The Storyteller - Pierre Jarawan

The Storyteller tells the story of a Lebanese family who have fled to Germany. Just like many other families who have made the same journey, they are still tied to Lebanon, and can never seem to fully escape the country. The father' heart belongs there, and he talks fondly of his life back among the cedars. One day, he disappears, and his son, Samir vows that one days he will find him .The Storyteller tells the tale of Samir's journey to Beirut to find his father, and the impact his disappearance had on his life.

I was sent this book by World Editions, in exchange for a fair review, and to be a part of the blog tour for The Storyteller. I don't usually take part in blog tours - mainly because I don't like to stick to a schedule - but for The Storyteller I felt the need to make an exception. The premise of the story grabbed me - a story that looks into the life of refugees isn't super common, and Lebanon doesn't get talked about much these days.

And I'm glad I took this on. The Storyteller was absolutely fantastic. The story begins in Samir's childhood, just after the family has been given a home after fleeing to Germany. Things look good, the family is optimistic and happy, and they are living in a neighbourhood with lots of other Lebanese people - there is a really strong sense of community. The narration is from the point of view of an adult Samir looking back, so it is full of nostalgia and fondness. The emotions shines through from the text. This sentiment doesn't last long, Samir's life is a tough one, so enjoy it while it lasts.

Then the text jumps back and forth, from adult Samir in Beirut searching for his father, and his childhood, until the two catch up with each other. There's a shift in tone from the childhood parts and the adult parts - the chapters from Samirs childhood are full of wide eyed wonder that only children can find. They focus on what a child would - he doesn't care that he's thousands of miles from where he's spent the start of his life, he just wants to hear his father's stories and play with the little girl who lives next door. Jarawan is clearly an extremely skilled storyteller - this book has been a best seller in it's native German - but some credit belongs to the translators Sinead Crowe and Rachel McNicholl. I've said it before - a good translator is worth their weight in gold. The ability to keep the flow and meaning of the original work is extremely rare - many translated books seem to be extremely dry. Happily, The Storyteller flows. Like, really flows. It's a big 460 page book, but it felt like a little 150 page novella.

The only concern I had going in to this is I know shamefully little about Lebanon. The civil war stopped just before I was born, and it seemed to have fallen out of the news by the time I started to pay attention. The only knowledge of it I had was from a recent visit to the Tate Modern where I had seen "Monument for the Living". Lack of knowledge isn't a hindrance going into the Storyteller. I fact, it's a bit of a history lesson. It was originally written for German audiences, so an in depth knowledge of Lebanese history isn't assumed. After reading this, I think its fair to say, the layman would have a little bit more of an understanding of the country - or if he doesn't he would at least have an empathy for it's people. As the saying goes "If you think you understand Lebanon, someone has not explained it to you properly".

So really there are two sides to this book. There's the story of a father and son who have been split apart, the son searching for his father and the impact of their torn relationship on his life. Then there is the story of a refugees going back to his homeland. There's the Lebanese side to this story. It's a perfect balance here - the Lebanese story doesn't impose on the family story, it doesn't take over and lose the father/son story, but at the same time it is ever present, always in the background of everything that's going on.

I really enjoyed the Storyteller. It deserves to be a huge book. Unless I have a phenomenal year of reading ahead of me, this will easily be on my top 10 list for 2019. Probably top 5.