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PIERRE JARAWAN was born in 1985 to a Lebanese father and a German mother and moved to Germany with his family at the age of three. Inspired by his father's love of telling imaginative bedtime stories, he started writing at the age of thirteen. He has won international prizes as a slam poet, received the City of Munich literary scholarship (the Bayerische Kunstf rderpreis) for The Storyteller, and was chosen as Literature Star of the Year by the daily newspaper AZ.
Jarawan has just the right touch on some of the finer details, as when he writes in Samir's voice that he remembers the date Nov. 22, 2000, not because it was when he lost his virginity but 'because that's the day Mother died.' His depiction of a Lebanon once torn apart by civil war is also well-nuanced... --Kirkus Reviews 'A literary debut of astounding maturity, refinement, and narrative power' Literatur Abendzeitung 'Jarawan's narrative is captivating, fast-paced, and true to life--a fascinating exploration of the question of what it means to be influenced by several cultures at the same time' Frankfurter Neue Presse 'His masterful debut successfully interweaves historical events and a suspense-filled investigation of one family's fate into a novel that deeply moves its readers' New Books in German 'In a sweeping style reminiscent of oriental storytelling, Jarawan tells of escape, migration, and a family torn between two cultures. His debut succeeds in bringing foreign culture into focus and awakens in the reader a fascination with the Land of the Cedars' Kulturtipp 'The story of an escape, of a family, and of the Far East: how the fate of one family is inevitably linked with Lebanon's history. An enthralling novel which couldn't be more timely' Rhein-Zeitung 'Pierre Jarawan has worked Lebanon's complicated history brilliantly into his debut novel' TAZ 'There are many good reasons to read this book immediately. Above all, it's a wonderful, terrifically narrated story that will enchant you timelessly!' MIKE LITT, WDR 1Live Klubbing 'This new literary voice is particularly melodious and memorable. The Storyteller is an elegantly and unobtrusively narrated novel that shows us what is behind and beyond the narrow stuffy rooms that we call our world, our Europe, our West. With this novel, the doors open to a thousand other beautiful incomprehensible worlds' ALEXANDER SOLLOCH, NDR Culture New Books 'This book is a masterwork--a debut of great class' Booklover & Dreamcatcher 'A moving and wonderfully constructed story, full of beautiful images--Jarawan teaches us about both history and the future, without ever becoming didactic' Tzum 'An exciting family mystery, focusing on both historical and current political situations; a testimony to the way migrants are torn between their old homeland and their new' Ruhr Nachrichten 'A wonderful and authentic way of storytelling' Boekenkrant 'A beautiful book full of fascinating storytelling and poetic language, that you devour without stopping for breath. If you start reading this book, you'll want to keep reading it, rereading it. A masterful and particularly fascinating debut for such a young writer--one we can hopefully expect a lot more from.' Leeskost 'Jarawan has produced a fairytale that could be straight out of One Thousand and One Nights. From the very beginning, you float away on the story as if on a flying carpet' NRC 'An engaging novel' Mappa Libri 'A story worth telling' De Volkskrant
