Haroun and the Sea of Stories

Haroun and the Sea of Stories is an allegory for several problems existing in society today, especially in the Indian subcontinent. It looks at these problems from the viewpoint of the young protagonist Haroun. Rushdie dedicated this book to his son, from whom he was separated for some time. Many elements of the story deal with the problems of censorship: an issue particularly pertinent to Rushdie because of the fatwa against him backed by Ayatollah Khomeini.^[3] The book is highly allusive and puns in multiple languages. Many of the major character’s names allude to some aspect of speech or silence.