A lyrical novel of omens, shipwrecks, and the stories that carry us home.

A violent storm crashes through the Arabian Sea and leaves a boy shipwrecked on the remote shores of Ras Madrakah, a village on Oman’s eastren coast. The villagers believe he is a sign from God. In the same storm, a British woman named Sophia—haunted by a vision—sends her husband from a chapel in Leeds into the desert, chasing a sacred mystery.

The Sailor’s Secret is a richly atmospheric translated Arabic novel blending myth, mysticism, and ecological awareness. Written by Omani author Younis AlAkhzami, the story echoes ancient maritime tales and spiritual lore, from the rhythms of the Qur’an to the magic of Arabian Nights.

Through Sheikh Shaleh, the boy pulled from the sea, and Sophia’s husband, exiled by grief and belief, the novel explores how storm and spirit, place and prophecy, reshape lives. It’s a story about the messages we hear—and those we refuse to.

Translated into English by Mbarek Sryfi, The Sailor’s Secret is a visionary translated Arabic novel, weaving a mystic path between Oman and England, sea and sand, prayer and fate.

“A haunting tale where desert myths, colonial legacies, and ecological anxieties collide.” — Oman Daily