The writer Talib Al-Rifai ventures into a new world in his latest novel “Doukhi.. Tasaseem Al-Saba” through a musical and narrative adventure that revives the life story of the creative Kuwaiti artist Awad Doukhi from his birth in the Sharq area in 1932 until his death in 1979. The novel highlights the most important human and musical milestones in the life of this artist, who is considered one of the most important renewing musical voices in Kuwaiti musical heritage.

In his novel “Doukhi.. Tasaseem Al-Saba,” as in “Al-Najdi,” which has been translated into various world languages, Talib Al-Rifai returns to the world of autobiography. He links a brilliant narrative skill between the present moment and moments of remembrance, revealing the life story of a Kuwaiti artist known for his passion for singing the Arabic voice and renewing Kuwaiti traditional melodies, even singing the songs of the legendary Umm Kulthum. The novel chronicles the last three hours of Doukhi’s life, with a clear connection between his life and the turning points of Kuwaiti society, passing from a small and simple society dependent on the sea before the discovery and export of oil to a modern state society, depicting the most influential moments in this major transition.

The novel follows the journey of the artist who was born into a musical environment; his grandfather was a passionate singer on the ship’s deck, as were his father, uncle, and older brother who taught him to play the oud. Awad Doukhi, who was orphaned early and had to work on Kuwaiti sea ships from a young age, lived the difficult struggle to secure a livelihood for himself and his family, taking playing the oud and singing as companions throughout his life.

The novel presents its musical world intertwined with the social movement in Kuwait and interacting with the Arab musical presence in Kuwait when the Radio Music Band was established in the early fifties, marking the most important launch for Kuwaiti singing. “Doukhi.. Tasaseem Al-Saba” is a life story of a society through the eyes of a boy and young man passionate about singing until it became his identity.