<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p> The paper discusses experimental fiction of Rabih Alameddine, an American writer of Lebanese origin, whose literary pursuits subvert Orientalist discourse based on the East/West dichotomy by focusing on the commonalities of the two. The recurring motif of searching for one’s identity (while being trapped in-between two mutually distant and at the same time similar worlds) is reflected in the subversion of the traditional understanding of the narrative which is destined to a constant failure. Alameddine’s storytelling is, in reality, a “story-trying.“ By employing multiple narrators, intertwining plots, genres and languages, the author is striving hard to tell “hisstory” about American homophobia, Lebanese sectarianism as well as the physical and psychological outcomes of war - a story which turns up to be a narration of the thousand and one failed beginnings.</p></abstract>

The paper discusses experimental fiction of Rabih Alameddine, an American writer of Lebanese origin, whose literary pursuits subvert Orientalist discourse based on the East/West dichotomy by focusing on the commonalities of the two. The recurring motif of searching for one’s identity (while being trapped in-between two mutually distant and at the same time similar worlds) is reflected in the subversion of the traditional understanding of the narrative which is destined to a constant failure. Alameddine’s storytelling is, in reality, a “story-trying.“ By employing multiple narrators, intertwining plots, genres and languages, the author is striving hard to tell “hisstory” about American homophobia, Lebanese sectarianism as well as the physical and psychological outcomes of war - a story which turns up to be a narration of the thousand and one failed beginnings.

The thousand and one tries: Storytelling as an art of failure in Rabih Alameddine’s Fiction

Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra Faculty of Education, Dražovská 4, 949 74 Nitra, Slovakia

Journal of Language and Cultural Education

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

The paper discusses experimental fiction of Rabih Alameddine, an American writer of Lebanese origin, whose literary pursuits subvert Orientalist discourse...

The thousand and one tries: Storytelling as an art of failure in Rabih Alameddine’s Fiction

Published Online: Oct 15, 2015

Page range: 112 - 124

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/jolace-2015-0025

Keywords
Rabih Alameddine, American literature, identity, Orientalism, storytelling

© 2015

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

The thousand and one tries: Storytelling as an art of failure in Rabih Alameddine’s Fiction

Published Online: Oct 15, 2015

Page range: 112 - 124

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/jolace-2015-0025

KeywordsRabih Alameddine, American literature, identity, Orientalism, storytelling

© 2015

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Keywords
Rabih Alameddine, American literature, identity, Orientalism, storytelling