Haroun and the Sea of Stories
| Written by: | Salman Rushdie |
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| Central Theme: | |
| Synopsis: | |
| First published: | September 27, 1990 |
Haroun and the Sea of Stories is a fantasy children's book written by Salman Rushdie, following the adventures of Haroun Kahlifa as he sets out to restore his father's lost Gift of Gab and save the Sea of Stories from being destroyed forever.
Tropes used in Haroun and the Sea of Stories include:
- Arc Number: 11. After Haroun's mother, Soraya, leaves for Mr. Sengupta, Haroun is only able to concentrate on anything for eleven minutes, as 11:00 was when his mother left.
- Arc Words: "What's the use of stories that aren't even true?"
- Big Bad: Khattam-Shud, the leader of Chup
- Dark Is Not Evil: Played straight with Mudra the Shadow Warrior
- Meaningful Name: A variety of characters and places:
- Alifbay, the country where the actions on Earth take place, means "alphabet"
- Kahani, the name of the Earth's second moon ( and the sad city where Haroun's family is from, as revealed in the end), means "story"
- Khattam-Shud means "finished" or "over and done with"
- Kitab, the general of Gup, means "book" (his soldiers are also called "Pages")
- Mali, the Floating Gardener, means "gardener"
- Mudra is named after a gesture that makes of the language of Abhinaya, which he and his Shadow "speak".
- The Voiceless: Most of the Chupwalas, due to Khattam-Shud's vows of silence, though some may be unable to talk at all.
- Voice for The Voiceless: Rashid becomes this for Mudra, as he understands Abhinaya