The hakawati - Rabih Alameddine

Irreverent, exhilarating, heartbreaking, and enchanting us from the very first line - 'Listen. Let me take you on a journey beyond imagining. Let me tell you a story' - this extraordinary book is an Arabian Nights for our time.

Osama al-Kharrat left Lebanon at sixteen to escape the civil war. He returns after some years, much changed, to find his father bedridden and his family, friends and enemies in attendance, reminiscing, gossiping, making peace, and above all telling stories. 'Hakawati' means 'storyteller', and Osama's grandfather was one of the best. From Uncle Jihad to the family doctor 'Tin Can', each member of Osama's circle is joined in a vigil that crosses continents, spans centuries, celebrates love, recounts war, and creates an epic picture of the region: one that is at once mythic, mischievous, and painfully real.

'A glorious, gorgeous masterpiece of pure storytelling' Amy Tan

'The Hakawati is astonishing. There is a delightful cheekiness in telling so many tales all at the same time. It is pure genius' Aleksandar Hemon

'Here it comes, the book of the year, on its own magic carpet of endless stories. Both a snapshot of our current crisis, and a story for the ages' Andrew Sean Greer

Rabih Alameddine was born in Jordan to Lebanese parents and has lived in Kuwait, Lebanon, England, and the United States. He is a novelist and short story writer, and is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship. He lives in San Francisco and Beirut.