The Hakawati
by: Rabih Alameddine
Published by: Knopf
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Reviewed by Muhammed Hassanali
The term “hakawati” loosely means storyteller in Arabic. Reading the title brought back images of tall tales and stories within stories that are morseled over an extended period. This book retains much of the aural art form characteristic of an ancient hakawati. The only disappointing change is that this work is meant to be read, not performed as were tales of yore.
Just as other stories have a framing story, the one here is of Osama al-Khattar, a Los Angeles software engineer, who returns to Beirut to be by the side of his dying father. Of course extended family has also gathered, and the reader is immersed into a world that recounts Lebanon’s civil war, and post-9/11 Middle East and USA. Dovetailing the contemporary world are other worlds that hark back to the fantasy world of jinns, biblical times, pre-Islamic Arabia, and medieval times. The tales amuse, charm, seduce, sadden, anger and repulse the reader.
The stories are meant to be both educational and entertaining. As with the ancient hakawati genre, characters with similar (or identical) names share common characteristics or a common fate. This ploy is also used to link the contemporary to the traditional (real or imagined). As is characteristic (and infuriating) of the hakawati art form, the narrative is not linear, and stories digress into other stories. It has been said that just as families beget other families, good stories beget other stories. Some are long and traverse the entire book, while others are short and exist for only a few paragraphs. Within the fractured narrative readers unfurl provocative ideas, splendid images, and a kaleidoscope of tales; all interwoven to provide a dazzling and dizzying reading experience.
A word of caution: This book is meant to be savored a little bit at a time. It demands that readers be receptive to a revelatory narrative rather than a linear one. Hence readers will either enjoy the book or detest it.
Armchair Interviews agrees that this requires an eager but patient eager reader for this 5-star effort.
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