{"product_id":"hakawati","title":"Hakawati","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e''Stunning''\u003ci\u003e New York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e''Here it comes, the book of the year, on its own magic carpet. No book this bewitching has ever felt so important; no book this important has ever been so lovingly enchanted. \u003ci\u003eThe Hakawati \u003c\/i\u003eis both a snapshot of our current crisis, and a story for the ages. What else can we ask the djinn of literature for?'' Andrew Sean Greer, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning \u003ci\u003eLess\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn 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 \u003ci\u003ehakawati\u003c\/i\u003e, 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 \u003ci\u003eThe Hakawati\u003c\/i\u003e, Rabih Alameddine has given us an \u003ci\u003eArabian Nights\u003c\/i\u003e for this century.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e''Sharp, seductive storytelling'' \u003ci\u003eO, The Oprah Magazine\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"MediaPlace","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57307295056254,"sku":"NW9781472154804","price":10.77,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1379\/1261\/files\/9781472154804.jpg?v=1778691793","url":"https:\/\/mediaplace.com\/products\/hakawati","provider":"MediaPlace","version":"1.0","type":"link"}