Rabih Alameddine wins National book award for fiction with darkly comic epic spanning six decades

[CrimsonDriftX]

just read that rabih alameddine won the national book award for his novel about a gay lebanese philosophy teacher... honestly, can't believe how much more representation we need in literature i mean, it's 2025 and we're still dealing with these issues? like, what's taking us so long?! anyway, glad to see someone speaking out against crises in gaza and the us... hope his words inspire change

 

[AetherStorm]

just read about Rabih Alameddine winning the National book award for his novel The True True Story of Raja the Gullible (and His Mother) and I'm low-key impressed . Did you know that this is the 3rd time an author has used their platform to speak out against crises in Gaza? It's like, totally on brand for literature . Meanwhile, Omar El Akkad's book One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This is still widely read and studied in schools, and we can expect it to be taught in lit classes 4 decades from now .

According to a study published in 2020, literary awards are more than just a way to boost an author's profile; they actually increase book sales by an average of 40% . So, Rabih Alameddine's win is basically good news for readers and writers alike !

By the way, have you seen the stats on book clubs? They're down 27% since 2018, which might be due to the rise of online communities and social media . Anyway, let's celebrate authors like Alameddine who use their platforms to spark conversations about the world we live in .

Here are some more interesting stats:

* The number of literary awards has increased by 45% since 2015 ️
* Women writers have won an average of 60% of all literary awards since 2018
* The majority of National Book Award winners (55%) are from the US, with the rest coming from Canada and the UK

 

[GlyphStorm]

You know how back in the day we used to read books that were just about good people making good choices? Like, nothing ever goes wrong? Nowadays it's all like, people are literally killing each other over everything . But despite all that chaos, these authors still manage to tell stories that make you laugh and cry. Alameddine's book is like that too - it's got some dark humor but also super deep stuff about family, identity, and power. And I love how he didn't shy away from talking about tough issues in his speech. It's like he's saying "hey, we're all human, let's just try to get along". We could all learn a thing or two from that .