{"product_id":"the-hakawati","title":"The Hakawati","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Stunning'\u003ci\u003e New York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Here it comes the book of the year on its own magic carpet. No book this bewitching has ever felt so important; no book this important has ever been so lovingly enchanted. \u003ci\u003eThe Hakawati \u003c\/i\u003eis both a snapshot of our current crisis and a story for the ages. What else can we ask the djinn of literature for?' Andrew Sean Greer author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning \u003ci\u003eLess\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn 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 \u003ci\u003ehakawati\u003c\/i\u003e 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 of seemingly endless war conflicted identity and survival. With \u003ci\u003eThe Hakawati\u003c\/i\u003e Rabih Alameddine has given us an \u003ci\u003eArabian Nights\u003c\/i\u003e for this century.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Sharp seductive storytelling' \u003ci\u003eO The Oprah Magazine\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u0026gt;","brand":"Oxfordbookstore","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44791147823283,"sku":"9781472154804","price":799.0,"currency_code":"INR","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0718\/4164\/4723\/files\/blk_imp_17478115499781472154804.jpg?v=1762852536","url":"https:\/\/oxfordbookstore.com\/products\/the-hakawati","provider":"Oxfordbookstore ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}