Rabih Alameddine Knihy

The novel explores Sarah's journey of self-discovery amidst the complexities of her hybrid family and the backdrop of wartime Beirut. As she navigates her life in self-imposed exile in the United States, she sheds layers of pretension, revealing her authentic self. Supported by a close friend and her son, Sarah embraces both her dignity and the fragmented nature of her existence. The narrative is imbued with humor and heartache, presenting a poignant and memorable exploration of humanity. A reading group guide is also included.

This book presents a compelling blend of humor and heartbreak, showcasing the resilience of its characters in the face of adversity. With a daring narrative style, it explores tough themes while maintaining a sense of wit and charm. The emotional depth and vivid storytelling promise to engage readers, making it a memorable experience that resonates long after the last page is turned.

By National Book Award finalist and Dos Passos Prize winner, Rabih Alameddine, comes a transporting new novel about an Arab American trans woman's personal journey among Syrian refugees on Lesbos island.

“Here is absolute beauty. One of the finest novels I’ve read in years.” —Junot DiazAn astonishingly inventive, wonderfully exuberant novel that takes us from the shimmering dunes of ancient Egypt to the war-torn streets of twenty-first-century Lebanon.In 2003, Osama al-Kharrat returns to Beirut after many years in America to stand vigil at his father’s deathbed. The city is a shell of the Beirut Osama remembers, but he and his friends and family take solace in the things that have always sustained gossip, laughter, and, above all, stories.Osama’s grandfather was a hakawati, or storyteller, and his bewitching stories—of his arrival in Lebanon, an orphan of the Turkish wars, and of how he earned the name al-Kharrat , the fibster—are interwoven with classic tales of the Middle East, stunningly reimagined. Here are Abraham and Isaac; Ishmael, father of the Arab tribes; the ancient, fabled Fatima; and Baybars, the slave prince who vanquished the Crusaders. Here, too, are contemporary Lebanese whose stories tell a larger, heartbreaking tale of seemingly endless war—and of survival.Like a true hakawati, Rabih Alameddine has given us an Arabian Nights for this century—a funny, captivating novel that enchants and dazzles from its very first “Listen. Let me take you on a journey beyond imagining. Let me tell you a story.”

"Aaliya Sohbi lives alone in her Beirut apartment, surrounded by stockpiles of books. Godless, fatherless, childless, and divorced, Aaliya is her family's 'unnecessary appendage.' Every year, she translates a new favorite book into Arabic, then stows it away. The thirty-seven books that Aaliya has translated over her lifetime have never been read-- by anyone. After overhearing her neighbors, 'the three witches, ' discussing her too-white hair, Aaliya accidentally dyes her hair too blue. In this breathtaking portrait of a reclusive woman's late-life crisis, readers follow Aaliya's digressive mind as it ricochets across visions of past and present Beirut. Colorful musings on literature, philosophy, and art are invaded by memories of the Lebanese Civil War and Aaliya's own volatile past. As she tries to overcome her aging body and spontaneous emotional upwellings, Aaliya is faced with an unthinkable disaster that threatens to shatter the little life she has left"-- from publisher's web site

Following the critical and commercial success of An Unnecessary Woman, Alameddine delivers a spectacular portrait of a man and an era of profound political and social upheaval.

A memorable and deeply moving portrait of a woman, a family and a culture told entirely in first chapters, this will appeal to fans of Amy Tan and Jung Chang.

"Hakawati. Il cantore di storie" di Rabih Alameddine è un caso letterario: sia perché l'autore, giordano, di origine libanese apre una finestra su un mondo problematico; sia perché, mantenendo un alto livello di qualità letteraria, Alameddine, al suo terzo romanzo, riesce a mettere a confronto l'arte dello storytelling di tradizione araba con la cultura americana che il protagonista e l'autore hanno assorbito per molti anni. Nel romanzo, il protagonista, Osama al-Kharrat, lascia nel 2003 gli Stati Uniti, dove vive da tempo, per recarsi al capezzale del padre a Beirut. E se scopre la sua città natale irrimediabilmente cambiata, trova invece intatti gli affetti famigliari e il modo di comunicarli attraverso le storie. Cantastorie di professione era infatti il nonno di Osama, e le avventure del suo arrivo in Libano dalla Turchia si mescolano a quelle dei principi delle Crociate come pure ai pettegolezzi della vita di tutti i giorni.