"Is it all worth it in the end?" I kept being asked why.
The concept, for some people, was just incomprehensible; an Arab writing fiction in English? Why? And why English? Why not Arabic? Why fiction? This was not just a challenge. It was the start of something new.
Writing a novel in English was unheard of amongst Bahrainis. This was something that was in the back of my mind during the writing of my very first novel. But it wasn't until I had actually published my book that it sunk in.
A little over five years since I first started working on it, QuixotiQ was born. And the response from the media and the public was a pleasant surprise. The novel went on to become a national best seller and received wide acclaim and praise from local and international critics and authors.
All of a sudden, this whole affair turned from just a guy's dabbling with storytelling and passion for writing, into a national celebration! Bahrain had its first English-language novelist. It didn't come easy. For five years I struggled with completing the manuscript.
Coming from a small country that had no history in English literature, I found it difficult to find a publisher for my novel. There simply weren't any !
Thankfully I discovered POD (Publish on Demand). This gave me the platform to launch my career as a writer. I must admit that the process of self-publishing was a useful learning curve, from editing, to layout and from art design to production.
The response QuixotiQ received was beyond my wildest imagination. I thought people would shrug it off, but to my utmost pleasure, they were 'interested'. I would never have imagined being asked to give a talk on writing and literature to a group of 16-year-old students, or being invited to partake in an international literature seminar in Cambridge, of being flown all the way to Stockholm for a cultural conference. And to top all that, being given the Bahrain 2004 Outstanding Book of the Year Award for QuixotiQ.
QuixotiQ did what I hoped it would. It got Bahrainis reading (and writing!) English-language literature. It began a new movement. It encouraged more young and talented locals to come out and present their work.
Following the success of my debut novel, two new local authors emerged on the scene by publishing their own prose and verse in English. It is important for any beginning writer not to give up and to peruse his goals and dreams. Most times, it pays off. I truly never thought I would ever get published, let alone have a best-selling and award-winning novel.
As I prepare to launch my latest book, I'm hoping that my stories will reach more people. Because, even though our world today might seem glum and dark - with a horrible war going on not far away - there are always things that make it worthwhile.
There will always be the pleasure of writing, and reading, and escaping reality through our vast imagination and beautifully odd dreams.I sometimes ask myself if my stories - any stories -mean anything when there's so much darkness in the world. But then I realise, what's life without hopes and dreams?
I believe that the only way to communicate with other cultures, to make the world a better place, is through our stories and tales, by sharing our astounding imaginations and fictions.
It doesn't matter where you're from, and what you believe in, we all understand and enjoy stories and we all love a good read.
People don't ask me why I write anymore.
Appeared in the GDN Vol XXIX , NO. 174, Sunday, 10th September 2006
Monday, September 25, 2006
Friday, September 01, 2006
In pursuit of the Great Big Obscure Novel...
I woke up one morning and suddenly decided to buy that novel I've been thinking about reading for a while from my local bookstore. Heaven knows when was the last time I did some good old-fashioned 'physical' book shopping, what with all this Internet shopping and online bookstores and all that.
It would later on reveal itself to me as one big mistake. I simply didn't know what I was getting myself into. The simple, straight-forward visit would end up being one long, arduous adventure into the world of Bahrain's unnaturally tapered book shopping.
Now mind you, I tend to lean favourably more towards what others would only describe as nothing less than obscure novels. What can I say, I'm not a big fan of the commercialised, hyped-up books out there. Call me a hypocrite if you like.
I started by playing it safe and drove to one of the biggest and better known bookstores in Bahrain. After a relatively quick browse, I went up to the counter to ask the smiling gentleman behind it if they had the Great Big Obscure Novel I was searching for. He turned to his computer and punched a few keys and, completely engrossed, delved into the results shown on his screen.
"Sorry, sir, we don't seem to have it," he apologetically told me, "but you can order it through us."
I thanked him for the offer. Knowing full well that it was most probably going to take 10 to 14 days to get here.
"Of course, you'll just have to pay a small shipping fee."
"Oh," I frowned, "so it'll likely take up to two weeks AND you'll overcharge me for it? Why don't I just go ahead and order it through Amazon?"
He smiled again, this time nervously. When I leaned over the counter and glanced at the screen, I realised that he was actually browsing Amazon.com. Great.
My visit to the next stop was a lot shorter. A skip through their "Fiction" section revealed to me that whoever was the purchase manager of that shop must still be living in the 80s.
All I found, stacked all together over a few shelves, were cheesy romantic paperbacks with bare-chested men on the covers - think John Holmes meets Joan Harris- in the A-Team era - and some political thrillers that had something or other to do with the Russian communist party.
And yes, they, of course, had a couple of Tom Clancy chunkies.
I drove to the other side of the island for my next visit. This time I didn't bother browsing. I went straight to the shopkeeper.
"I'm looking for this novel ?" I paused. The poor bloke looked as if I had just told him he had three seconds to live.
"Uh, never mind. Thank you."
It's frustrating that Bahrain to this day does not have a great source for a wide variety of reading material. It would be brilliant to see some of those big bookstore chains arriving on the island.
But until that happens, all we have is a couple of decent stores and several jumbled ones that don't appear to know the basics of bookselling.
One of the things I make sure I do whenever I am abroad is visit as many bookstores as I can find on my path, even if I wasn't looking for anything in particular. It's an experience. It's not like, say, going to Geant for the weekly Friday afternoon shopping. As long as e-books (books in digital format) don't completely replace printed books, the need for physical bookstores won't be overshadowed by the online stores.
By midday I abandoned my pursuit. My dream of spending a bright weekend morning at one of the many beautiful coffee shops around the island, sipping on an aromatic cup of coffee, indulgingly reading that Great Big Obscure Novel, dissipated.
*Appeared on Vol XXIX, NO. 157, Thursday, 24 August 2006
It would later on reveal itself to me as one big mistake. I simply didn't know what I was getting myself into. The simple, straight-forward visit would end up being one long, arduous adventure into the world of Bahrain's unnaturally tapered book shopping.
Now mind you, I tend to lean favourably more towards what others would only describe as nothing less than obscure novels. What can I say, I'm not a big fan of the commercialised, hyped-up books out there. Call me a hypocrite if you like.
I started by playing it safe and drove to one of the biggest and better known bookstores in Bahrain. After a relatively quick browse, I went up to the counter to ask the smiling gentleman behind it if they had the Great Big Obscure Novel I was searching for. He turned to his computer and punched a few keys and, completely engrossed, delved into the results shown on his screen.
"Sorry, sir, we don't seem to have it," he apologetically told me, "but you can order it through us."
I thanked him for the offer. Knowing full well that it was most probably going to take 10 to 14 days to get here.
"Of course, you'll just have to pay a small shipping fee."
"Oh," I frowned, "so it'll likely take up to two weeks AND you'll overcharge me for it? Why don't I just go ahead and order it through Amazon?"
He smiled again, this time nervously. When I leaned over the counter and glanced at the screen, I realised that he was actually browsing Amazon.com. Great.
My visit to the next stop was a lot shorter. A skip through their "Fiction" section revealed to me that whoever was the purchase manager of that shop must still be living in the 80s.
All I found, stacked all together over a few shelves, were cheesy romantic paperbacks with bare-chested men on the covers - think John Holmes meets Joan Harris- in the A-Team era - and some political thrillers that had something or other to do with the Russian communist party.
And yes, they, of course, had a couple of Tom Clancy chunkies.
I drove to the other side of the island for my next visit. This time I didn't bother browsing. I went straight to the shopkeeper.
"I'm looking for this novel ?" I paused. The poor bloke looked as if I had just told him he had three seconds to live.
"Uh, never mind. Thank you."
It's frustrating that Bahrain to this day does not have a great source for a wide variety of reading material. It would be brilliant to see some of those big bookstore chains arriving on the island.
But until that happens, all we have is a couple of decent stores and several jumbled ones that don't appear to know the basics of bookselling.
One of the things I make sure I do whenever I am abroad is visit as many bookstores as I can find on my path, even if I wasn't looking for anything in particular. It's an experience. It's not like, say, going to Geant for the weekly Friday afternoon shopping. As long as e-books (books in digital format) don't completely replace printed books, the need for physical bookstores won't be overshadowed by the online stores.
By midday I abandoned my pursuit. My dream of spending a bright weekend morning at one of the many beautiful coffee shops around the island, sipping on an aromatic cup of coffee, indulgingly reading that Great Big Obscure Novel, dissipated.
*Appeared on Vol XXIX, NO. 157, Thursday, 24 August 2006
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