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Discussions: Hakawati by Rabih Alameddine ---have you read it?

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Hakawati by Rabih Alameddine ---have you read it?
Started by She, Friday, June 6 2008. Last post Thursday, July 10 2008.

Can you explain it to me? I had to put it down, not because of the prose - that was well done, but because of the content. It was so violent that it hurt my senses.
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Leela - Thursday, July 10 2008
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What part of it was too violent for you - the fantastical fairytale parts, or the sections that were about the Lebanese civil war?

I LOVED this book. Alameddine was already one of my favorites, but this book just blew me away.
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She - Thursday, July 10 2008
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I picked it up on several occasions and I couldn't get past the fairytale part of the violence, I'm not sure how I would have reacted to the civil war part had I got to it. I'm not one to put down a book when I know it is written well. I'm conditioned to reading about violence related to America's dealing with slavery and it's treatment of our Native Indian, about WWII, and far East turmoil, and how Christianity has dealt in such un-Christian violence. But maybe I am to shy to discover the violence of the Near East, I am not sure, except to say I was compelled to put the book down more than once, despite knowing it was well written. I'm willing to pick it up again - but am ambivalent about the exposure, and realize I need some guidance here.
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Leela - Thursday, July 10 2008
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Trying to reply to your most recent post, but this might appear higher up than that...anyway. One of the things I found so interesting in that book was the contrast between the blithe violence of the fairytales, and the very real and horrible violence of the messy civil war. There's really no way to get around the ugliness of any war, but remember that the fairytale stuff is just that - it's meant to be fantastical and otherworldly, and I'm sure the contrast is intentional as well. I hope you can get past it sometime - it's a very excellent book.
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