"Especially while we have the hostages kept there, away from their families in Israel, and destruction going on in Gaza and you will allow yourself the privilege of escaping into a different world; into a world made of your own words? It felt wrong."
"For me, this was a moment where I thought, 'Wait a minute. The right wing, the fascists, are scared of words. They truly believe that words can change something.' I thought, 'Well, if fascists fear words so much, then maybe it can also be used as a weapon.' Not to escape reality with words, not as escapism quite the contrary. As a way to face reality."
Composing a novel after October 7, 2023 felt barbaric because hostages remained and destruction occurred in Gaza, and allowing oneself the privilege of escaping into a different world felt wrong. A turning point arrived when government officials called for boycotts of books and films that portray Palestinians humanely, revealing fear of words and prompting the use of language as a tool rather than escapism. The resumed novel, published in German as Ungebetene Gaste (Uninvited Guests), centers on an Israeli toddler who drops a hammer from a balcony, killing a teenage boy; a Palestinian construction worker is arrested while the little boy’s mother remains silent. The narrative examines guilt, denial, revenge, and a society trapped in a fatal cycle of fear of the Other. A psychotherapist draws on hidden psychological mechanisms and a personal household episode involving a Palestinian laborer and a subsequent shocking news report to probe individual and collective responses.
Read at www.dw.com
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