Atlas Book Club: An Evening in Lebanon -The True True Story of Raja the Gullible by Rabih Alameddine

For our fourth destination, we journey to Lebanon through this month's book: The True True Story of Raja the Gullible by Rabih AlameddineAbout the book:

From the inimitable Rabih Alameddine - winner of the National Book Award and the PEN/Faulkner Award - comes a tragicomic saga set in Lebanon, a modern story of family, memory, and the unbreakable (and insane) attachment of a son and his mother.

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 privacy as a personal affront. She craves nothing more than to know the ins and outs 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 leave behind.

Wickedly funny, heartbreaking, and told in Raja's irresistible voice, The True, True Story of Raja the Gullible 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, it's a wild and sparkling celebration of love.

Atlas Book Club is a community for bringing together intellectually curious people to have meaningful conversations about literature and the world. Everyone is welcome and we encourage being open minded and willing to learn! No expertise or knowledge needed other than having read the book selected for this month.

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