Raja Haddad

Raja is the narrator and central figure of The True True Story of Raja the Gullible. A gay Lebanese translator and retired literature teacher in his sixties, he lives in a cramped Beirut apartment with his mother Zalfa and devotes much of his daily life to caring for her. Raja presents himself as timid and awkward, but his long monologue reveals a sharp mind, deep emotional intelligence, and a relentless sense of irony. He calls himself gullible and blames himself for a lifetime of bad decisions, from funding his mother’s cosmetic surgery to trusting the banks that trap his savings and accepting the American Excellence Foundation’s invitation. At the same time, he shows a consistent willingness to shelter endangered people, including Mansour during the siege and his aunt and cousin after the port explosion. Raja’s formative trauma is his captivity and coercive sexual relationship...