In recent years, I’ve had the opportunity to explore the Arabian Peninsula bit by bit. My last trip, a few months ago, took me to the shores of the Persian Gulf, to Kuwait and Bahrain. The war now raging in that part of the world pains me, as it is so difficult to understand the reason behind it. I also recall my trip to Iran, now more than 30 years ago, and remember with emotion the generosity and pride of the Iranian people.
I didn’t spend much more than 24 hours in Bahrain, and rather than the modern skyscrapers in downtown Manama, I tried to discover traces of what the island was like before the advent of oil. I visited the Qal’at al-Bahrain fort. I then followed the Pearl Heritage Trail, an open-air museum on the island of Muharraq. I really enjoyed walking through these old, modest neighborhoods, far from the glitz of downtown. I stepped inside the old merchants’ homes, opening the doors to the warehouses, examining the divers’ gear, and admiring the natural pearls and the jewelry that showcases them. Climbing the stairs of these sun-drenched white houses, you can enter the reception rooms—one for men and another for women. Elegant traditional ventilation chimneys, called “barjeel,” which I had already encountered in Iran, cooled the air by circulating it, long before the advent of air conditioning.
A few hours spent seeking shade in the alleyways of Bahrain’s Pearl District allowed me to momentarily forget about oil and the geopolitical crises it fuels. But the novel I had chosen to accompany my visit, elegantly titled “The Peacock and the Sparrow” brought me right back to that reality. The author, I.S. Berry is a former C.I.A. analyst who has worked in Iraq and Bahrain. Her book has been hailed as a tour de force brimming with authenticity.
Shane Collins is a veteran of the U.S. intelligence agency. Bahrain is his last posting before retirement. He forgets the arrogant orders of his station chief—a kid fresh out of an Ivy League college—at bar counters and in the beds of idle military wives.
It is the Arab Spring of 2011. The kingdom’s Shiite majority would like to shake off the yoke of the Sunni monarchy. A bomb explodes in one of the trendy new neighborhoods where expats dine. Shane contacts his informant within Shiite circles to figure out where the threat is coming from. But his informant is assassinated. At the opening night of the new National Opera House, he meets Almaysa, the artist who created one of the mosaics adorning the building. He is fascinated by this woman who studied in Italy and wears the abaya with such charm. He visits her in her studio and finds himself swept up in a whirlwind of love, violence, and betrayal.
I.S. Berry’s book is a brilliantly crafted spy novel. It also provides a vivid portrayal of the interests at stake in the Gulf’s petro-monarchies. An excellent read, then, to gain a better understanding of the violence plaguing this region. But above all, I hope that peace will return there and that it will once again be possible to stroll about and discover the history of Bahrain’s pearls.
