Five books that put you in Bahrain. Two are by writers from Bahrain and set there: Yummah and The Pearl Thief. The other three are wider picks: books by long-time residents and outsiders who know the place well.
Only a handful of Bahraini books are available in English, and several of the best known were written in English rather than translated. Qassim Haddad, one of Bahrain's best-known poets, is among the few to have been translated from Arabic. His Chronicles of Majnun Layla and Selected Poems retells the ancient Arabian legend of Majnun and Layla, giving Layla a voice of her own, alongside lyric poems from four decades.
Start with Sarah Al Shafei's Yummah, a novel inspired by her grandmother, in which Khadeeja is married off at twelve and raises nine children alone as Bahrain changes around her. Noor Al Noaimi's The Pearl Thief is a short, parable-like tale of a poor young Bahraini who becomes a pearl diver to support his parents, even though he cannot swim.
Married off at twelve, Khadeeja survives the death of a child, her husband's desertion and the raising of nine children alone, in a novel inspired by the author's grandmother that traces decades of change in Bahrain.
To provide for his ageing parents, a poor young Bahraini signs on as a pearl diver even though he can't swim, in a short, parable-like tale of the island's pearling days.
By long-time residents and outsiders who know the place well, or folk tales, poetry and history with a strong feel for Bahrain.
“Find a copy” goes to Bookshop.org. If you buy, we earn a small commission and independent bookshops get a share too.
Memoir of Bahrain's pearling-era society, court life and early oil-age change, seen from inside the ruler's household.
Bahrain's leading poet retells the ancient Arabian legend of Majnun and Layla, giving Layla a voice of her own, alongside a selection of his lyric poems from four decades.
A spy novel set in 1950s Bahrain under British protection, showing Manama's expatriate circles, Arab nationalist unrest and the Suez-era political tension.
Afghanistan Armenia Azerbaijan Bangladesh Bhutan Brunei Cambodia China Georgia India Indonesia Iran Iraq Israel Japan Jordan Kazakhstan Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Lebanon Malaysia Maldives Mongolia Myanmar Nepal North Korea Oman Pakistan Palestine Philippines Qatar Saudi Arabia Singapore South Korea Sri Lanka Syria Taiwan Tajikistan Thailand Timor-Leste Turkey Turkmenistan United Arab Emirates Uzbekistan Vietnam Yemen