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True True Story of Raja the Gullible Winner of the National Book Award

WINNER OF THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FOR FICTION!

From the inimitable Rabih Alameddine - winner of the National Book Award and the PEN/Faulkner Award - comes a tragicomic saga set in Lebanon, a modern story of family, memory, and the unbreakable (and insane) attachment of a son and his mother.

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ISBN: 9781472160522

RRP: 113,00 lei 90,40 lei

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Descriere

In a tiny Beirut apartment, sixty-three-year-old Raja and his mother live side by side. A beloved high school philosophy teacher and 'the neighborhood homosexual,' Raja relishes books, meditative walks, order, and solitude. Zalfa, his octogenarian mother, views her son's privacy as a personal affront. She craves nothing more than to know the ins and outs of Raja's work life and love life, boundaries be damned.

When Raja receives an invite to an all-expenses-paid writing residency in America, the timing couldn't be better. It arrives on the heels of a series of personal and national disasters that have left Raja itching for peace and quiet away from his mother and the heartache of Lebanon. But what at first seems a stroke of good fortune soon leads Raja to recount and relive the very disasters and past betrayals he wishes to leave behind.

Wickedly funny, heartbreaking, and told in Raja's irresistible voice, The True, True Story of Raja the Gullible dances across six decades to tell the unforgettable story of a singular life and its absurdities - a tale of mistakes, self-discovery, trauma, and maybe even forgiveness. Above all, it's a wild and sparkling celebration of love.

Detalii

Editura: Corsair
An apariție: 2025
Nr. pagini: 336
Dimensiuni: 20 x 13 cm

Recenzii

Alameddine is gifted at finding the humor in what for most writers would be singular traumatic themes, including AIDS, the Lebanese Civil War, and the plight of Middle Eastern migrants. Here, he applies his sardonic wit again to the Civil War as well as the calamities of Covid-19, Lebanon's banking collapse, and the 2020 Beirut port explosion... a peculiar but lively and humane book [and] a sharp exploration of resilience in dark times ― Kirkus Reviews

A novel as expansive, funny, and poignant as its title promises. With his signature wit and irreverence, Rabih Alameddine charts decades of Beiruti history and trauma through the life of his narrator, Raja, a reclusive, aging teacher of French philosophy... [a] loving, heartwrenching novel ― Shelf Awareness

Alameddine chronicles a Lebanese family's turbulent but happy lives in his ebullient latest . . . Throughout, the author skillfully juxtaposes unflinching depictions of war and deprivation with the narrator's joie de vivre. It's a ravishing performance ― Publisher's Weekly

Rabih Alameddine is one of my all-time favorite authors and indeed one of my most read authors, so I mean it as no small compliment when I say I think his latest novel is one of his very best. The True True Story is a perfectly witty and tender portrait of the chaos and dogged persistence of one catty Lebanese philosophy teacher and his lovingly annoying mother. Great voice, heavy topics, funny prose, and a rich cast of characters! ― Samia Saliba, Radius of Arab American Writers (RAWI)

Raja's energetic narration is relentlessly funny, even (or especially) when it's turned to dark or disturbing events from his past. The story jumps back and forth through time and across continents, but Raja's sensitive and ultimately optimistic point of view is a gripping anchor. ― The New Yorker

A vivid, one-of-a-kind read from a lauded author . . . It's a beautiful tale. ― The Washington Independent

Alameddine conjures the caustic humor and poignant yearnings of a gay Lebanese man in his 60s . . . Alameddine's domestic comedy masks deeper themes of political ferment, one queer man's quest to forge a more authentic life. ― Time Magazine, The 100 Must-Read Books of 2025

True True Story of Raja the Gullible Winner of the National Book Award

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