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The Storyteller, Or, The Hakawati (2008)

by Rabih Alameddine(Favorite Author)

3.95 of 5 Votes: 3

ISBN

0330454471 (ISBN13: 9780330454476)

languge

English

genre

Historical Fiction

publisher

Picador USA

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 religious texts and characters, too.The Hakawati illustrated that the stories we are told shape our understanding of the world - but they are not to be trusted.
review 2: The first thing I noticed when reading the first couple of chapters was how well the book was written; intellectual and adult oriented. The best parts of the novel for me were the religious and cultural backdrop stories, especially the family history/religion and pigeon stories. I never knew a lot about Lebanese history and c... moreulture and this novel does a great job to educate the uneducated on Middle East history. A drawback of Rabih's writing style is that you cannot just pick up the book from where you left off if your reading is interrupted for a long period of time. I found myself having to reread a chapter once I had time to read the book. This is a mom issue if you read the book on a consistent basis. Like many reviewers have said before, the book has the ability to never end. Once you complete the last page, you want to turn it over and start the next tale. Look forward to reading new tales from this great author in the future. less

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