Rawi Hage Kolejność książek (chronologicznie)

A searing and visionary novel set in war-torn 1970s Beirut, from an author praised for his fierce poetic originality (Boston Globe) and uncompromising vision (Colm Tóibín).

U gradu poznatom po karnevalu postoje dvije vrste taksista: pauci, koji mirno čekaju mušterije, i muhe, koje jurcaju tražeći plijen. Glavni junak, Muha, rođen je u cirkusu i kao dječak ostao siroče, ali je odrastao uz ljubav dvoje iznimnih ljudi. Njegov taksi postaje mjesto susreta s raznolikim osobama – običnim ljudima, kriminalcima, prostitutkama i čudacima. Dok ih vozi, on sluša njihove priče, postajući njihov ispovjednik i pomagač. Muha nosi vlastite demone, opsesije i ljubavi; nije običan taksist, već strastveni čitatelj, zaljubljen u svoju susjedu i odan svojim posvojiteljima. Njegovo utočište su knjige, složene na neobičan način na beskrajnim policama, koje oblikuju njegov svijet. U ovom romanu-kaleidoskopu pratimo život urbanog središta kroz oči nekoga tko ga najbolje poznaje, ali ostaje nijemi promatrač. Rawi Hage, briljantan pripovjedač, stvara djelo ispunjeno humorom, tugom, životnošću i seksualnošću, gdje se ljudske emocije savršeno odražavaju na stražnjem sjedištu njegova automobila. “Zamislite da je Camus iznova napisao Taksista,” primjećuje Toronto Life, dok Daily Telegraph hvali roman kao “očaravajuće uspješan”. Guardian ga opisuje kao “bogat, lijep, hrabar, zanosan, inteligentan, duhovit i vrlo ljudski roman.”

Cockroach is as urgent, unsettling, and brilliant as Rawi Hage's bestselling and critically acclaimed first book, De Niro's Game. The novel takes place during one month of a bitterly cold winter in Montreal's restless immigrant community, where a self-described thief has just tried but failed to commit suicide. Rescued against his will, the narrator is obliged to attend sessions with a well-intentioned but naive therapist. This sets the story in motion, leading us back to the narrator's violent childhood in a war-torn country, forward into his current life in the smoky emigre cafes where everyone has a tale, and out into the frozen night-time streets of Montreal, where the thief survives on the edge, imagining himself to be a cockroach invading the lives of the privileged, but wilfully blind, citizens who surround him. In 2008, Cockroach was a finalist for the Scotiabank Giller Prize, the Governor General's Literary Award, and the Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize. It won the Paragraphe Hugh MacLennan Prize for Fiction, presented by the Quebec Writers' Federation.

De Niro's Game is the award-winning debut novel by Lebanese author Rawi Hage, who also wrote Cockroach. The story follows childhood best friends Bassam and George, who grow up on the Christian side of war-torn Beirut. As they approach adulthood, they face a pivotal choice: stay in their corrupt, exhausted city or seek a new life abroad. Bassam, desperate to escape, resorts to petty crimes to fund his journey to the West. In contrast, George embraces the city's underworld, gaining power through military service, organized crime, and violence. Their diverging paths ultimately collide, leading to explosive consequences. Hage's novel serves as a poignant exploration of two young men and a city scarred by war. Critics have praised it as a masterpiece, highlighting its nuanced portrayal of the psychological impact of conflict and the vivid descriptions that bring Beirut to life. Hage, who experienced the Lebanese civil war firsthand, has received acclaim for his powerful storytelling and has won multiple literary awards. He currently resides in Montreal.