Haroun and the Sea of Stories is an allegorical children's story about the young boy Haroun Khalifa and his adventures in a fantasy world. The book uses its fantastic setting to explore themes common to the inhabitants of the Indian Subcontinent, such as caste identity, war, and the burgeoning of the technology industry in India. The story also places a strong emphasis on names and nomenclature, incorporating an encyclopedia of character names and their meanings.
Nine Stories is a collection of short stories by J.D. Salinger. One of the most famous, "A Perfect Day for Bananafish" tells the story of Seymour, a strange man on vacation with his wife. Seymour talks with a young girl, telling her a tragic story about the bananafish, before returning to his hotel room and killing himself. "For Esme-with Love & Squalor," tells the story of a sergeant in World War II who becomes disillusioned, eventually recovering after finding a letter from a woman, Esme, whom he met earlier.