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"Neverwhere" by Neil Gaiman Neverwhere is the story of Richard Mayhew, a young London businessman with a good heart and an ordinary life, which is changed forever when he is plunged through the cracks of reality into a world of shadows and darkness—the Neverwhere. Learn more | See related books
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Product Details
Hardcover: 240 pages
Publisher: Random House; 1 edition (November 16, 2010)
Salman Rushdie's fable "Luka and the Fire of Life" is a fun book about Luka, the son of Rashid Khalifa, a storyteller, and Soraya, a woman of scientific bent. Rashid and Soraya were older parents with a son already full grown when they had Luka, so Luka feels vaguely embarrassed, more so than do most adolescents in search of adventure. That his older brother Haroun already had an awesome adventure of his own (told in Rushdie's earlier "Haroun and the Sea of Stories") just put pressure on Luka to find something, anything that he could call his own. That Luka has two interesting pets -- a bear he calls Dog and a dog he calls Bear -- that came from a dying circus only adds to Luka's internal frustration that he hasn't yet had adventures -- and now that he's hitting puberty, he wants his own adventure.
This is a fable and has the conventions of a fable or fairy tale, yet it's a modern one in that Rushdie nods many times toward the audience as if to say, "Guess what? I'm having fun with this, and you should, too." It's mostly a wry commentary on families, life, and how everyone is searching for his own identity in his own way -- but it's done so well, and with so much brio, that it's almost impossible not to like it even though if you've read many fables or fairy tales, you know how this is going to end.
So plot by itself is really not the upthrust of this book; rather, I'd say this is a book to seek out if you enjoy language, social commentary, and a sideways look at our ever-shrinking world. It's enjoyable, witty, fast-paced in its own way (remember, it's fast-paced for a _fable_), and fun.
Four stars. Recommended.
Barb Caffrey
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76 of 91 people found the following review helpful
Luka's father is dying, and, without Luka's help he will soon be gone. But what can a 12-year-old boy do to save his father? As it turns out -- quite a lot.
Luka's story was created by Salman Rushdie for his own 12-year-old son, Luka. The novel is filled with contemporary references, clever puns, and wonderful language, so why would I rate it only three stars? Let me explain:
PROS:
This is my first experience reading Salman Rushdie, and it's quite a treat. Mr. Rushdie has wide-ranging classical knowledge which he brings to his narrative. His use of the English language is stunning. For the first 100 pages of this novel, I was charmed by his skills.
CONS:
For me, the problem with this novel is the story. In spite of the wonderful language, I was never able to connect with the story. In fact, after the first 100 pages, I found myself skimming rather than engrossing myself in the reading. Too bad, because Mr. Rushdie is a wonderful writer -- but a not-as-good story creator.
To illustrate: A dog named Bear, and a bear named Dog, were amusing when first introduced, but this name reversal quickly grew stale and, eventually, annoying. Although these two characters contributed to the story, it was not enough to rescue a tale that stretched on far too long.
So, would I buy this novel for my own 12-year-old son? No. I don't find the story strong enough to hold (what I remember of) his interest.
STARS:
For his writing, five stars.
For the story, two stars.
Average: 3.5 stars
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What a father Salman Rushdie would make! Imagine being read to from a book that opens with "a boy named Luka who had two pets, a bear named Dog and a dog named Bear." And then to learn that the former "was an expert dancer, able to get up onto his hind legs and perform with subtlety and grace the waltz, the polka, the rhumba, the wah-watusi, and the twist, as well as dances from nearer home, the pounding bhangra, the twirling ghoomar (for which he worse a wide mirror-worked skirt), the warrior dances known as the spaw and the thang-ta, and the peacock dance of the south." For Rushdie is a wizard with words, taking us in a sentence from ordinary to exotic and back again. This is a book for children to hear with wonder and for adults to understand, for Rushdie's range of reference (and fondness for erudite puns) is immense.
Luka Khalifa is the much younger brother of the title character in HAROUN AND THE SEA OF STORIES, Rushdie's earlier fantasy for the child in all of us. His father, the great storyteller, the Shah of Blah, is in a coma and Luka must journey into the Magic World to steal the Fire of Life before his being is sucked away by the spectral Nobodaddy, who becomes more and more visible as he empties the dying man of his substance. The quest involves the assistance of elephant-headed Memory Birds, a shape-changing dragon called Nuthog, and the benevolent but fierce-speaking Insultana of Ott, who provides a magic carpet to take Luka much of the way to his destination. But Luka is no shrinking violet himself.Read more ›
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22 of 28 people found the following review helpful
While this book is a follow-up to Haroun and the Sea of Stories, you don't have to have read it to appreciate Luka's story. It is another magical journey into the enchanted world of Luka's father, Rashid's imagination. The poetic analogy of videogames as alternate reality, which was an ongoing theme throughout Luka's adventure, was hilarious. There were great pop-culture and literary references that made me chuckle and an abundance of cameos of mythological creatures from various cultures. Luka's great quest to find the Fire of Life to save Rashid, the allies he acquires along the way, and the final battle against Time were reminiscent of Wonderland, Oz, and a variety of other well-known favorite fantasy worlds. Though I'm afraid my imagination has become less imaginative to appreciate these whimsical expeditions, I still found it charming and clever.
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