By Salman Rushdie
82 pages; Faber and Faber

Rushdie wrote this fable when his young son asked him, "Why don't you write something I can read?" I've always liked stories that are told from the point of view of children—that capture their sense of discovery. This book is saturated with the boundless, childlike imagination of its author. The descriptions of sea creatures called Plentimaw Fish and how they swallow old, worn-out stories, churn them in their stomachs, and then regurgitate newly woven ones has stayed with me.

— Josh Brolin