Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Luka and the Fire of Life
    Luka and the Fire of Life
    Luka and the Fire of Life
    Audiobook7 hours

    Luka and the Fire of Life

    Written by Salman Rushdie

    Narrated by Lyndam Gregory

    3.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    With the same dazzling imagination and love of language that have made Salman Rushdie one of the great storytellers of our time, Luka and the Fire of Life revisits the magic-infused, intricate world he first brought to life in the modern classic Haroun and the Sea of Stories. This breathtaking new novel centers on Luka, Haroun's younger brother, who must save his father from certain doom. For Rashid Khalifa, the legendary storyteller of Kahani, has fallen into deep sleep from which no one can wake him. To keep his father from slipping away entirely, Luka must travel to the Magic World and steal the ever-burning Fire of Life. Thus begins a quest replete with unlikely creatures, strange alliances, and seemingly insurmountable challenges as Luka and an assortment of enchanted companions race through peril after peril, pass through the land of the Badly Behaved Gods, and reach the Fire itself, where Luka's fate, and that of his father, will be decided. Filled with mischievous wordplay and delving into themes as universal as the power of filial love and the meaning of mortality, Luka and the Fire of Life is a book of wonders for all ages.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateDec 10, 2010
    ISBN9781449844547
    Luka and the Fire of Life
    Author

    Salman Rushdie

    Salman Rushdie is the author of many acclaimed novels, including Midnight’s Children (winner of the Booker Prize and the Best of the Booker), Grimus, Shame, The Satanic Verses, Haroun and The Sea of Stories, The Moor’s Last Sigh, The Ground Beneath Her Feet, Fury, Shalimar the Clown, The Enchantress of Florence, Luka and the Fire of Life, and Two Years Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights—and a collection of short stories: East, West. He has also published works of nonfiction, including Joseph Anton (a memoir of his life under the fatwa issued after the publication of The Satanic Verses), The Jaguar Smile, Imaginary Homelands, and Step Across This Line—and co-edited the anthologies, Mirrorwork and Best American Short Stories. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and a Distinguished Writer in Residence at New York University. A former president of PEN American Center, Rushdie was knighted in 2007 for services to literature.

    More audiobooks from Salman Rushdie

    Related to Luka and the Fire of Life

    Related audiobooks

    Literary Fiction For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      The Right Time

      Oct 14, 2019

      The Right Time
      5 min read

    • Article

      A Literary Zoo

      Dec 9, 2021

      A Literary Zoo
      4 min read

    • Article

      Books And Music

      Sep 29, 2023

      by Tony Park, Macmillan R350 in bookstores Australian author Tony Park has developed a winning recipe for his thrillers set in Africa: a cast of welldeveloped characters, wildlife crime and high-stakes plots that play out at a fast pace. In Vendetta,

      5 min read

    • Article

      Think Outside The Fox

      Dec 13, 2023

      Think Outside The Fox
      5 min read

    • Article

      Lord’s Work

      May 26, 2019

      Lord’s Work
      6 min read

    • Article

      Mark The Spot

      Jul 10, 2023

      Mark The Spot
      6 min read

    • Article

      King Of The Jungle

      Aug 2, 2023

      King Of The Jungle
      6 min read

    • Article

      On High

      Jul 4, 2021

      On High
      5 min read

    • Article

      Weird World Folklore Frenzy

      Oct 6, 2022

      Weird World Folklore Frenzy
      2 min read

    • Article

      Weird World Folklore Frenzy

      Oct 6, 2022

      Weird World Folklore Frenzy
      2 min read

    • Article

      Moments In Time

      Aug 12, 2022

      Moments In Time
      9 min read

    • Article

      Timeless Movement

      Jan 30, 2018

      Timeless Movement
      10 min read

    • Article

      The Dancing Skinny

      Jul 11, 2019

      The Dancing Skinny
      12 min read

    • Article

      Why The Whale Lives In The Sea

      Apr 1, 2024

      Why The Whale Lives In The Sea
      3 min read

    • Article

      Flights Of Fantasy

      Dec 9, 2020

      Flights Of Fantasy
      5 min read

    • Article

      Full-moon Adventures

      Aug 31, 2022

      Full-moon Adventures
      6 min read

    • Article

      Country Diary

      Feb 1, 2023

      Country Diary
      2 min read

    • Article

      The Sweetness Of Nature

      Aug 12, 2020

      The Sweetness Of Nature
      4 min read

    • Article

      Two Urewera Twelves

      Apr 5, 2023

      Two Urewera Twelves
      9 min read

    • Article

      Carry On Again Up The Jungle

      May 18, 2023

      Carry On Again Up The Jungle
      14 min read

    • Article

      Read! Read!

      Jan 15, 2024

      Lil and her pet crow, Augustus Scratchy, live at the Squawking Mackerel inn, where Lil does the grossest jobs (and Augustus steals). A villainous gang is attacking travellers, and customers are scared. Joining forces with Ned, a new servant, Lil plot

      1 min read

    • Article

      Great Read

      Sep 7, 2022

      Great Read
      7 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Luka and the Fire of Life

    3.5/5

    181 ratings13 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 3/5
      Neither quite as magical nor child-appropriate as the first one. It is, in truth, a bit long-winded at times. Instead of being entranced by the prose as with Haroun and the Sea of Stories, I found myself rather adrift in it.
    • 3/5
      Fantasi Salman Rushdie dalam Luka and The Fire Of Life ialah fantasi seorang tukang cerita yang cuba menanamkan kepada pembaca-pembacanya terutama pembaca muda bahawa dunia tanpa cerita ialah dunia kosong yang harus dilawan habis-habisan.

      Dengan menggabungkan fantasi moden (melalui penggunaan unsur-unsur permainan video) dan fantasi silam (penggunaan mitologi sebagai sebahagian watak dalam dunia magik), Rusdie menghamparkan sebuah dunia ciptaan beliau sepertimana Lewiss Caroll dengan Wonderland, C.S Lewis dengan Narnia atau Tolkien dengan Underworld.

      Dengan mendedikasikan novel ini kepada anaknya Milan, tidak dapat tidak warna penceritaan fantasi dunia magis ini adalah warna ceria dengan plot-plot mudah serta pengakhiran happy ending. Tapi, Salman Rusdie tidak akan merendahkan bakat penceritaannya dengan menjadikan tugas penceritaan semudah itu. Kekuatan sebenar novel ini ialah kekuatan bahasa Rusdie sendiri selain imaginasi tinggi beliau dalam melukiskan perjalanan Luka di alam World of Magic bagi mencari (atau mencuri) Fire of Life iaitu satu-satunya penawar ayahnya Rashid Khalifa iaitu seorang pencerita ulung yang tiba-tiba tidak sedarkan diri.

      Terdapat berdozen ayat-ayat yang menunjukkan kelincahan bahasa Salman Rusdie. Sedikit contoh:

      - "There is a boy named Luka who had two pets, a bear named Dog and a dog named Bear. The bear 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 wore a wide mirror-worked skirt), the warrior dances known as the spaw and the thang-ta, and the peacock dance of the south."
      - "Magic is fading from the universe. We aren't needed any more, or that's what you all think, with your High Definitions and low expectations. One of these days you'll wake up and we'll be gone, and then you'll find out what it's like to live without even the idea of Magic."
      - "You of all boys should know that Man is the Storytelling Animal, and that in stories are his identity, his meaning, and his lifeblood. Do rats tell tales? Do porpoises have narrative purposes? Do elephants ele-phantasize? You know as well as I do that they do not. Man alone burns with books"
      -"Shining schools of little cannyfish could be seen below the surface, as well as the brightly colored smartipans, and the duller, deepwater shrewds. Flying low over the water’s surface were the hunter birds, the large pelican-billed scholarias and the bald, bearded, long-beaked guroos. Long tendrils of the lake-floor plant called sagacity were visible waving in the depths. Luka recognized the Lake’s little groups of islands, too, the Theories with their wild, improbable growths, the tangled forests and ivory towers of the Philosophisles, and the bare Facts. In the distance was what Luka had longer to behold, the Torrent of Words, the miracle of miracles, the grand waterfall that tumbled down from the clouds and linked the World of Magic to the Moon of the Great Story Sea above" - Diskripsi Rusdie tentang The Lake of Wisdom.

      Dan banyak lagi kelincahan bahasa Rusdie yang membuat pembacaan sangat menyeronokkan. Dan jika anda mempunyai imaginasi seorang kanak-kanak, dunia fantasi World of Magic ialah dunia yang sangat mengiurkan untuk advancer.
    • 3/5
      Haroun and the Sea of Stories was my very first Rushdie book, and I have come to fall in love with his work. Haroun is very different from his other novels though, and Luka continues in the same vein as Haroun. I think nobody expected Luka to be as great as Haroun, so the end result is a very entertaining wordplay-filled book for children. What I liked most about the novel is all the mythological gods that Rushdie managed to cram in, it's great when the world is reminded of old stories. That being said, I much much more strongly recommend Haroun and the Sea of Stories.
    • 3/5
      Not as good as 'Haroun and the Sea of Stories' but still a wonderful book! The video game theme all throughout is delightful!
    • 4/5
      Nov 22, 2010 I saw Salman Rushdie read Luka and the Fire of Life at the 92 Street Y. The reading told me that Luka's story is told in the smart and funny way Haroun's was told. Perhaps, again, a bit too wordy at times, and perhaps a bit too smart at times, but certainly a good, thought-provoking yet smart and fun read. The interview was hilarious. Rushdie commented on the video-game nature of the parallel magical world. He said he got dangerously good at Super Mario back in the day and rescued the princess in the end, even. He joked that he should certainly add that in his CV, between the Booker Prize and having won a fatwa for his head. He also joked about a certain best-selling author; apparently he imagines her to be swimming in a large pool of money a la Uncle Scrooge. At the signing, I asked him which of his books are his favorites. He told me, "You know, probably these two." I was getting my copy of Haroun and the Sea of Stories signed.

      Nov 28, 2011 Well, it's been a year and I finally read Luka. As expected from the reading a year ago, the book is too wordy and too smart at times, perhaps even more than Haroun (though not as bad as The Enchantress of Florence.) However, the parallel world is exquisite. The side characters are hilarious and interesting. The storyline is classic, as it is meant to be, where Rushdie employs all the conventions of storytelling expertly. There are times where the plot is a bit crazy, but Rushdie is too smart to let the reader down. It is interesting that in the book the two brothers lead a relatively happy life with their father and mother, whereas in real life Rushdie has been married four times and the sons are from different mothers (with a greater age difference.) He had mentioned that he wrote the book partly because he was nervous about being a father at such an old age and knowing that he may very well die in his son's early life. It is particularly interesting how Rushdie deals with this issue in the book from the point of view of Luka. It is also interesting that in Haroun, the mother is completely absent whereas in Luka, she is present and essential throughout the book. All in all, Luke and the Fire of Life was a fun read and a good story.
    • 5/5
      Salman Rushdie has a reputation for prose that tends to be dense to the point of un-readability. I believe this view has developed solely from The Satanic Verses, which is, admittedly, a difficult read. But lately, Rushdie has published a number of books that are not only eminently readable, but interesting and thoroughly entertaining. His 2010 novel, Luka and the Fire of Life proves this point.Luka’s father, Rashid, has an unparalleled talent for telling stories. He has created whole worlds full of interesting characters, places, and ideas, which become real for Luca, when he actually travels to “The World of Magic.” One day, Rashid falls into a deep sleep, which puzzles the doctors. Luka, concerned for his father, takes an errant step, and slips into the world his father created. The wraith, Nobodaddy, slowly absorbs Rashid’s life forces, and, should he absorb all of them, he will die. Luka decides if his father dies, his stories, and the world he created, will die with him. The young boy embarks on a classic hero’s journey to steal the fire of life, restore his father to health, and save the World of Magic.Rushdie has bathed this novel in the art of storytelling. In fact, the entire story is about stories and the lessons they teach us. Luka also fits nicely into Joseph Campbell’s keys to his theory of myth. Luka reluctantly answers the call to adventure, he has helpers and supernatural assistance, he must cross the threshold of The River of Time, he must complete the last leg of his journey alone, and he returns to his home. But will he make it in time to save his father? Another interesting and fun aspect of this work includes the numerous embedded cultural references that seem way out of time and place in the World of Magic. For example, while looking at “The River of Time,” Luka sees, “Running along the bank was a white rabbit wearing a waistcoat and looking worriedly at a clock. Appearing and disappearing at various points on both banks was a dark blue British police telephone booth, out of which a perplexed-looking man holding a screw driver would periodically emerge. A group of dwarf bandits could be seen disappearing into a hole in the sky. ‘Time travelers,’ said, Nobodaddy in a voice of gentle disgust. ‘They’re everywhere these days’” (60-61). Alice in Wonderland, Doctor Who, and Monty Python all in one breath. This story can be shared by the whole family. In fact, this novel is about storytelling, and the importance of myth and imagination. Rushdie does it with style, grace, and a prose so spectacular, he never ceases to amaze me. I have read eight of his eleven novels, and I have the other three which I am eagerly waiting to devour. If you have never read Rushdie, Luka and the Fire of Life is a grand place to start. 5 stars.--Jim, 1/5/13
    • 4/5
      This is a deliciously written book with a story you can sink into and drift along on. It is rich with mythological figures and tales, as well as many original characters directly from the author's imagination. Luka and the Fire of Life is whimsical and dreamy, even recalling Alice in Wonderland at certain points. I loved it when a little "white rabbit wearing a waistcoat and looking worriedly at a clock" popped up on the bank of the River of Time, for instance. There are lots of issues broached that have a universal appeal as well, the main issue being the nature of time. In this book time is represented as a river flowing away from the mists of the past and toward the mists of the future. Luka wrestles with the idea of predestination: does the future already exist so that the course of the river follows a predetermined path? Or can our actions shape, even change, the river's flow? Luka is also told that "...if you want to travel up the River, Memory is the fuel you need." This is a very important concept to plant in the mind of a young reader to help him or her realize that memories are much more than the static remains of the past. Rather, they are the seeds of the future and memories are absolutely vital if a person is to grow and reap knowledge from prior experiences. Towards the end of Luka's journey he begins to reflect on something his father had said that before sounded like nonsense: time is not a constant marching forward, one precise second after another. Rather, it speeds up and slows down depending on what you are doing, and it does not mean the same thing to everybody as each person experiences life differently. There are several other issues presented to the reader for consideration, including whether tyranny is excusable or not if created and maintained in the name of respect, if exemption from consequences when following orders is acceptable or not, and how justifiable the sacrifice of innocents is, even if perceived as benefiting the greater good. I love how thought-provoking this novel is, particularly for young readers, and that the author brings issues to the forefront that are not usually discussed in Young Adult literature. I also appreciate that he does not neatly resolve each issue, allowing the reader to come to his or her own conclusions. The only problem a reader may run into is the fact that the story does move a little slowly. It is definitely a book you need to fully immerse yourself in and forget about the page numbers. Simply read it to enjoy the experience and the journey. Ah yes, one more thing I'd like to share: my favorite passage... "Man is the Storytelling Animal, and...in Stories are his identity, his meaning, and his lifeblood. Do rats tell tales? Do porpoises have narrative purposes? Do elephants ele-phantasize? You know as well as I do that they do not. Man alone burns with books."
    • 5/5
      One of my favorite books ever is Salman Rushdie's Haroun and the Sea of Stories so when I found out he was coming out with a sequel, I was over the moon. Luckily, Rushdie delivered...for the most part.Luka and the Fire of Life returns to the same world and the same family as Haroun and the Sea of Stories. Haroun is now a grown man and now has a little brother, Luka. Luka has grown up hearing about the adventures Haroun had when he was eleven and now that Luka is eleven himself, he wants an adventure of his own. When he insults a strange man in the street and his father, the legendary storyteller of Kahani, falls into a deep sleep that no one can wake him up from, it looks like Luka will get his wish. Luka must travel to the Magic World and steal the Fire of Life to save his father.Luka's story is just as magical as Haroun's. Rushdie almost outdoes himself, with all the magic, mystery and pop culture references. Luka's adventure reads a lot like a video game, with power-ups, multiple lives, challenges and bosses he must defeat to go to the next level. Seeing as how this was written for an eleven year old boy (Rushdie's own son, just like Haroun was), this made sense to me. My own nephew (who is six) is obsessed with games and so is my thirty-three year old husband for that matter. Luka himself was just as adorable, resourceful, and as smart as Haroun. Rushdie's writing was just as sharp, intelligent and fun. I can see this being a great book for boys. For ME, Luka hasn't reached the beloved status of Haroun, but that is simply because I haven't read it as many times as Haroun, yet. I definitely will.Haroun and Luka both are great introductions to Rushdie, especially if like me, you're too scared to read him. His writing is so much fun for a reader. The word play is fun, and the the themes for love and loyalty are things all readers love. Definitely start with Haroun and get acquainted with Salman Rushdie.
    • 4/5
      Full of wordplay and the excellent conceit of a quest with many of the trappings of a video game, "Luka and the Fire of Life" is a wonderful book to read aloud to children of, say, 9 to 12. (And yes, please do keep reading to your children years after they are able to read to themselves.)
    • 3/5
      Alice meets a video game. Pleasant, but as said in another review, not compelling. Luka's impassioned speech at the near end--the best part of the book.
    • 4/5
      I liked this book. It feels a bit light when compared to Rushdie's earlier works but it's good nonetheless. Rushdie draws from various mythologies and melds it into one cohesive whole. A sort of modern day fairytale it concerns Luka's quest to save his father from death by stealing the fire of life.Rushdie also blends this generation's fascination with video games in this novel. Luka goes through levels and there is the concept of lives and surprisingly it all works. I would still rate his other works higher especially the enchantress of Florence and Midnight's Children
    • 5/5
      Any book I can sit down and read in one day must be pretty good, even if its far outside what I usually read. It helps that I had nothing planned for New Year's Day except reading. Luka, a 12-year-old, battles the World of Magic and the gods and goddesses of all the mythic traditions of the world to save his father's life. If you like Harry Potter you'll like this--its written with similar twists and turns and has a similar type of humor.
    • 4/5
      Luka and the Fire of Life is a modern day fairy tale, complete with evil monsters ( such as the Aalim) and beautiful, powerful women ( specifically, the Insultana of Ott). Rushdie does a masterful job of blending together the modern world and the traditional fairy tale, a feat that is mirrored in the character of Rashid, Luka's father and a professional storyteller, in his creation of the World of Magic. It is in this world, and not the real one where his father is dying, that Luka's adventure takes place.The pacing of the novel is a bit slow in some spots, but moves quite quickly in others. It would appear that Rushdie allowed his fascination with the World of Magic that he created to distract him from time to time; rarely will one find a real 12-year-old who is as introspective as Luka. It does not help that there are only eight chapters. Splitting it up a bit would have made the slow spots seem less noticeable.The novel is classified as young adult. Rushdie, however, has said that he hopes this novel“demolishes the boundary between ‘adult’ and ‘children’s’ literature.” I would say that he has done just that. Where he might have lost a younger reader in some of the mythological references or by sticking to closely to a traditional fairy tale format, he blends their world with that of the their parents by structuring the adventure as a video game, with levels to be completed and multiple lives to be lost. The blend is such that both generations are able to learn something about the other; children are given insight into the way their parents think, and parents are allowed to experience the wonder of the World of Magic in the same way their children do.In my mind, this book is a perfect candidate for parents to read aloud to their children or vice versa.