A review by jenmat1197
The Hakawati by Rabih Alameddine

4.0

 

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 beging to unfold:  Osama's grandfather was a Hakawait, or a 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.

This was a pretty good book.  The stories were fantastic.  It is a little choppy as a book - weaving back and forth between story telling and what is happening in the hospital with Osama's father.  Sometimes the flow was not smooth - it took me a few chapters to get into it.  But I looked forward to the story telling parts of this book the most.  It was a facinating read that I encourage due to the fabulous fables.