Taghribat al Qafer: A story where water speaks louder than words

Observer

21-04-2025

There are stories that entertain and then there are stories that stay with you. Quietly, deeply, like a whisper from the land itself. Taghribat Al Qafer, by the Omani writer Zahran al Qasmi, is one of those stories.
At the heart of the novel is a man named Al Qafer, who isn't your typical hero. He doesn't go off to fight battles or chase glory. Instead, he carries something much more unusual: a gift, or perhaps a curse. He can hear water flowing beneath the ground. This rare ability sets him apart from his community. People don't understand him and over time, he becomes increasingly isolated, lost in a world of unseen currents and silent echoes.
Through Al Qafer's quiet journey, Al Qasmi invites us to reflect on something we often take for granted: water. In this story, water becomes more than just a physical element; it is memory, mystery and life itself. It flows through the narrative like a character of its own, present even in its absence.
What makes Taghribat Al Qafer so powerful is its simplicity. The language is gentle yet full of emotion. The scenes are grounded in the Omani landscape, with its wadis, its villages and its falajes. And yet, the themes extend beyond the borders of any one country. Loneliness, connection, fear of change and our fragile relationship with nature are feelings many of us can relate to, especially in today's world.
Zahran al Qasmi has long been a familiar name in Omani literary circles, with a body of work that spans poetry and fiction. However, this novel in particular has brought him international recognition. In 2023, Taghribat Al Qafer won the International Prize for Arabic Fiction, often referred to as the Arabic Booker Prize. It is the first time an Omani novel has received this prestigious award — a proud moment not just for Al Qasmi, but for Omani literature as a whole.
The beauty of this novel lies not only in the story it tells but in how it makes us feel. It reminds us to listen: to each other, to the land and even to the silence. Because sometimes, what we don't say speaks louder than anything.
Taghribat Al Qafer isn't a loud novel. It won't shock or dazzle. But it will move you — gently, like water carving its path through stone.