The True True Story of Raja the Gullible (and His Mother)

Sep 22

About the book

Author: Rabih Alameddine
Publisher: Grove Press

More info:
The StoryGraph | Goodreads
Note: Content and trigger warnings are provided for those who need them at the bottom of this page. If you don’t need them and don’t want to risk spoilers, don’t scroll past the review.

Buy and support indie bookstores (+ I earn a small commission):
Bookshop.org (print or ebook) | Libro.fm (audio)

My review

Thank goodness the National Book Award bumped this to the top of my TBR — because what a fantastic book about a gay Lebanese man and his ferocious mother and all the ways our families and our culture and our love for one another sustains us.

As you can probably tell from the title, this book is funny and warm and light-hearted in tone, even though it’s quite serious in subject matter (a big chunk of it takes place during the pandemic, and the Lebanese civil war, and more besides). I finished it and wasn’t immediately sure what to think, because I felt like I’d just finished a comedy and a tragedy at the same time — which I had — but very quickly I realized that that dichotomy is its brilliance.

“Sneaky excellent” was how I have come to describe it, because it will wallop you without you even realizing it. Alameddine’s use of voice and humor is nothing short of masterful.

Please do yourself a favor and pick this up!