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Rabih Alameddine

Lebanon (b.1959)

Rabih Alameddine was born in Amman, Jordan to Lebanese parents, and grew up in Kuwait and Lebanon. He was educated in England and America, and has an engineering degree from UCLA and an MBA from the University of San Francisco.

He is the author of the novels Koolaids and I, the Divine, the story collection The Perv, and, most recently, The Hakawati.

Awards: NBA (2025), PEN (2022) see all

Genres: Literary Fiction

New and upcoming books

April 2026

The Penguin Book of the International Short Story

Novels

   Koolaids (1988)
   I, the Divine (2001)
   The Hakawati (2008)
     aka The Storyteller
   An Unnecessary Woman (2014)
   The Angel of History (2016)
   The Wrong End of the Telescope (2021)

Collections

The Perv (1999)

Anthologies edited

The Penguin Book of the International Short Story (2026) (with John Freeman)

Non fiction show

Books containing stories by Rabih Alameddine

The Penguin Book of the International Short Story (2026)
edited by
Rabih Alameddine and John Freeman

Small Odysseys (2022)
Selected Shorts Presents 35 New Stories
edited by
Hannah Tinti

Mothership (2013)
Tales from Afrofuturism and Beyond
edited by
Bill Campbell and Edward Austin Hall

More books

Awards

	2025 National Book Award for Fiction : The True True Story of Raja the Gullible
	2022 PEN/Faulkner Award : The Wrong End of the Telescope

Award nominations

	2022 ALA Notable Books for Adults (nominee) : The Wrong End of the Telescope
	2017 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction (longlist) : The Angel of History
	2014 National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction (nominee) : An Unnecessary Woman
	2014 National Book Award for Fiction (shortlist) : An Unnecessary Woman

Rabih Alameddine recommends

Ghost-Eye (2026)
Amitav Ghosh
"Ghost-Eye is a marvel that will ignite a reader's sense of wonder-a masterful novel, at once simple and capacious. Ghosh is one of our finest writers."

Paradiso 17 (2026)
Hannah Lillith Assadi
"Paradiso 17 is remarkable. It's a novel of unearthing, a story of quiet explosions, of memories lost and recovered. It's urgent and necessary. Read it as an intimate family tale, as mythos, or as history - but read it, read it, read it."

Blackouts (2023)
Justin Torres
"Blackouts is a manifesto and a masterwork-an enthralling, dazzling feat of literary bravura. Justin Torres is the real thing."

Loot (2023)
Tania James
"A luminous novel of history that explores the far reaches of empire and of human desire, of love, greed, betrayal, and possible redemption. In this genuine page-turner, Tania James does the seemingly impossible: not only does she breathe life into charismatic characters, she repeats the feat with automatons, for crying out loud. Tipu's Tiger might be a stolen artifact in a British museum, but you can hear its roar in these pages. Loot is a historical story that bristles with contemporary urgency."

In the Time of Our History (2023)
Susanne Pari
"In the Time of Our History provides a kaleidoscopic look at what it means to be an Iranian-American, what it means to be an American--what it means to be human. Susanne Pari has written a wonderful story that is both unique and universal, a must-read tile in the new mosaic of American novels."

The Lost Notebook of Edouard Manet (2021)
Maureen Gibbon
"How can I not like this, a novel about one of my favorite painters by one of my favorite writers? Like one of the master’s paintings, The Lost Notebook of Édouard Manet is universal in ambition, delicate in sensibility, and intimate in scope. In other words, this book is a miracle."

My Heart (2021)
Semezdin Mehmedinović
"My Heart is a family memoir, a personal account, a travelogue, a history, an immigrant story, and more, much more. A brilliant, unforgettable book, concise yet expansive, both microscopic and universal in its scope. It's a record of the everyday, of the quotidian as informed by our PTSD. An astonishing achievement."

The Great Believers (2018)
Rebecca Makkai
"The Great Believers is a magnificent novel--well imagined, intricately plotted, and deeply felt, both humane and human. It unfurls like a peony: you keep thinking it can't get any more perfect, and it does. A stunning feat."

Convenience Store Woman (2018)
Sayaka Murata
"Convenience Store Woman is a mighty fine book, completely charming. Sayaka Murata is a wonderful writer."

The Last Watchman of Old Cairo (2018)
Michael David Lukas
"A beautiful, richly textured novel, ambitious and delicately crafted, The Last Watchman of Old Cairo is both a coming-of-age story and a family history, a wide-ranging book about fathers and sons, religion, magic, love, and the essence of storytelling. This book is a joy."

Home Fire (2017)
Kamila Shamsie
"A good novelist blurs the imaginary line between us and them; Kamila Shamsie is the rare writer who makes one forget there was ever such a thing as a line. Home Fire is a remarkable novel, both timely and necessary."

More recommendations

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