Abdulaziz Al-Mahmoud

The Corsair by Abdulaziz Al-Mahmoud, is a historical adventure novel about piracy and politics set in 1818-19 in the Persian Gulf and Arabian Peninsula along what was known as the "Pirate Coast". It was first published in Arabic in 2011 then translated into English in 2012 by Amira Nowaira. The cover is very traditional for this genre with a sailing boat on the sea, a map, a sword, and fancy lettering. The author has primarily written as a journalist and this was his first novel. Al-Mahmoud's journalistic background shows in the writing so it's clearly communicative and well paced, with short chapters and plenty of action, but it also tends to read as much like reportage as fiction. There are a few short infodumps but as this story was aimed at both Arab readers and a wider audience the detail is more often informative than obstructive.

One of the advantages for an author from a strict Salafi/Wahhabi Muslim state writing fictionalised history is that he can explore politics and human nature more freely than would be accepted in non-fiction, although he seems to have tried to portray the Wahhabi politicians more favourably than his other characters. There are no irredeemable villains or unbelievable heroes in this book, and individuals have multiple motivations both personal and political. The outside interference and reprisals to secure British Empire trade routes, the incoming influence of Wahhabi religious and cultural ideas, and the military imposition of Ottoman imperialism, are all shown as disrupting the uneasy regional balance of power. Nor does the author gloss over the violence of piracy and raiding, the widespread existence of slavery and racism (including Arab racism against Black Africans and Indians, including Muslims), or the stark contrast between the bare subsistence of poor fishing communities and the luxuries of their often self-declared rulers. The author, unfortunately, also includes his own presumably subconscious misogyny and one or two misreadings of historical culture based in that misogyny, although as only three women have brief speaking roles this doesn't make more than a passing difference (and to be fair that's still more women characters than in many "classic" adventure novels, especially historicals).

For me this was a mildly interesting read for the history and Qatari cultural influences but a slightly below average novel, although readers focused on the adventure aspect might enjoy it more than I did.

Enquiring minds etc: did the Arab pirate Rahmah ibn Jabir wear an eyepatch? YES.… (meer)