Raja’s mother drives him insane. He spends a lot of Rabih Alameddine’s affecting new novel, The True True Story of Raja the Gullible (and His Mother), telling us so. She insists on her way until he gives in. She makes friends with his students, to his great embarrassment. They argue constantly about everything. Her best friend is a formidable criminal boss. And yet, his actions speak much louder than all those words. It’s clear that Raja dearly loves his infuriating mother, Zalfa.
There are few people Raja likes, let alone loves. Early in this novel, Raja tells us just why he hates his brother so much. Not only did this brother treat Raja horribly for most of his life, he also swindled their mother and made her miserable when she followed the idiot from Beirut to Dubai. When Zalfa returned to Beirut, Raja took her in. He made room in his apartment and his life for his mother; he does his best to make her happy in spite of all their bickering. I was highly entertained by Raja’s exasperation—and was also deeply thankful that I don’t have any relatives like Zalfa.
One would think that two people who can barely talk to each other without starting a fight would be desperate to get away from each other. Commenters on Reddit’s Am I the Asshole forum would be baying for both of them to go no contact and get some therapy. But Raja surprises us by telling us about the two worst things that ever happened to him and how his mother swooped in like an avenging angel to rescue him. As humorous as some of the scenes in The True True Story of Raja the Gullible are, I was very moved by Raja’s story. Raja’s early years were rough. He knew early on that he was gay. He also learned that showing any sign of his sexuality and propensity for drag would be severely punished if word got out. His mother, however, never thought worse of Raja for being gay. In fact, she’s a little miffed that Raja never shared his best makeup tips. Things get downright harrowing for Raja when the Lebanese Civil War starts. I don’t want to say too much more about Raja’s travails because it would ruin the emotional build if I gave away more details.
The True True Story of Raja the Gullible (and His Mother) is another amazing work of storytelling by Rabih Alameddine. This is the third book I’ve read by Alameddine. I’ve come to trust him as a master spinner of tales that resist all my efforts to figure out where things are going. Instead, I know with Alameddine that I should sit back and let the words wash over me. I will be rewarded with deep character development, entangled plots, and a hell of an emotional wallop. This book absolutely delivered all three.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley, for review consideration.