Elliptical and elastic ... Alameddine is playing the long game in The True True Story of Raja the Gullible, trusting that we’ll stay with him, that the skill and urgency of his storytelling will keep us rooted, let him pursue his own pace. This, too, is the way of life, a series of moments followed by other moments, the connections only apparent through the passage of time. Where else does such a passage take place if not within us, where we are always every age we have ever been at once? It’s a tightrope walk, a magic trick, which is also what a novel is. A tale with many tails and heads that is, in this case, magnificently articulated through the instrument of Raja’s voice
Intentionally setting the novel’s arc against the time line of Beirut’s history is a slightly forced yet expert touch because it adds textured situational context while emphasizing shades of universality ... The picture Alameddine draws of Lebanon can apply not only to the queer community there but in other places where LGBTQ+ people are oppressed.
[A] blend of humor and cattiness ... A perfect match for Alameddine’s edgy charm—an edginess that always leaves room for compassion, which readers will find in abundance in this challenging but exceptional book.
A novel as expansive, funny, and poignant as its title promises. With his signature wit and irreverence, Rabih Alameddine charts decades of Beiruti history and trauma through the life of his narrator, Raja ... Loving, heartwrenching.
Ebullient ... Throughout, the author skillfully juxtaposes unflinching depictions of war and deprivation with the narrator’s joie de vivre. It’s a ravishing performance.
