The Randomist

by Ali Al Saeed

The Randomist is a collection of columns, essays and personal writings by Bahrain national best-selling and award-winning author Ali Al Saeed. From everyday life in the tiny Gulf Kingdom of Bahrain as a struggling writer, to the intimate recollections of childhood memories, The Randomist paints a rare portrayal of young modern Arabs trying to find themselves in the world.

Genres: Essays

282 pages, Paperback

First published July 20, 2013

About the author

Ali Al Saeed is a writer from Bahrain, born in 1978. For almost seven years, starting in 1998, he was a journalist writing for two of the leading English-speaking newspapers in the country. He then began his writing career, contributing regularly to a number of publications and magazines in the Gulf region. He wrote (and drew) his very first story – a sci-fi comic book – at the age of ten. In 2004, Ali published his debut novel, "QuixotiQ", which was a national best-seller and winner of the Bahrain 2004 Outstanding Book of the Year Award. He also writes short fiction with several of his stories appearing in various e-zines, journals and literary websites – including Gold Dust magazine, RSPublishing, Expose’d, In Posse Review, La Fenetre and Capture Weekly – and recently appeared in the anthologies Goodbye, Darwin (Apodis Publishing) and the New Romance (Arabesques Review). Ali is also a filmmaker, co-producing his first documentary film in 2006. His non-fiction book, "Models of Success: The Journey" was published at the same time. This was followed by "Moments", a collection of short stories, published later in the year. He is currently residing in Bahrain as a full time writer and freelancer.

Reviews

[Nada · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I first picked up this book, I didn't know what I was getting myself into. I have a knack of judging books by their cover – I know that it's ethically wrong to do so, but I somehow find myself doing it anyway. I started this book back in October 2014 and six months later I finally finished it. I am not proud of the time I took to finish this 200-page book, but it happened...

The Randomist is filled with many thought-provoking articles, stories, and Bahrain's history. When I read the first article, and then the next, and the next, I was a little confused. What exactly is the book about? When I read the summary at the back of the book it read:
"The Randomist is Ali Al Saeed....his thoughts scattered, dense and often seemingly incoherent, the author of three critically-acclaimed books believed for many years that no one could possibly know what he is talking about! But surprisingly his non-fiction, essays and columns have not only been praised for their originality but also embraced by many. He often scares himself making sense with his ramblings. Take a look into the mind of a mentally hyperactive dream junkie and see if you can make any sense of it yourself"
Since the actual summary on Goodreads was nowhere to be found in and on the book, hence my confusion a little bit. I had to read this a couple of times and a few more articles to actually understand what the Randomist was about and when I did my mind was blown.

I stopped treating the Randomist like a regular book that I could finish in a week and began treating it like a book I could turn to for inspiration and motivation. The way Ali puts his thoughts into words is captivating. Some articles are filled with touching and emotional stories of his past, while others were informative and humorous.

The Randomist is a thought-provoking and inspiring book that provides an insight of a writer's mind and tidbits of information about the life he has in Bahrain and all around the world. It was intriguing, captivating, fascinating, and silly.

To those who enjoy reading either inspiring or just random blogs and/or articles, this is the perfect book for you.

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the articles that portrayed daily life and struggles in the author's home country (and travelling outside it). On the other hand, the rants about modern art, instant coffee, cartoons nowadays, celebrity memoirs, and holding on to cassette tapes because they "will definitely make a come back" were funny but in a kind of 'middle aged man ranting on facebook' way. This man has 2 whole articles to complain about the cow in formaldehyde modern art piece.

[Kate Throp · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really really enjoyed this book. Sure there are some problems with tenses and word selections (I think apathy was meant to be empathy) which would normally drive me crazy and I don't think I would have coped with had this been a novel. But as a selection of thoughts, feelings, memories and random outbursts the imperfections have rendered it all more immediate and stream of conscious like. It is a meandering through the authors head. A head that scrambles around from place to place much like my own and as a result I felt right at home.