Al-Mumawwih (اَلْمُمَوِّه)

The protagonist of this novel lives with his mother, struggling to find a job that he eventually only finds in the atmosphere of the night. He meets Othman, who asks him to grow a beard to work for him as a "decoy" in his suspicious business. Events unfold, transporting us between the bars of Muscat and its surrounding areas through interesting chapters that compress time into a single distance.

Here, Mahmoud Al-Rahbi quietly toys with time, reaching the edges of silence and anticipation. He portrays nightlife through daytime faces, the dark corners of alleys mixed with beer and late-night music, and the mother—whose tenderness overflows even toward the sheep—covering the growing events with a cloak of innocence and piety.

Author: Mahmoud Al-Rahbi (مَحْمُود الرَّحْبِي)

He is an Omani short story writer, novelist, and essayist. He has worked in cultural journalism. His short story collection, "The Hour of Disappearance," won the Sultan Qaboos Award in its inaugural year, 2012. His collection, "A Swing Above Two Times," won first place in the Dubai Cultural Award, and his collections "It Wasn't Just Laughter" and "Munch's Scream" were shortlisted for the Al-Multaqa Prize for Arabic Short Stories in Kuwait. Some of his stories have been translated into English, Spanish, Russian, and Turkish. His novels include "The Dreamer's Map," "The Stranger's Papers," and "The Spiritual's Butterflies."