{"product_id":"the-true-true-story-of-raja-the-gullible-and-his-mother-a-novel-national-book-award-winner","title":"The True True Story of Raja the Gullible (and His Mother): A Novel (National Book Award Winner)","description":"\n\u003ctable align=\"center\" border=\"0\" cellpadding=\"2\" cellspacing=\"0\" width=\"100%\"\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd class=\"productDetailSmallElements\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eBiographical Note\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eRabih Alameddine\u003c\/b\u003e is the author of the novels \u003ci\u003eThe Wrong End of the Telescope\u003c\/i\u003e; \u003ci\u003eAngel of History\u003c\/i\u003e;\u003ci\u003e An Unnecessary Woman\u003c\/i\u003e; \u003ci\u003eThe Hakawati\u003c\/i\u003e; \u003ci\u003eI, the Divine\u003c\/i\u003e; \u003ci\u003eKoolaids\u003c\/i\u003e; the story collection, \u003ci\u003eThe Perv\u003c\/i\u003e; and one work of nonfiction, \u003ci\u003eComforting Myths\u003c\/i\u003e. He has won the PEN\/Faulkner Award for Fiction and was a finalist for the National Book Award. He received the Dos Passos Prize in 2019, a Lannan Award in 2021, and the Bill Whitehead Lifetime Achievement Award in 2025.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eBrief Description\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"From the inimitable Rabih Alameddine-National Book Award finalist and winner of the PEN\/Faulkner Award-comes a tragicomic saga set in Lebanon, a modern story of family, memory, and the unbreakable attachment of a son and his mother. Across his oeuvre, Rabih Alameddine has distinguished himself as a master of the intimate and the political, celebrated for his caustic wit and \"compelling, often jarring, blend of cynicism and hope\" (The Economist). In this lively new work, Alameddine returns to Beirut-the setting of his breakout novel An Unnecessary Woman-and delivers a compulsively readable story of a winning duo navigating modern life in Lebanon. In a tiny Beirut apartment, sixty-three-year-old Raja and his mother live side by side. A beloved high school philosophy teacher and \"the neighborhood homosexual,\" Raja relishes books, meditative walks, order, and solitude. Zalfa, his octogenarian mother, views her son's desire for privacy as a personal affront. She demands to know every detail of Raja's work life and love life, boundaries be damned. When Raja receives an invite to an all-expenses-paid writing residency in America, the timing couldn't be better. It arrives on the heels of a series of personal and national disasters that have left Raja itching for peace and quiet away from his mother and the heartache of Lebanon. But what at first seems a stroke of good fortune soon leads Raja to recount and relive the very disasters and past betrayals he wishes to forget. Told in Raja's irresistible and wickedly funny voice, the novel dances across six decades to tell the unforgettable story of a singular life and its absurdities-a tale of mistakes, self-discovery, trauma, and maybe even forgiveness. Above all, The True True Story of Raja the Gullible (and His Mother) is a wildly unique and sparkling celebration of love\"-- Provided by publisher.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eBrief Description\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"From the inimitable Rabih Alameddine-National Book Award finalist and winner of the PEN\/Faulkner Award-comes a tragicomic saga set in Lebanon, a modern story of family, memory, and the unbreakable attachment of a son and his mother. Across his oeuvre, Rabih Alameddine has distinguished himself as a master of the intimate and the political, celebrated for his caustic wit and \"compelling, often jarring, blend of cynicism and hope\" (The Economist). In this lively new work, Alameddine returns to Beirut-the setting of his breakout novel An Unnecessary Woman-and delivers a compulsively readable story of a winning duo navigating modern life in Lebanon. In a tiny Beirut apartment, sixty-three-year-old Raja and his mother live side by side. A beloved high school philosophy teacher and \"the neighborhood homosexual,\" Raja relishes books, meditative walks, order, and solitude. Zalfa, his octogenarian mother, views her son's desire for privacy as a personal affront. She demands to know every detail of Raja's work life and love life, boundaries be damned. When Raja receives an invite to an all-expenses-paid writing residency in America, the timing couldn't be better. It arrives on the heels of a series of personal and national disasters that have left Raja itching for peace and quiet away from his mother and the heartache of Lebanon. But what at first seems a stroke of good fortune soon leads Raja to recount and relive the very disasters and past betrayals he wishes to forget. Told in Raja's irresistible and wickedly funny voice, the novel dances across six decades to tell the unforgettable story of a singular life and its absurdities-a tale of mistakes, self-discovery, trauma, and maybe even forgiveness. Above all, The True True Story of Raja the Gullible (and His Mother) is a wildly unique and sparkling celebration of love\"--\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Quotes\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePraise for \u003ci\u003eThe True True Story of Raja the Gullible (and His Mother)\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eWinner of the National Book Award\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFinalist for the Aspen Words Literary Prize\u003cbr\u003eOne of \u003ci\u003eTIME Magazine'\u003c\/i\u003es 100 Must-Read Books of 2025\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eOne of NPR's Books We Love of 2025\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eOne of the \u003ci\u003eWashington Post\u003c\/i\u003e's 10 Best Audiobooks of 2025\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eOne of the \u003ci\u003eWashington Independent Review of Books\u003c\/i\u003e's Favorite Books of 2025\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eOne of the \u003ci\u003eGlobe and Mail'\u003c\/i\u003es 100 Best Books of 2025\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eOne of \u003ci\u003eBookPage\u003c\/i\u003e's Best Fiction Books of 2025\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eOne of \u003ci\u003eShelf Awareness'\u003c\/i\u003es Best Books of 2025\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eOne of Apple's Best Books of 2025\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eOne of the \u003ci\u003eLos Angeles Times\u003c\/i\u003e's 101 Best Book Club Picks for Every Type of Reader\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"Rabih Alameddine's \u003ci\u003eThe True True Story of Raja the Gullible (and His Mother)\u003c\/i\u003e confronts war, sexual violence, economic collapse, disaster, and pandemic. It's an artistic exploration of the darkest aspects of existence, and as such, has no business being as funny as it is. Alameddine brilliantly uses the comic form to depict the world as it is, and to remind us that, despite everything, there is joy to be wrung from life.\"--\u003cb\u003eNational Book Award for Fiction Judges\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"This sprawling tale centers on Raja, a man in his sixties who lives with his mother in Beirut, a city shaking with political and ecological turmoil. While the duo--both outsized personalities--navigate their cohabitation, Raja must weigh the responsibility he feels as a son against an opportunity to attend a writing residency in America. Raja's energetic narration is relentlessly funny, even (or especially) when it's turned to dark or disturbing events from his past. The story jumps back and forth through time and across continents, but Raja's sensitive and ultimately optimistic point of view is a gripping anchor.\"--\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe New Yorker\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"Thoroughly absorbing.\"--\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eWashington Post\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"The first joke in Alameddine's National Book Award-winning novel is on the cover: The parenthetical \"and His Mother\" is set in a mischievously small font. It soon becomes clear that there's nothing slight about her, or her impact on the life of her son, a gay high school teacher in Beirut. Raja is quiet and introspective, and his mother stomps his boundaries with the fervor of Godzilla. I love how effortlessly Alameddine blends tragedy and comedy, and the novel is sure to spark commiseration from anyone with a relentlessly nosy relative--in other words, everybody. Open a bottle (better yet, a box) of wine and get ready to hear some wild stories from your frustrated friends.\"--\u003cb\u003eMichael Schaub, \u003ci\u003eLos Angeles Times\u003c\/i\u003e, \"101 Best Book Club Picks for Every Type of Reader\"\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"Alameddine's prose is winsome, warm-hearted, and very funny, but it is still sophisticated in its evocation of the trauma Raja suffers. At the heart of the novel is the mother Raja keeps trying to consign to parentheticals, who, with indomitable spirit, refuses to be consigned. This book is a treat from beginning to end.\"--\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eVox\u003c\/i\u003e, \"The 10 Best Books of 2025\"\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"This book--winner of the 2025 National Book Award for fiction--feels like sitting down with an old friend who is a brilliant storyteller. It's an amusing and beautifully written portrait of a mother and her middle-aged son that lingers long after you finish it. Rabih Alameddine's prose is so warm and vivid that you can almost hear him talking to you as you read. I loved his tender, nuanced portrayal of Raja's prying mother, Zalfa, and how he captures the complicated bond between mothers and their children.\"--\u003cb\u003eLinah Mohammad, producer, \u003ci\u003eAll Things Considered\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"The only quality uniting his books, it can seem, is their literary fearlessness. For Alameddine, no storytelling challenge is too great.\"--\u003cb\u003eLily Meyer, \u003ci\u003eThe Atlantic\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"Rabih Alameddine returns to Beirut, Lebanon as the volatile, beloved setting and muse for his new novel, the enticingly titled The\u003ci\u003e True True Story of Raja the Gullible (and His Mother) \u003c\/i\u003e. . . And though the novel bears witness to the indignities of the city of Beirut and its citizens, there is ebullience throughout this account, a devil-may-care delight in the act of telling . . . The momentum the title creates never lets up, and Alameddine, through Raja, delivers a tragic yet exuberant tale steeped in the experience of living Lebanese.\"--\u003cb\u003eWinnipeg Free Press\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"A tightrope walk, a magic trick . . . magnificently articulated through the instrument of Raja's voice.\"--\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eAlta\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"Hilarious, seasoned with history, and utterly brilliant.\"\u003ci\u003e--\u003c\/i\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eBay Area Reporter\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"Not just hilariously witty and fun to read, but it also breaks your heart at least four times . . . Beneath Rabih's incredible sense of humor is something far more profound: the truth that devotion sits at the center of the relationship between Raja and his mother . . . Alameddine captures that kind of devotion with so much tenderness . . . This book invites you into a series of tragic love stories where laughter becomes the most essential salve. I loved this book. I will read it again this year.\"--\u003cb\u003eMarianne DeLeón, \"Texas Book Festival Recommends\"\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"Rabih Alameddine's edgy charm always leaves room for compassion, which readers will find in abundance in this challenging but exceptional book.\"\u003cb\u003e--\u003ci\u003eBookPage \u003c\/i\u003e(starred review)\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"I can think of few novelists more skilled in the art of blending deep trauma with irreverent humor than Rabih Alameddine. You're so damn charmed by the irascible charisma of his narrators--by their wicked bite and breezy self-deprecation and gimlet eyes--that you'll let them ferry you to the most heartbreaking and harrowing of places. \u003ci\u003eRaja the Gullible\u003c\/i\u003e is another tragicomic triumph.\"--\u003cb\u003eDan Sheehan, \u003ci\u003eLiterary Hub\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"Rabih Alameddine is one of my all-time favorite authors and indeed one of my most read authors, so I mean it as no small compliment when I say I think his latest novel is one of his very best. \u003ci\u003eThe True True Story\u003c\/i\u003e is a perfectly witty and tender portrait of the chaos and dogged persistence of one catty Lebanese philosophy teacher and his lovingly annoying mother. Great voice, heavy topics, funny prose, and a rich cast of characters!\" --\u003cb\u003eSamia Saliba, Radius of Arab American Writers (RAWI)\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"Alameddine chronicles a Lebanese family's turbulent but happy lives in his ebullient latest . . .Throughout, the author skillfully juxtaposes unflinching depictions of war and deprivation with the narrator's joie de vivre. It's a ravishing performance.\" --\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"Alameddine is gifted at finding the humor in what for most writers would be singular traumatic themes, including AIDS, the Lebanese Civil War, and the plight of Middle Eastern migrants. Here, he applies his sardonic wit again to the Civil War as well as the calamities of Covid-19, Lebanon's banking collapse, and the 2020 Beirut port explosion . . . A peculiar but lively and humane book [and] a sharp exploration of resilience in dark times.\"--\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"I fell quick for Raja, a queer Lebanese man living with his (very funny) mother, who is offered a (maybe fake?) opportunity to come to the US. Delightful, rich, special.\"--\u003cb\u003eEmma Copley Eisenberg\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePraise for \u003ci\u003eThe Wrong End of the Telescope\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"Spectacular . . . Alameddine's irreverent prose evokes the old master storytellers from my own Middle Eastern home, their observations toothy and full of wit, returning always to human absurdity.\" --\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"Provocative . . . Alameddine makes an argument for writing even when writing fails. Especially when writing fails. What else is there?\" --\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eSan Francisco Chronicle\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"His books offer a compelling, often jarring, blend of cynicism and hope. They urge readers to contemplate the humanity and suffering of others rather than turn their faces away.\"--\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Economist\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"[A] beautiful novel . . . A quiet, character-driven book about cultural identity, what it means to offer help, and a whole lot more. It's especially refreshing to read a book like this -- full of queer characters but not centered on specific queer experiences.\"--\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBookRiot\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"A prismatic, sui generis story that's unafraid of humor while addressing a humanitarian crisis, threading a needle between that urge to witness and the recognition that doing so may be pointless.\"--\u003cb\u003eMark Athitakis, \u003ci\u003eLos Angeles Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"[\u003ci\u003eThe Wrong End of the Telescope\u003c\/i\u003e] defies expectations, managing the rare feat of approaching the experience of refugees with tenderness, whimsy, and humor... The writing is full of silly jokes, flights of fancy, and memorable images . . . Alameddine dares to show Syrian refugees who are cranky, happy, resigned, dishonest, in love . . . What these stories add up to is a portrayal of the refugee experience, in all its vulnerability and variety, its painful in-betweenness. It is an experience that is more universal than those of us who observe refugees from the supposed safety of our fixed selves, fascinated or repelled or commiserating, might imagine; and that can be honored simply by being told.\" --\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew York Review of Books\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"With enormous generosity and knowing humor . . . The Wrong End of the Telescope is an unequivocal masterpiece.\" --\u003cb\u003eDave Wheeler, \u003ci\u003eShelf Awareness\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"A shape-shifting kaleidoscope, a collection of moments--funny, devastating, absurd--that bear witness to the violence of war and displacement without sensationalizing it . . . \u003ci\u003eThe Wrong End of the Telescope \u003c\/i\u003eis a gorgeously written, darkly funny and refreshingly queer witness to that seeking.\" --\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBookPage\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"The great strength of this latest novel from National Book Award finalist Alameddine (\u003ci\u003eAn Unnecessary Woman\u003c\/i\u003e) lies in how it deftly combines the biographical with the historical; the small, more personal moments often carry the most weight. A remarkable, surprisingly intimate tale of human connection in the midst of disaster.\" --\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e (starred review)\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"No one writes fiction that is more naturally an extension of lived life than this master storyteller . . . Engaging and unsettling in equal measure.\" --\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e (starred review)\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"Profound and wonderful . . . A wise, deeply moving story that can still locate humor in the pit of hell . . . A triumph.\"--\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e (starred review)\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003e\"The Wrong End of the Telescope\u003c\/i\u003e is the best kind of prose. Lines break out like poetry and the story muscles on, telling. The setting is real history which I'm hungry for and Rabih Alameddine queers it handsomely with all kinds of love and a feeling that existence is pure experience, not language at all and the shape of this book, right up to the end, is a becoming.\" --\u003cb\u003eEileen Myles\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"Rabih Alameddine is a master of both the intimate and the global -- and \u003ci\u003eThe Wrong End of the Telescope\u003c\/i\u003e finds him at the top of his craft. A story of rescue, identity, deracination, and connection, this novel is timely and urgent and a lot of fun.\" --\u003cb\u003eRebecca Makkai, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Great Believers\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"The incomparable Rabih Alameddine's latest novel shows sly wit, poetic turns of phrase, and the slow-burning outrage at the ongoing Mediterranean refugee crisis--but I particularly love his understated handling of Mina, the novel's transgender narrator. Her identity is not a battlefield for the culture wars, just a refreshingly unproblematic perspective from which a story unfolds.\" --\u003cb\u003eSusan Stryker, author of \u003ci\u003eTransgender History: The Roots of Today's Revolution\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePraise for \u003ci\u003eThe Angel of History\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"Rabih Alameddine is one of our most daring writers--daring not in the cheap sense of lurid or racy, but as a surgeon, a philosopher, an explorer, or a dancer.\"--\u003cb\u003eMichael Chabon\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"A remarkable novel, a commentary of love and death, creativity and spirituality, memory and survival . . . brilliant . . . [it] hits an emotional nerve.\"--\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eLos Angeles Review of Books\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"Alameddine, entrancing and unflinching, is in easy command of his bricolage narrative, and he leavens its tragedy with wit.\"--\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"A sprawling fever dream of a novel, by turns beautiful and horrifying, and impossible to forget. Alameddine is a writer with a boundless imagination . . . [his] writing is so beautiful, so exuberant.\"--\u003cb\u003eNPR\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePraise for \u003ci\u003eAn Unnecessary Woman\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"A meditation on, among other things, aging, politics, literature, loneliness, grief and resilience. If there are flaws to this beautiful and absorbing novel, they are not readily apparent.\"--\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"Irresistible . . . [the author] offers winningly unrestricted access to the thoughts of his affectionate, urbane, vulnerable and fractiously opinionated heroine. Mr. Alameddine's portrayal of a life devoted to the intellect is so candid and human that, for a time, readers can forget that any such barrier exists.\"--\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eWall Street Journal\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"Alameddine has conjured a beguiling narrator in his engaging novel, a woman who is, like her city, hard to read, hard to take, hard to know and, ultimately, passionately complex.\"--\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eSan Francisco Chronicle\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"A restlessly intelligent novel built around an unforgettable character . . . A novel full of elegant, poetic sentences.\"--\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eMinneapolis Star Tribune\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"A novel as expansive, funny, and poignant as its title promises . . . An especially wry, wise, comic style distinguishes this unforgettable tale of national trauma, community, familial love, and forgiveness.\" --\u003cb\u003eJulia Kastner, Shelf Awareness\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublisher Marketing\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eWINNER OF THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"Alameddine is a writer with a boundless imagination.\"--NPR\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eFrom the winner of the PEN\/Faulkner Award for Fiction comes a tragicomic love story set in Lebanon, a modern saga of family, memory, and the unbreakable attachment of a son and his mother\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn a tiny Beirut apartment, sixty-three-year-old Raja and his mother live side by side. A beloved high school philosophy teacher and \"the neighborhood homosexual,\" Raja relishes books, meditative walks, order, and solitude. Zalfa, his octogenarian mother, views her son's desire for privacy as a personal affront. She demands to know every detail of Raja's work life and love life, boundaries be damned.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhen Raja receives an invite to an all-expenses-paid writing residency in America, the timing couldn't be better. It arrives on the heels of a series of personal and national disasters that have left Raja longing for peace and quiet away from his mother and the heartache of Lebanon. But what at first seems a stroke of good fortune soon leads Raja to recount and relive the very disasters and past betrayals he wishes to forget.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTold in Raja's irresistible and wickedly funny voice, the novel dances across six decades to tell the unforgettable story of a singular life and its absurdities--a tale of mistakes, self-discovery, trauma, and maybe even forgiveness. Above all, \u003ci\u003eThe True True Story of Raja the Gullible (and His Mother)\u003c\/i\u003e is a wildly unique and sparkling celebration of love.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Citations:\u003c\/strong\u003e\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"italic\"\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/span\u003e 07\/01\/2025 (EAN 9780802166470, Hardcover)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"italic\"\u003eShelf Awareness\u003c\/span\u003e 12\/04\/2025 (EAN 9780802166470, Hardcover)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"italic\"\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/span\u003e 07\/28\/2025 (EAN 9780802166470, Hardcover)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"italic\"\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/span\u003e 08\/01\/2025 pg. 55 (EAN 9780802166470, Hardcover)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"italic\"\u003eBooklist\u003c\/span\u003e 08\/01\/2025 (EAN 9780802166470, Hardcover)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/table\u003e\n","brand":"Grove Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51496118092054,"sku":"9780802166470","price":33.6,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0857\/9910\/8886\/files\/9780802166470.jpg?v=1783053442","url":"https:\/\/lusper.myshopify.com\/products\/the-true-true-story-of-raja-the-gullible-and-his-mother-a-novel-national-book-award-winner","provider":"Lusperbooks","version":"1.0","type":"link"}