Chapter 1, The Shah of Blah Summary

In a ruined city so sad it has forgotten its name, that breathes black smoke from "sadness factories," lives a happy child, Haroun Khalifa, the only child of Rashid and Soraya. Known as the "Ocean of Notions" and the "Shah of Blah," Rashid is a storyteller, a juggler of tales. Rashid tells Haroun that the stories come from drinking "Story Waters" flowing from an invisible tap installed by Water Genies, a process "too complicated to explain." Haroun is dubious. The happiness ends as Soraya strays with the upstairs neighbor, Mr. Sengupta. Rashid smashes the clocks, freezing them at 11 o'clock, moans that storytelling is all he knows, but runs out of stories to tell. Haroun's attentions span shrinks to 11 minutes.

Invited to perform by the politicos in the Town of G in the nearby Valley of...