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Surviving crises through humor in the award-winning book 'The True True Story of Raja the Gullible'

WBUR | By Here & Now Newsroom
Published December 26, 2025 at 8:59 AM PST
The cover of "The True True Story of Raja the Gullible (and His Mother)" beside author Rabih Alameddine. (Courtesy of Grove Press)
Courtesy of Grove Press
The cover of "The True True Story of Raja the Gullible (and His Mother)" beside author Rabih Alameddine. (Courtesy of Grove Press)

Host Indira Lakshmanan speaks with National Book Award-winning author Rabih Alameddine about his prize-winning novel “The True True Story of Raja the Gullible (and His Mother).”

It’s a darkly comic book about a mother and son living in Beirut through a series of calamities, including civil war, kidnapping, and economic collapse.

Book excerpt: ‘The True True Story of Raja the Gullible’

By Rabih Alameddine

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

Copyright 2025 WBUR
Here & Now Newsroom