The Hakawati

'Stunning' New York Times Book Review

'Here it comes, the book of the year, on its own magic carpet. No book this bewitching has ever felt so important; no book this important has ever been so lovingly enchanted. THE HAKAWATI is both a snapshot of our current crisis, and a story for the ages. What else can we ask the djinn of literature for?' Andrew Sean Greer, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning LESS

In 2003, Osama al-Kharrat returns to Beirut after many years in America to stand vigil at his father's deathbed. As the family gathers, stories begin to unfold: Osama's grandfather was a hakawati, or storyteller, and his bewitching tales are interwoven with classic stories of the Middle East. Here are Abraham and Isaac; Ishmael, father of the Arab tribes; the beautiful Fatima; Baybars, the slave prince who vanquished the Crusaders; and a host of mischievous imps. Through Osama, we also enter the world of the contemporary Lebanese men and women whose stories tell a larger, heartbreaking tale of seemingly endless war, conflicted identity, and survival. With The Hakawati, Rabih Alameddine has given us an ARABIAN NIGHTS for this century.

'Sharp, seductive storytelling' O, The Oprah Magazine

“Sharp, seductive storytelling - O, The Oprah MagazineStunning - New York Times Book ReviewA riot of stories concerning the rise of the eccentric al-Kharrat family. Osama [al-Kharrat]'s waggish grandfather was a hakawati, or storyteller, and his classic tales of princes, genies, and wise-cracking seductresses are worthy of Scheherazade. Rabih Alameddine has a deft, winsome touch - Entertainment WeeklyAn epic in the oldest and newest senses, careening from the Koran to the Old Testament, Homer to Scheherazade. It's hard to imagine the person who wouldn't get carried away - Jonathan Safran Foer"Here it comes, the book of the year, on its own magic carpet. No book this bewitching has ever felt so important; no book this important has ever been so lovingly enchanted. The Hakawati is both a snapshot of our current crisis, and a story for the ages. What else can we ask the djinn of literature for? - Andrew Sean Greer, winner of the Pulitzer Prize”

Sharp, seductive storytelling - O, The Oprah Magazine

Stunning - New York Times Book Review

A riot of stories concerning the rise of the eccentric al-Kharrat family. Osama [al-Kharrat]'s waggish grandfather was a hakawati, or storyteller, and his classic tales of princes, genies, and wise-cracking seductresses are worthy of Scheherazade. Rabih Alameddine has a deft, winsome touch - Entertainment Weekly

An epic in the oldest and newest senses, careening from the Koran to the Old Testament, Homer to Scheherazade. It's hard to imagine the person who wouldn't get carried away - Jonathan Safran Foer

"Here it comes, the book of the year, on its own magic carpet. No book this bewitching has ever felt so important; no book this important has ever been so lovingly enchanted. The Hakawati is both a snapshot of our current crisis, and a story for the ages. What else can we ask the djinn of literature for? - Andrew Sean Greer, winner of the Pulitzer Prize

Rabih Alameddine is the author of the novels An Unnecessary Woman; I, the Divine; Koolaids; The Hakawati; and the story collection, The Perv.

'Stunning' New York Times Book Review 'Here it comes, the book of the year, on its own magic carpet. No book this bewitching has ever felt so important; no book this important has ever been so lovingly enchanted. THE HAKAWATI is both a snapshot of our current crisis, and a story for the ages. What else can we ask the djinn of literature for?' Andrew Sean Greer, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning LESS In 2003, Osama al-Kharrat returns to Beirut after many years in America to stand vigil at his father's deathbed. As the family gathers, stories begin to unfold: Osama's grandfather was a hakawati , or storyteller, and his bewitching tales are interwoven with classic stories of the Middle East. Here are Abraham and Isaac; Ishmael, father of the Arab tribes; the beautiful Fatima; Baybars, the slave prince who vanquished the Crusaders; and a host of mischievous imps. Through Osama, we also enter the world of the contemporary Lebanese men and women whose stories tell a larger, heartbreaking tale of seemingly endless war, conflicted identity, and survival. With The Hakawati , Rabih Alameddine has given us an ARABIAN NIGHTS for this century. 'Sharp, seductive storytelling' O, The Oprah Magazine

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