In «The Man Who Read Books», Rachid Benzine crafts a poignant narrative around Nabil Al Jaber, a Palestinian bookseller navigating life in war-torn Gaza, where literature becomes a sanctuary and a form of resistance. Through this tale, Benzine underscores the enduring power of words to preserve humanity and individual dignity amidst dehumanization, reminding us that while bombs may shatter homes, books continue to offer refuge and awaken the conscience. The latest novel by Rachid Benzine follows Nabil Al Jaber, a Palestinian bookseller born in 1948 who endures life in war-torn Gaza through the refuge of books and words. Confronted with the endless flow of war images, Benzine presents writing as an act of resistance: «Images eventually numb us. Literature, on the other hand, awakens the conscience and gives flesh back to those being erased». The novel explores the link between the personal and the political, between pain and dignity. «In the face of dehumanization, the novel allows for individualization. Where politics forbids empathy, literature makes it possible», says Benzine. For him, writing is a form of moral disobedience: «Words do not save from bombs, but they save the principle of humanity. They remind us that death does not have the final word». «A society without trust in words collapses» Benzine warns of the fragility of truth in the «post-truth» era, where facts give way to emotions. «A society that no longer believes in words, that no longer respects promises, is heading for ruin», he cautions. Quoting Simone Weil, he reminds us that «what is first sacrificed in times of war is thought». Through the character of French photojournalist Julien Desmanges, the novel questions the media's obsession with spectacle. «The media are no longer interested in the ordinary. Photographing without consent is a form of violence», he says. This tension between representation and reality sits at the heart of the book: «When Nabil tells the photographer, 'Behind every gaze, there is a story,' he invites us to listen before judging». The Children of the Threshold For Benzine, the bookseller in Gaza lives «on the threshold», between the brutality of reality and the solace of books. «The threshold is the place of passage, neither inside nor outside. It is where we must stand: not in denial of reality, but without succumbing to it either». This «threshold» also serves as a metaphor for diasporas and intellectuals: «The Moroccans of the world — writers, translators — we are all children of the threshold. We connect worlds». Books as a Portable Homeland In The Man Who Read Books, literature becomes both refuge and resistance for those in exile. Works like Malraux's Man's Fate, Mahmoud Darwish's The Narrow Land, and The Book of Job accompany Nabil Al Jaber through loss and displacement. «Books choose us», says Benzine. «When Nabil loses everything, they become his portable homeland. To inhabit a text is to continue to say 'I' in the face of those who want to erase you». Already translated into sixteen languages, the novel has struck a deep chord across the world. «I received messages from Palestinians simply saying, 'Thank you for telling our story'», Benzine shares. «It shows that literature, through emotion and empathy, rebuilds a shared space beyond borders». For Benzine, reading is a moral act of preservation: «To read is to refuse dehumanization. It is to protect within oneself an inviolable space, that of the spirit. Words do not save bodies, but they save the soul and memory». A simple truth remains at the heart of the book: when bombs destroy homes, it is books that still shelter humanity.
