Hakawati means storyteller, and this book is a great story, or rather a wealth of stories, intertwined and related in various ways. From the title character, "Stories with obvious moral lessons are like eels in a wooden crate. They slither over and under each other, but never leave the tub." I'm not sure exactly what that means, but the stories definitely touched me, even if I wasn't always sure in what way, or what to take away from them. First off, this book was LONG! Over 500 pages...this is not say that it won't keep your attention but if you don't have dedicated time to read it it will be VERY hard to keep track of.It is NOT one of the those books that you can just read a few pages now and then and expect to keep track of the myriad stories going on.That said, the story and the stories themselves are awesome to read and reveal the wealth and depth of the middle eastern/turkish/persian culture.Reading this book reminds you a little of what it is like to be a kid again...to allow yourself to live in a world created by your imagination.BUT...the central narrative of the story was a little difficult to follow and felt disjointed at times. The author has so many characters in the story, that he fails to fully flesh them out...and really, doing so would probably require another 300 pages which would be a challenge to even the most ambitious read
What do You think about Hakawati (2008)?
It's like reading several books at once [in a good way]. Magical.
—jooney21
Gave up on p.182, didn't hold my interest. Too many characters.
—Lollipop625
wonderful from start to finish. I learned so much as well.
—kayla
