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The Hakawati
- Narrated by: Assaf Cohen
- Length: 20 hrs and 53 mins
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Publisher's summary
In 2003, Osama al-Kharrat returns to Beirut after many years in America to stand vigil at his father's deathbed. As the family gathers, stories begin to unfold: Osama's grandfather was a hakawati, or storyteller, and his bewitching tales are interwoven with classic stories of the Middle East. Here are Abraham and Isaac; Ishmael, father of the Arab tribes; the beautiful Fatima; Baybars, the slave prince who vanquished the Crusaders; and a host of mischievous imps. Through Osama, we also enter the world of the contemporary Lebanese men and women whose stories tell a larger, heartbreaking tale of seemingly endless war, conflicted identity, and survival. With The Hakawati, Rabih Alameddine has given us an Arabian Nights for this century.
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Inextricably linked with the fatwa called against its author in the wake of the novel’s publication, The Satanic Verses is, beyond that, a rich showcase for Salman Rushdie’s comic sensibilities, cultural observations, and unparalleled mastery of language. The book begins with two Indians plummeting from the sky after the explosion of their airliner, and proceeds through a series of metamorphoses, dreams and revelations.
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Use an audiobook to really enjoy Satanic Verses
- By David Edelberg on 11-24-12
By: Salman Rushdie
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Wicked
- The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West
- By: Gregory Maguire
- Narrated by: John McDonough
- Length: 19 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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Heralded as an instant classic of fantasy literature, Maguire has written a wonderfully imaginative retelling of The Wizard of Oz told from the Wicked Witch's point of view. More than just a fairy tale for adults, Wicked is a meditation on the nature of good and evil.
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It's not easy being green
- By PangaeaReads on 07-30-08
By: Gregory Maguire
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Muhammad: A Story of the Last Prophet
- By: Deepak Chopra MD
- Narrated by: Deepak Chopra
- Length: 8 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Born into the factious world of war-torn Arabia, Muhammad's life is a gripping and inspiring story of one man's tireless fight for unity and peace. In a world where greed and injustice ruled, Muhammad created change by affecting hearts and minds. Just as the story of Jesus embodies the message of Christianity, Muhammad's life reveals the core of Islam. Deepak Chopra shares the life of Muhammad as never before, putting his teachings in a new light.
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Poorly written and poorly narrated
- By Shahrad Milanfar on 10-21-10
By: Deepak Chopra MD
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Honor
- By: Elif Shafak
- Narrated by: Mozhan Marno, Piter Marik
- Length: 12 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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An honor killing shatters and transforms the lives of Turkish immigrants in 1970s London. Internationally best-selling Turkish author Elif Shafak’s new novel is a dramatic tale of families, love, and misunderstandings that follows the destinies of twin sisters born in a Kurdish village. While Jamila stays to become a midwife, Pembe follows her Turkish husband, Adem, to London, where they hope to make new lives for themselves and their children. In London, they face a choice: stay loyal to the old traditions or try their best to fit in.
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Complex but Compelling
- By Cariola on 04-14-13
By: Elif Shafak
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Cleopatra's Daughter
- A Novel
- By: Michelle Moran
- Narrated by: Wanda McCaddon
- Length: 11 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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The marriage of Marc Antony and Cleopatra is one of the greatest love stories of all time, a tale of unbridled passion with earth-shaking political consequences. Feared and hunted by the powers in Rome, the lovers choose to die by their own hands as the triumphant armies of Antony's vengeful rival, Octavian, sweep into Egypt. Their three orphaned children are taken in chains to Rome; only two---the 10-year-old twins Selene and Alexander---survive the journey.
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A pretty engaging story
- By Annette on 12-23-09
By: Michelle Moran
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The Architect's Apprentice
- By: Elif Shafak
- Narrated by: Piter Marek
- Length: 16 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1540, 12-year-old Jahan arrives in Istanbul. As an animal tamer in the sultan's menagerie, he looks after the exceptionally smart elephant Chota and befriends (and falls for) the sultan's beautiful daughter Princess Mihrimah. A palace education leads Jahan to Mimar Sinan, the empire's chief architect, who takes Jahan under his wing as they construct (with Chota's help) some of the most magnificent buildings in history.
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I feel like I should like it more than I do
- By nyog on 04-19-17
By: Elif Shafak
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The Many Lives & Secret Sorrows of Josephine B.
- By: Sandra Gulland
- Narrated by: Kim Handysides
- Length: 14 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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In this first of three books inspired by the life of Josephine Bonaparte, Sandra Gulland has created a novel of immense and magical proportions. We meet Josephine in the exotic and lush Martinico, where an old island woman predicts that one day she will be queen. The journey from the remote village of her birth to the height of European elegance is long, but Josephine's fortune proves to be true.
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Performance...ugh
- By Lisa on 02-17-18
By: Sandra Gulland
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Princess
- A True Story of Life Behind the Veil in Saudi Arabia
- By: Jean Sasson
- Narrated by: Catherine Byers
- Length: 7 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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Princess describes the life of Princess Sultana Al Sa'ud, a princess in the royal house of Saudi Arabia. Hidden behind her black veil, she is a prisoner, jailed by her father, her husband, and her country. Sultana tells of appalling oppressions, everyday occurrences that in any other culture would be seen as shocking human rights violations: 13-year-old girls forced to marry men five times their age; young women killed by drowning, stoning, or isolation in the "women's room". Princess is a testimony to a woman of indomitable spirit and courage.
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Good story but...
- By Jay Friedman on 07-25-14
By: Jean Sasson
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Golden Earrings
- By: Belinda Alexandra
- Narrated by: Caroline Lee
- Length: 20 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Catalina, grand-daughter of Spanish refugees, is a disciplined student with the School of the Paris Opera Ballet. Little gets inthe way of her career until the visit of an otherworldly being, who leaves her a mysterious pair of golden earrings. Given a quest, Catalina realises she must explore her own Spanish heritage and makes the connection between the visitor and ‘La Rusa’, a young Andalusian flamenco star. La Rusa died in exile in Paris in 1952, her death ruled as suicide. But as Catalina begins to discover, there were those in the community, who had good reason for wanting La Rusa dead.
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Fabulous story
- By Paddington on 10-19-12
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The Stories of Eva Luna
- By: Isabel Allende
- Narrated by: Elizabeth Pena
- Length: 2 hrs and 44 mins
- Abridged
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Immerse yourself in a world of love, vengeance, compassion, and irony with the evocative stories of Eva Luna. Author Isabel Allende introduced this well-loved character to audiences in her earlier novel, Eva Luna. Listen to Allende talk about the role of writing in her life in Giving Birth, Finding Form. This program also features Alice Walker and Jean Shinoda Bolen.
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Better some Allende than no Allende
- By Perschon on 12-04-14
By: Isabel Allende
What listeners say about The Hakawati
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- nasser
- 06-27-23
Over rated
Below average, difficult to follow, jumps between stories back and forth with no interuption.
Did not enjoy it
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- Amazon Customer
- 11-09-18
For lovers of storytelling
Alameddine’s best work! The stories are so beautifully woven together. A pleasure to listen to. Cohen annoyingly mispronounced the Arabic names, but his interpretation of the different characters was not bad at all.
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- Zora O'Neill
- 02-29-16
Great book, poor narration
How did the narrator detract from the book?
This is a *wonderful* book, but the narration causes a lot of superficial problems, to the point where I'm switching to the print version. What's consistently most aggravating is the narrator's poor Arabic accent, which is very distracting and just winds up sounding like a bad parody. Also, his English pronunciation can be weirdly off (hearth does not rhyme with earth). And why does he pronounce Baybars without the S? Finally, and most deadly to the narration, there is seldom an adequate pause for section breaks. Only a second or two more would make a huge difference in marking the switch from tale to tale, which is critical in such a carefully woven story.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Ze
- 12-28-23
Fattouch Salad
I couldn’t follow who in the name of man was who. The story is too chaotic, moving in and out non stop between drivel and reality. There isn’t one story but a bunch of chaotic sub plots. This is the equivalent of a Fattouch salad, a tasty Lebanese salad with too many ingredients to know exactly what is in it. Sadly this is not as tasty as a fattouch salad.
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- Chrissie
- 09-23-15
Confusing
I listened to 4 hours of 20 hours and 53 minutes.....and then I gave up.
Why?
I was confused much of the time. I didn't always know who was speaking. I didn't know if I was listening to a "story"* or the present time thread about Osama al-Kharrat who was back in Lebanon because his father was dying. Or was this now a shift to Osama's youth? Also, I didn't know who was who. Aunts and uncles and cousins - I just couldn't keep them straight. The characters are not properly introduced. I was upset when another new person popped up out of the blue. It felt like I was supposed to remember them.....but I didn't know who they were. Had I forgotten them, or was I supposed to calm down and wait for an explanation? Sorry, but I can take only so much confusion at the same time.
Furthermore, I do not understand how the different threads are interconnected. Why are we being told that and that? How are the themes related?
I am fine with sex in a book, but in this book it just felt dirty or out of place. Again, I would ask, "What was the point of putting that episode in there?" I was never attracted, but instead repulsed.
And then there are the stories! I found them too repetitive, too long and too fantastical. They are not told in one sequence. This too is confusing.
What is this book trying to say? I simply could not follow it. It didn't grab my attention or make me curious. That is a serious problem.
I just do not understand this book!
The audiobook narration by Assaf Cohen was fine…… except there has to be some way of alerting the listener so they can distinguish between the central thread, side threads and the many, many stories. You could pause or use several narrators.
* Hakawati means storyteller in Lebanese.
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4 people found this helpful