Koolaids
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Book Overview
A dazzling literary debut, set in the war in Lebanon and the AIDS epidemic
'A wildly imaginative tour de force - impressive, stunning' FENTON JOHNSON
'Hyperactive and apocalyptic . . . come up laughing' GAY TIMES
'This book is not to be missed' RICK WALLACH
A dazzling literary debut, KOOLAIDS shatters the dimension of time and mimes the chaos of contemporary existence as it details the impact of the AIDS epidemic and the Lebanese civil war on a circle of family and friends.
In clips, quips, memories and hallucinations, tragic news reports and hilarious short plays, diary entries and conversations, KOOLAIDS tells the stories of a group of individuals who can no longer love or think except in fragments of time.
Their dances with death - in wartorn Beirut, with the scourge of AIDS - form a raging affirmation of life.
Format:Paperback
Language:English
ISBN:0349110611
ISBN13:9780349110615
Release Date:August 1999
Publisher:Abacus (UK)
Length:258 Pages
Weight:0.40 lbs.
Dimensions:0.5" x 5.1" x 7.8"
Customer Reviews
5 ratings
Incredible cross cultural experience
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 24 years ago
I received this book as a birthday gift. As a Lebanese person, I found this book extremely enlightening and charming. It was everything I always felt, since I shared with the author a similar experience of growing up during the war times in Beirut. This book brought back old memories that are both painful and joyful.Mr Alameddine's style is impeccable. You fly from character to character, from reality to dreams, to fiction, and then back to reality. His depiction of the Lebanese culture in the "play" he wrote about the two lebanese women in Paris is hilarious and unfortunately very true.I think every Lebanese person should read this book. It connects very well with any person who grew up in two different cultures. It is time for our culture to face reality and deal with the issues of homosexuality and AIDS. I ordered Alameddine's next book "The Perv" and I can't wait to receive it.
what style! i cannot stop, i want to because it is so sad
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 25 years ago
clever. i am involved, i want to stop because there is just too much to deal with in those pages, my eyes are constantly filling with tears, but i cannot. beirut is a city i love, and death is something i do not like. and i cannot understand how cruel, simply cruel, living can be. i just wish deeply that the wirter does not have aids, it would be painful. yes, from a very egocentric personal point of view. sorry. war, death, aids, being gay, all are personal stuff.
brilliant, plain brilliant
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 25 years ago
Loved it! this book is a must have and a must read. I devoured it, and it devoured me! I wish more lebanese writers have the guts to express their minds. More More I want more!
Original and insightful novel.
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 26 years ago
For any gay man who participated in gay/queer communities in the late 1980's, reading "Koolaids" will be like experiencing a long, accurate and precise memory of those furious and painful times (details of life during the epidemic are interspersed with vignettes about war-era Beirut. Trust me - it works.) "Koolaids" is not just a good book. It is angry (Remember when people were angry? Ah, what a lark!), funny, queer and smart. It is original. Many previous AIDS memoirs/fictions have been precious accounts of loss, sweaters and Paris. Really. If you pick up the three most famous gay male memoirs about AIDS, you will read as much about France and good cheese and fine wine as you will about loss and disease. These books say more about the authors' sartorial and gastronomic preferences than about the epidemic or the times. "Koolaids", on the other hand, reminds us of the uses of anger and grief, and of what the virus did to individuals, communities and a nation. By returning the reader to a wholly different era, "Koolaids" makes history.
An amazing book
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 26 years ago
This book is the best book I have read in a long time, a true masterpiece. It is the only book I began rereading right after finishing it. Both heart-achingly sad and hilariously funny, It shines through with a remarkable wit. Comparing and contrasting the Lebanese civil war and the AIDS epidemic in the US was very effective. This is a must read book for everyone.
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