Abdullah Khalifa

Gone with the Oil: A realistic, nightmarish, and satirical novel. As soon as you begin reading "e;Antarah Returns to the Island,"e; you are greeted by the sight of the desert waking up at dawn. It is the town lying near the beaches, with its small, closely packed houses called "e;sabkha,"e; which was invaded by strangers, right under the noses of the tribe's sons. The novelist uses the heroic character of Antarah as a means of expressing the cohesion and connection that reaches its peak in the defense of identity. There is a religious, social, and political connotation to this character, which he chose as the title of his novel, assigning the heroism to "e;Hilal al-Absi,"e; who is imprisoned as punishment for his bravery. What distinguishes the work is that it sheds light on human relationships that form an integral part of the history of the societies of the Arabian Peninsula and the Arabian Gulf, past and present, in their daily dynamics. The novel chronicles a real event in a symbolic style that imbues the local environment with its own distinctive flavor.