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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 begin to unfold: Osama's grandfather was a hakawati, 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…
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Editions
13 editions · 4 languages- Paperback · English · 2009The HakawatiAnchor · 528 pages · 9780307386274
- Paperback · English · 2009The Storyteller, Or, the HakawatiPan MacMillan · 9780330454476
- Paperback · English · 2008The HakawatiPan Macmillan · 9780330456203
- Hardcover · English · 2008The HakawatiKnopf · 528 pages · 9780307266798
- Ebook · English · 2008The HakawatiKnopf Doubleday Publishing Group · 9780307269270
- Hardcover · English · 2008The HakawatiBond Street Books · 528 pages · 9780385664769
Lebanon, fictionFiction, generalFictionStorytellersNew York Times reviewedGossipFiction, war & militaryMiddle east, fiction