{"product_id":"the-true-true-story-of-raja-the-gullible-and-his-mother","title":"The True True Story of Raja the Gullible (and His Mother)","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRabih Alameddine\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"vt-tab-content\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"tab-container\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"tab-1\" name=\"tab-1\" class=\"tab-content current\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e“Alameddine is a writer with a boundless imagination.”—NPR\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eFrom National Book Award finalist and 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\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\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\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\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\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\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,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe True True Story of Raja the Gullible (and His Mother)\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eis a wildly unique and sparkling celebration of love.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Raincoast","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":50182596460830,"sku":"9780802166470","price":43.5,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0669\/3584\/9246\/files\/BNCImageAPI-2025-09-26T153210.958.jpg?v=1758915159","url":"https:\/\/www.cedarcanoebooks.com\/products\/the-true-true-story-of-raja-the-gullible-and-his-mother","provider":"Cedar Canoe Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}