Books by Rabih Alameddine
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English
review 1: Alameddine's book is beautifully written and conceived. The concept itself, the thoughts of a woman who, at the end of her life, assesses her past life and her present life, as officially "unnecessary" but very much hers. The author allows the reader into the head of this woman, ...
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English
review 1: This book is written in the style of Alf Leila w Leila (1,001 Arabian Nights) and is a masterpiece. It starts off with two main stories: one of Fatima, who goes on a journey to help the king and queen conceive a son; the other of Osama, who journeys to Beirut in 2003 to visit his...
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English
review 1: "There must be a word in some language that describes the anguish you experience upon suddenly coming face-to-face with your terrifying future"- Rabih Alameddine 'An Unnecessary Woman'If such a word existed I would use it to describe how I feel about Rabih Alameddine's exquisite ...
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English
review 1: Written by a man, this is a Beirut older woman's monologue. She is an introvert, even a recluse who reads voraciously and translates French and English translations from other languages into Arabic. Yes, she is living a second hand life. I did not find her convincing as a person ...
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English
review 1: I gave this four but I could have gone for five; I loved it though I think, honestly, I missed a lot. I'd have liked to have read in a class or book club bc many of the allegories/ references seem so meaningful and I know I'm missing something. They're definitely entertaining in ...
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English
review 1: Stories within stories within stories. Layers and layers of storytelling, this is a beautiful picture of family life in Lebanon and the historical traditions within it. Rabih Alameddine has written a cheeky rendition of Scherezade's tales, as well as subverting well-known religio...
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English
review 1: This is a densely packed book of tales and culture. It took much longer to read that its 500 pages would normally take, but some of that was due to rolling around the words and places on my tongue as I read. My father's family is of Lebanese-Syrian descent, but sadly I have no co...