Ali Al Saeed

Bahrain. Two stars for effort and because it's better than [b:Brain Death|9294165|Brain Death|S. Wilkinson|http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg|14176734].

Why is the last Q capitalized? We don't learn the answer to this rather obvious question in this first Bahraini novel published in English. That it has won awards speaks to the importance of this publication, but not its quality. There may be something of Bahrain in the themes or tone of the story, but I don't have a way to evaluate it. It seems to take place in the U.S., England, or somewhere similar. The events and plot seem to intend to convey that we cannot escape our (frightening, horrific, intertwined) destinies, but that why things should happen to us, in particular, is random or chaotic. This is the best sense I can make of the novel, which reads like a good second draft in a college fiction writing class. There is something there, but the powerful and genuine aspect of the novel has not yet emerged. The English itself is intermediate EFL level with sudden changes of tense within sentences, misused words, infelicities of grammar, and technically correct but awkward constructions.

I applaud the effort. I may read the only other book I could find by a Bahraini, though I thought when I bought it that he was Qatari: [b:A Line in the Sea: The Qatar v. Bahrain Border Dispute in the World Court|2516965|A Line in the Sea The Qatar v. Bahrain Border Dispute in the World Court|Jawad Al-Arayd|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1266889589s/2516965.jpg|2524362]--Oh yes, be still, my heart. [Note to Meaghan, Julie, and Harry: A Line in the Sea may be your best bet for Bahrain.]
… (altro)

Al Saeed is Bahraini, but writes in English because he feels that Bahraini literature does not get exposed to the rest of the world enough. However, rather than ruin the book, the slightly strange language actually succeeds in adding to the surrealistic feel of the novel. Set in the picture perfect (presumably American) town of Okay, it follows a few days in the lives of two rootless men. Patrick Roymint and Guy Kelton are lost souls in Okay's clockwork-like day-to-day running. The town is sort of Midwich-like, kept neat and tidy, and bland, by its citizens' acquiescent apathy. Patrick and Guy are troubled by disturbing glimpses into Okay's seedy underbelly, and find they are losing touch with its veneer. They find themselves sliding headlong into the darkness the townspeople are usually unable to see, and come face-to-face with its grey eminences, and their own private demons.
The English is, in places, just plain wrong, but in a funny way many of the odd turns of phrase actually enhance the book's odd vision of suburban life. It is a little like watching a Terry Gilliam movie, where everything is just turned 5 degrees away from normal. Even the character names (Aaron Minister, Randy Challenger) add to the weirdness. It is possible that some of this subtelty is intended by Al Saeed, but he does get enough wrong to indicate that not everything is intended. The story itself is suffused with Sufism, particularly regarding the roles of destiny and fate in shaping people's lives. Initially, there is a strange beauty to Patrick and Guy's interactions, which occur with an improbability that you (the reader) just have to accept. Once you have put your brain in the right place, the surrealism just seems to work.
However, the book fails on a much more mundane level. Once the plot starts unfolding it just can't stop. Where the story had initially been subtle and mystical, by the end unlikely revelation follows pointless action. There are a couple of bloodbaths and a revelation that I couldn't have cared less about. I wish Al Saeed had the bravery to follow his more subtle course because, although there was undoubtedly much to dislike, he was building something interesting for a while. Unfortunately it goes down as another book I can't bring myself to recommend.… (altro)