Haroun and the Sea of Stories: Chapter 1 Summary & Analysis

The story begins in a city in the country of Alfibay that is so sad it's forgotten its name. It stands by the sea and in its factories it manufactures sadness. A young boy named Haroun lives there with his mother, Soraya Khalifa, who loves to sing, and his father, Rashid Khalifa. Rashid is a storyteller, known by his admirers as the “Ocean of Notions” and by his rivals as the “Shah of Blah.” Haroun's upbringing was uncharacteristically happy, until the day Haroun's mother stopped singing. Rashid is so busy telling stories, he doesn't notice that Soraya has stopped singing.

Haroun accompanies his father to his performances every chance he gets, in awe of Rashid's talent. Haroun thinks of his father as a juggler of stories. Haroun, however, wants to know where all these fantastic stories come from, but whenever he asks his father about it, Rashid replies with a straight face that they come from the warm waters of the Story Sea, piped into the house through an invisible tap installed by a Water Genie. This answer irritates Haroun, as he's never seen a Water Genie. When he tells Rashid this, Rashid replies that Haroun must stop "Iffing and Butting" and enjoy the stories.

The Khalifas live in a downstairs apartment of a house that is colored like a cake, and they are solidly middle class. People in the sad city mostly have big families, but Haroun is an only child, and wants to know why. Rashid tells Haroun, "there's more to you, young Haroun Khalifa, than meets the blinking eye," which Haroun takes as no real answer. Soraya answers that they tried to have more children but were unable to, and tells Haroun to think of the poor childless Sengupta family that lives upstairs. Mr. Sengupta is a clerk and is whiny and “mingy” (mean and stingy), while Oneeta Sengupta is fat and dotes on Haroun.

Mr. Sengupta always talks to Soraya when Rashid isn't around, criticizing Rashid and his stories, insisting that there's no use in stories that aren't true. Haroun, eavesdropping from outside, decides that he doesn't like Mr. Sengupta, but he can't get the question "what's the use of stories that aren't even true?" out of his head.

In spite of Mr. Sengupta's disdain for stories, Rashid is in high demand with politicos (politicians) running for office, as it's an election year in Alfibay. Everyone has complete faith in Rashid because he's upfront that his stories are totally made up, but nobody believes the politicos, meaning that they need Rashid's help to win over the voters. Rashid can pick and choose which candidate he'd like to support, as they all want him to tell their stories.

On the day everything went wrong, it was the first day of the rainy season in the sad city, and Haroun took his time walking home from school to play in the downpour. Upon arriving at his house, he sees Miss Oneeta standing and shaking on her balcony, although he can't tell she's crying because of the rain. When he enters his house, Rashid is crying too. It’s revealed that Soraya ran off with Mr. Sengupta at precisely 11:00 am. She sent Rashid on a mission to Haroun's bedroom and while Rashid was occupied, sped away in a taxi. Rashid, noticing that the clock still stood at 11:00, smashed the clock with a hammer, and then went on to smash all the other clocks in the house. Upon finding out about his mother's departure, Haroun's first words were to ask his father why he'd smashed Haroun's clock.

Soraya left a note for Rashid filled with nasty things about him and about storytelling. Rashid pathetically cries that storytelling is all he knows, and Haroun loses his temper and shouts, "What's the use of stories that aren't even true?" These words haunt Haroun, and he blames himself when not long after, Rashid stands up in front of an audience, opens his mouth, and has no stories to tell.

After Soraya leaves, Haroun finds that he can't keep his attention on something for more than 11 minutes at a time, creating many difficulties in his life. Miss Oneeta realizes the source of the trouble, saying that 11:00 is when Soraya left, and Oneeta says that Haroun's psychological sadness means that he's stuck on 11 and can't get to 12. Haroun fears that this is true, and he wonders if the problem could be resolved if Soraya came back and started the clocks again.

Several days later, Rashid is invited by politicos to perform in the Town of G and the Valley of K. In an aside, the narrator notes that in Alfibay, many places are named after a letter in the alphabet, and since there are a limited number of letters, it causes much confusion and makes for excitable mail service employees. Rashid insists that he and Haroun go, since the weather is still nice in the Town of G and the Valley of K, while the rain in the sad city persists.

On the train, Rashid tells Haroun about the wonders of the Valley of K, particularly the beauty of the Dull Lake. Haroun stops listening after 11 minutes and Rashid stops talking too. They're met at the train station in the Town of G by two of the politico's henchmen, both with large moustaches, whom Haroun thinks look like villains. Rashid gets up on stage in front of the crowd to tell his story, opens his mouth, and all that comes out is, "ark, ark, ark."

Haroun and Rashid are shut in a hot office while the two large men yell at Rashid, suggesting that they'll cut off his tongue. Rashid tries to assure them that he will be magnificent in the Valley of K. Haroun, trying to diffuse the situation, asks when the plane leaves, and the men yell that Haroun and Rashid will have to take a bus. Haroun feels like it's all his fault and thinks again of the question, "what's the use of stories that aren't even true?" He feels he has to do something, but doesn't know what.