Al-Badr: 'The Pearl Merchant' Chronicles Power Struggles Before Oil Discovery
Dr. Al-Badr highlights the novel 'The Pearl Merchant,' which documents power struggles in Kuwait and Bahrain prior to the discovery of oil.
Translated by Qiyas from الجريدة — Original source
On this occasion, Dr. Al-Badr stated that this novel is among the rarest Western literary texts set primarily in Kuwait and Bahrain. It blends an unconventional treatment of popular adventure spirit with an early depiction of the region in the Western reader’s imagination, adding to the works of travelers, Orientalists, and politicians, with a clear presence of the British Residency and hidden intelligence conflicts among Americans, British officials, and some local merchants. The novel also documents, through literary imagination, the international competition in the Gulf region prior to the oil era.
Regarding the plot, Dr. Al-Badr said, “The plot intensifies, with individual adventure intersecting with power struggles, transforming the pearl season into a theatrical backdrop for events that transcend their apparent economic dimensions to reveal deeper layers of a text exposing a dynamic world where masks change at a precise historical moment.”
It is worth noting that Dr. Al-Badr is a professor of linguistics at the Public Authority for Applied Education and Training in Kuwait. His research focuses on the Kuwaiti dialect, historical semantics, linguistic change, and verbal heritage in the Gulf.
He has published numerous studies in Arabic and Gulf linguistics, including works on Kuwaiti maritime proverbs, dialectal diversity, and linguistic memory in Kuwaiti society.
