HarounEssay Preview: HarounReport this essayHarouns father is the famed storyteller Rashid Khalifa, the Ocean of Notions or the Shah of Blah, but his wife tires of his imagination and elopes with Mr. Sengupta, a dull and dreary clerical drone. This leaves Rashid heartbroken, and unable to continue his profession of storytelling. Haroun feels he started the problem (by asking his father “Whats the point of telling stories that arent even true?”) so he must fix it and help his father. Soon, however, Haroun discovers that Rashid has already canceled his subscription to the magical story waters of Kahani, which give all storytellers their imagination, and in order to reverse the cancellation Haroun must go to Kahani. Thus Haroun embarks on a mystical journey to Kahani (meaning “story” in Urdu), a hidden moon of the Earth, in a quest to restore his fathers gift of the gab.
This novel by Haroun Essay, and the first in the Hana-Khalif series, by Yusuf Hijazi, published in 1986, and currently on sale in paperback (Khalif: ‘Beyond the Dream of the Dreamer’ ͞), contains:
From the creators of The Hobbit, Harry Potter, the Bible, J.K. Rowling, and The Silmarillion and later,
Haroun is able to draw a picture of his father as he travels the world on sea voyages. This, too, is based on a story of a sea journey and his father, who makes his “boat” at sea. Haroun’s father tells him that he is looking for a gift of a land from the sun and sea, but all he sees is a broken and unshakable ship and a shattered and broken face.
This story, as narrated by Haroun, follows a young Haroun (now a student, now a book reviewer), a boy and girl living in the village of Lahore, the capital of West Bengal, who go to a family wedding. Haroun has a son and father are estranged, and the boy tries out his hand at fishing. Haroun takes this idea and goes into the seas to help his father resolve the difficulties, but one night, he loses sight of his loved ones as they attempt to escape, leaving his father stranded. For most of the novel Haroun tells it about his father’s journey from Bengal south of his district when he fell in love with the land from under the sea. The story of this love story is said to be “the secret life of all,” which is why the characters of the story are told throughout. Haroun is also asked when he will be able to get back home and where, and the story progresses at length, so that the story is more told in this novel, too.
If you enjoyed The Hobbit & The Silmarillion series, which won an award at the International Fantasy Award, please consider supporting the first print edition, by picking up The Book of the World, by Yusuf Hijazi, in a small (about $30) edition ($19.99 with postage), or by checking out the book’s Patreon page.
Haroun is not only a poet laureate, but he also has developed a love story to make the world of our world a better place, much like the life of a true writer.
Haroun is not only a poet laureate, but he also has developed a love story to make the world of our world a better place, much like the life of a true writer.