if the book doesn’t say it explicitly, it was pretty clear to me that Rashid was suffering from depression. And of course, it affects his ability to tell stories.

This is when his son, Haroun, steps in. One night, he’s awakened by a genie, Iff, who tells him that they’re cutting his father’s connection to the Sea of Stories, therefore ending Rashid’s capacity as a storyteller. Of course, Rashid decides to embark in a fantastic journey to save his father’s imagination. He’s joined with all kinds of friends who help him in his enterprise. Especial mention to Blabbermouth, a girl that dresses as a boy to be a Page in Gup’s palace, and she is badass. And I had a lot of fun reading about princess Batcheat (who doesn’t seem to be anything like the typical fairy tale princess) and prince Bolo. I think they were just making fun of the typical fairy tales and made me laugh so many times with their melodrama and the constant allusions to Batcheat’s ugliness and bad singing.

For me, this book is more than just a fairy tale. It is one, of course; but it is also a powerful book about the power of stories to change our lives, and the power of imagination. The enemies in this book are people who want to silence everybody, in contrast with the chattering and noisy Gup. It’s very interesting that at first, silence is presented as evil, but as the novel progresses, it becomes obvious that silence itself is not evil. It is only when it is used to dominate others that it becomes bad. In the end, both noise and silence manage to find balance.

Rushdie’s style, also, is very beautiful. He clearly has a way with words that makes his entire story very easy and lovely to read. The words seem to flow easily and it creates a sort of music that is hard to resist. In a way, it reminded me of the few stories I’ve read from the A Thousand and One Nights (which may be obvious, considering Rushdie’s cultural background). But there are also references to other stories: Alice in Wonderland, different folktales, Peter Pan, and so on. And it makes sense, because the book’s plot is centered around the Sea of Stories, which apparently is where all stories come from.

This is a book for children ages 1-99, and for writers. After all, it’s talking about the place where our own stories come from. Especially recommended for any writer who is going through a writing block, or anyone who’s suffered from depression. I think this shows a light at the end of the tunnel and it’s awesome.