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THE THERAPEUTIC NOVEL: RUSHDIE’S HAROUN AND THE SEA OF STORIES AND LUKA AND THE FIRE OF LIFE

  • Laura MĂCINEANU

DOI
https://doi.org/10.29302/InImag.2024.15.1.10
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 15, no. 1
pp. 257 – 276

Abstract

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This paper aims to examine the therapeutic valences of two of Salman Rushdie’s most celebrated works belonging to magical realism: Haroun and the Sea of Stories (1990) and Luka and the Fire of Life (2010). We can detect here three levels of research. The first can be found in the fabric of each of the two novels. One of the main themes, which pervades the entire plot, is that of storytelling as a way of enchanting and re-enchanting the world, of saving it from destruction and bringing it back to life. The writer demonstrates repeatedly how stories and knowledge of stories have the power of bringing joy into people’s hearts, even saving their lives as some magical medicine or a miraculous solution to a grievous problem in the real world can only be found in the parallel fantastic reality. A second level of understanding discussed in this paper is that of the novels themselves having therapeutic value for their readers. The healing power of reading cannot be overlooked and to peruse these two books in particular is sheer delight. It is also argued here that in an age when stress is a commonplace term, reading may provide us with the necessary means in order for us to create an alternate, more accommodating, reality to help us cope. Last but not least, the act of writing the books is, in itself, a therapeutic endeavor on the part of the author, as Rushdie himself confessed in an interview: “I often feel I don’t need therapists, I don’t need psychiatrists, because I do it myself every day of my life” (TOI Books, 2021).We can conclude, therefore, that the two novels are perfect illustrations of how narratives constitute an effective form of therapy for the storytellers’ audience (be they characters or readers) and for storytellers themselves.

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