{"title":"Middle Eastern \u0026 Arab American","description":"\u003cp\u003eMiddle Eastern \u0026amp; Arab American fiction immerses readers in narratives shaped by the complexities and richness of Middle Eastern heritage and Arab American life. This subject features novels and stories that explore themes like migration, identity formation, intergenerational relationships, and cultural intersections, offering insight into perspectives influenced by both tradition and contemporary American society.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTo navigate Middle Eastern \u0026amp; Arab American fiction, readers may choose to focus on specific themes such as diaspora experiences, generational change, or cross-cultural encounters. Comparing this category with other Fiction subgenres can help clarify whether the focus is on the authors’ cultural backgrounds or on stories set within particular communities or historical moments.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"true-true-story-raja-gullible-and-his-mother-novel-national-book-award-winner-9780802166470-new","title":"The True True Story of Raja the Gullible (and His Mother): A Novel (National Book Award Winner)","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":"GROVE ATLANTIC","offers":[{"title":"New","offer_id":51573322055970,"sku":"9780802166470-new","price":22.65,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0893\/4755\/5618\/files\/9780802166470.jpg?v=1777332732"},{"product_id":"no-god-but-us-9780063419469-new","title":"No God But Us","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA Most Anticipated Read: \u003ci\u003eAutostraddle\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eGoodreads\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eSouthern Review of Books\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Millions\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003ethem\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eSheReads\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eDaily Kos\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eDebutiful\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eMizna\u003c\/i\u003e, and\u003ci\u003e LGBTQ Reads\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA \u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e Writer to Watch\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"Stunning.\"\u003ci\u003e--The Atlantic, \u003c\/i\u003e\"The Summer Reading Guide\"\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"One of the year's buzziest LGBTQ+ novels.\"\u003cb\u003e--\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eGoodreads\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"An exhilarating debut from a writer whose work I'll always want to read.\" --R.O. Kwon\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn this wry, provocative debut, two gay Afghan men--cast out of their respective countries of birth by circumstances beyond their control--collide in Istanbul, a city that will test their willingness to sacrifice everything for the ones they love.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhen Delbar--a hapless twenty-something with dreams of becoming a drag queen--is spectacularly outed, he flees the insular immigrant-dense suburbs of Washington, DC to seek refuge with his sympathetic aunt in Istanbul. There, he discovers a vibrant community of dissidents, sex workers, activists, poets, and heretics. Among them are Leif and his boyfriend, Mansur, with whom Delbar quickly develops a blazing fascination.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBut Mansur also nurses a wounded heart, having left his own family, and his first love, behind in Iran. This time, Mansur's learned not to dream bigger than his own survival. He'll keep a low profile, work hard to send money back, and remain faithful to Leif--at least until his refugee status is granted.\u003cbr\u003eWhen riot police descend on attendees of the annual Istanbul Pride march, Mansur and Delbar are thrust into dangerous proximity. With the country surging into authoritarianism, each person must ask themselves: \u003ci\u003ewhat constitutes a life well-lived, and how high is the price of freedom?\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTold through the alternating viewpoints of Delbar and Mansur, Bobuq Sayed's debut is a story of borders and boundaries transgressed, and a seductive exploration of what it means to make a home at the margins of society. At once an immigrant family saga, a thwarted love story, and a searing portrait of politics made intimately personal, \u003ci\u003eNo God but Us \u003c\/i\u003eis an ambitious introduction to a bold new voice.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"A new kind of novel, with vast geographies of nation and heart.\" --SARAH SCHULMAN\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"This is a story alive to contradiction--ferocious in its longing, unsparing in its honesty, and deeply attuned to the ways love and belief survive their own undoing.\" --GARRARD CONLEY\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"I feel lucky to count this story among my literary kin.\" --ARIA ABER\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"HARPERCOLLINS","offers":[{"title":"New","offer_id":52573270376738,"sku":"9780063419469-new","price":23.9,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0893\/4755\/5618\/files\/9780063419469.jpg?v=1789669711"},{"product_id":"true-true-story-raja-gullible-and-his-mother-novel-national-book-award-winner-9780802168436-new","title":"The True True Story of Raja the Gullible (and His Mother): A Novel (National Book Award Winner)","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. 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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":"GROVE PR","offers":[{"title":"New","offer_id":52597090517282,"sku":"9780802168436-new","price":16.48,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0893\/4755\/5618\/files\/9780802168436.jpg?v=1789950829"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.albakireads.com\/collections\/fiction-middle-eastern-arab-american.oembed","provider":"AlbakiReads","version":"1.0","type":"link"}