05739cam a2200469 4500 240246127 TxAuBib 20140811120000.0 ||||||s2010||||||||||||||||||||||||und|u 9780679603948 0679603948 B003EY7JHG Amazon bcd4b568-7a09-4e4b-b5a0-e0e3a4cc79cf OverDrive (Reserve ID) 158934 480554 OverDrive (Product ID) TxAuBib Rushdie, Salman. Luka and the Fire of Life [Libby eBook] : A Novel. Random House Publishing Group, 2010. Format: OverDrive Adobe EPUB eBook, Filesize: 2058kB. Format: OverDrive OverDrive Read. Format: OverDrive Kindle Book. HTML:Visions of Kipling and J.M. Barrie may swim through readers' heads as we meet 12-year-old Luka Khalifa, the child of his parents' middle age (<i>and</i> younger sibling to the previously eponymous Haroun), and an eager listener to lavish tales of the Magical World dreamed into being by his father Rashid, a celebrated storyteller aka "the Shah of Blah." When Rashid falls into a mysterious prolonged sleep (and hence a silence that raises memories of Rushdie's own "silenced" life as a writer following the <i>fatwa</i> issued by Ayatollah Khomeini), everything Luka has ever learned tells him he must brave the dangers of the Magical World, steal the revivifying Fire of Life from the Mountain of Knowledge and restore his beloved dad to consciousness. Guarded by animal companions (Bear the Dog, and Dog the Bear) and bedeviled by a "phantom Rashid" (aka "Nobodaddy"), the young Prometheus undertakes his heroic deed. He wins a riddling contest against the cantankerous Old Man of the River, encounters vicious Border Rats and compassionate Otters and assorted celebrities (including Mark Twain's Connecticut Yankee and The Terminator), en route to confronting the petty, egomaniacal gods of antiquity. Adult readers will rightfully delight in Rushdie's brilliant wordplay throughout, but younger ones may yearn for less cleverness and more narrative. Fortunately, the story gathers whiz-bang velocity once Luka has heatedly persuaded the sulky gods and monsters that "it's only through Stories that you can get out into the Real World and have some sort of power again.". Everything races briskly toward the satisfactory completion of Luka's quest, and a quite perfect final scene. HTML:<p><i>"You've reached the age at which people in this family cross the border into the magical world. It's your turn for an adventure--yes, it's finally here!"</i> So says Haroun to his younger brother, twelve-year-old Luka. The adventure begins one beautiful starry night in the land of Alifbay, when Luka's father, Rashid, falls suddenly into a sleep so deep that nothing and no one can rouse him. To save him from slipping away entirely, Luka embarks on a journey through the world of magic with his loyal companions, Bear, the dog, and Dog, the bear. Together they encounter a slew of fantastical creatures, strange allies, and challenging obstacles along the way--all in the hope of stealing the Fire of Life, a seemingly impossible and exceedingly treacherous task.</p>. "Fantastical, funny, whooping through drama and comedy, good and evil, introducing creatures delightful or frightening, this joyous and tender book is a whole Arabian Nights entertainment.". The Times Literary Supplement. "A lively, wonderfully inventive comic tale . . . [Rushdie's] own Sea of Stories from which he drew this entertaining and moving book continues to flow as clear and brilliant as ever.". The New York Times Book Review. "A baroque whirlwind of a narrative . . . [Rushdie helps] us escape from the present into a dreamlike past that ultimately makes us more aware of the dangers and illusions of our everyday lives.". Chicago Tribune. A celebration of storytelling, a possible prequel to the book Rushdie is said to be writing about his own enforced "slumber," and a colorful, kick-up-your-heels delight.". Kirkus Review, starred review. "Affectionate, tender, comical and joyful . . . The exuberance of this book makes one laugh with relief and pleasure.". The Washington Post Book World. "Brilliant . . . Rushdie's sumptuous mixture of history and fable is magnificent.". The Guardian (London.) "For Rushdie, as for the artists he writes about, the pen is a magician's wand.". Financial Times. Literature. Fiction. Media Type: eBook. 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