The 305 Greatest Books - #192: Haroun and the Sea of Stories by Salman Rushdie

The next up on my reading of the 305 greatest books is Haroun and the Sea of Stories by Salman Rushdie. The book can be found on the Observer Book List.

Having just read Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie, I really enjoyed his writing style and wanted to read his other book that was on my list, Haroun and the Sea of Stories. Researching it, I discovered it was a children's book and was fairly short (~210 pages), which means I could likely finish it off fairly quickly. Turns out I could, I was able to read the book in four days, so that was the good part. The bad part is that, while it is a fine book, it does not deserve a place anywhere near this list. Within the story, Rushdie combines the feel of Alice in Wonderland and Dr. Seuss to present this whimsical fairy tale where a father and son are sent to save the Sea of Stories from those intent on destroying them. Rushdie litters the prose with jokes and word play, to the point it becomes practically insufferable. And while this is a children's book, the word play I could see giving children a difficult time to delve into the story. It took me a chapter or so before I was comfortable with it. I have run into this issue with the Observer list with numerous of the entries and I am starting to think that the list compiler purposefully chose this book over Rushdie's other works because he wanted something less popular. Overall, even though it is quick, I wouldn't recommend this to anyone, despite Rushdie's sometimes clever wordplay. 

The 305 Greatest Books - #191: Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie

The next up on my reading of the 305 greatest books is Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie. The book can be found on the Norwegian, BBC, and My Book Lists.

Salman Rushdie has become a rather infamous author over the last several decades, mostly because of another work of his, the 1988 work The Satanic Verses and the proceeding fatwa that was placed on him by the Ayatollah of Iran in 1989. Midnight's Children (1981) did not receive that sort of reception, however it is one of the few books I have left on my list that is on multiple 100 Greatest lists. Midnight's Children is about the life of Saleem Sinai who was born at the stroke of midnight on August 15th, 1947. Coincidently, the same day as India's Independence day from British rule. And because of this, Saleem had been gifted with "powers" (?), or maybe it is better termed "gifts". But not only him, but everyone born within that first hour of independence also had a wide range of gifts. And while that story sounds like it could be a fantastic fantasy novel, that is not this novel. While the book is named "Midnight's Children", the other children of midnight barely play a role within the novel, except here and there, and even then, they are sparingly used. So, if this book isn't about the powered people, then what is it about? And that is a good question because I'm still not entirely sure. We follow the course of Indian history, and Saleem's life, from a couple of generations before he is born, until he is in his thirties. And while Indian history plays a backdrop to the novel, at times it is directing the novel. Everything that is happening to him is due to India's primary players, people who actually do exist and events that had actually happened. And while the novel left me unfulfilled at the end, with an ending that wasn't really an ending, and characters plot lines that many of which were just left off or ended abruptly, I think that was the point of the story. And it made me think, while I didn't get the ending I wanted, the book ended in a way that it deserved. The writing style though I absolutely loved. So much so, that I immediately bought Rushdie's other book on my list, Haroun and the Sea of Stories, to begin reading immediately (a book that was referenced in Midnight's Children despite being written afterwards). So, yea, I would recommend this book because it was highly enjoyable, but prepare to have your expectations subverted. If you familiar with Indian history though, I feel you would get much more out of this book than those who are not (such as myself).