The Hakawati
Author | : Rabih Alameddine |
Publisher | : Anchor |
Total Pages | : 528 |
Release | : 2008-04-15 |
ISBN-10 | : 9780307269270 |
ISBN-13 | : 0307269272 |
Rating | : 4/5 (70 Downloads) |
Book excerpt: 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.