The Hakawati

By Nesreen | May 18th, 2008 | No Comments

In Arabic, “hakawati” means storyteller. The picture to your left shows a hakawati in Damascus entertaining a cafe audience.

Little of this tradition in the Arab world is known by the West although the famed “A Thousand and One Nights” is known widely, thanks in large part to early Orientalist translators, and of course Disney.

Now, Lebanese novelist Rabih Almeddine resurrects the frame story model made famous by “One Thousand and One Nights,” and other Eastern texts with his modern-day novel set between Los Angeles and Beirut, also called, appropriately, The Hakawati. Almeddine’s novel weaves the blend of sex, intrigue, and guile that is a feature of many of the stories that have been transmitted by hakawatis over the years.

Released only a month ago, The Hakawati has already been widely praised. It promises to be another constructive and engaging way for Western audiences to learn something of value about Middle Eastern culture and society.