{"product_id":"true-true-story-raja-gullible-113216","title":"The True True Story of Raja the Gullible (and His Mother)","description":"\u003ch3 class=\"a-size-large a-spacing-none\"\u003e\u003cspan id=\"productTitle\" class=\"a-size-large product-title-word-break\"\u003eThe True True Story of Raja the Gullible (and His Mother): A Novel\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-bold\"\u003eWINNER OF THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-bold\"\u003e“Alameddine is a writer with a boundless imagination.”—NPR\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-bold\"\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\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\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\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\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\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\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, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-italic\"\u003eThe True True Story of Raja the Gullible (and His Mother)\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e is a wildly unique and sparkling celebration of love.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"a-section a-spacing-small a-padding-small\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-bold\"\u003eRabih Alameddine\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e is the author of the novels \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-italic\"\u003eThe True True Story of Raja the Gullible (and His Mother)\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e;\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-italic\"\u003eThe Wrong End of the Telescope\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e; \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-italic\"\u003eAngel of History\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e;\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-italic\"\u003e An Unnecessary Woman\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e; \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-italic\"\u003eThe Hakawati\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e; \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-italic\"\u003eI, the Divine\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e; \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-italic\"\u003eKoolaids\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e; the story collection, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-italic\"\u003eThe Perv\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e; and one work of nonfiction, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-italic\"\u003eComforting Myths\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eHe 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\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePaperback\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-list-item\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e352 pages\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-list-item\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e5.5 x 2 x 8.25 inches\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"a-list-item\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e1.05 pounds\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-list-item\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Publishers Group West","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50447633449216,"sku":"113216","price":18.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0188\/3776\/files\/811nFmBtubL._SL1500_copy.png?v=1790210948","url":"https:\/\/asianartmuseumstore.myshopify.com\/products\/true-true-story-raja-gullible-113216","provider":"Cha May Ching Museum Boutique","version":"1.0","type":"link"}