{"product_id":"9780802168436","title":"The True True Story of Raja the Gullible (and His Mother)","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eWINNER OF THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e“Alameddine is a writer with a boundless imagination.”—NPR\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eFrom the 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\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\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\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, \u003ci\u003eThe True True Story of Raja the Gullible (and His Mother)\u003c\/i\u003e is a wildly unique and sparkling celebration of love.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Rabih Alameddine","offers":[{"title":"Grove\/Atlantic |  Paperback \/ softback | Trade paperback (US) |  2026-09-11","offer_id":48995387769087,"sku":"9780802168436","price":27.95,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0329\/9075\/7001\/files\/BNCImageAPI_05db689c-493e-4a1d-abb9-c3633068d366.jpg?v=1786481934","url":"https:\/\/riverbookshop.com\/products\/9780802168436","provider":"River Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}