A man who read books

A young French photographer travels to Palestine to document the bombing of the Gaza Strip. One day, while walking through the backstreets of the city, he comes across an old man sitting on the doorstep of his shop, surrounded by books. As he prepares to take a photograph, the man looks up and asks if he wants to hear his story. The books he holds are not just objects – they are fragments of a life, shards of memory. “Isn’t there a story behind every gaze? The story of a life? The story of an entire nation?” he whispers. Thus begins the Palestinian odyssey of a man for whom words represent refuge, love for his homeland, but also a form of resistance.

His voice guides us through a labyrinth of history and human life – from exodus to imprisonment, from political engagement to disillusionment, from theatre to love, from the children one watches grow up and live, to the tragedies that tear the closest ones from one's grasp. In a world where bombs want to have the last word, he reminds us that books are our greatest chance of survival – not to escape from reality, but to be able to live it to the fullest. The man reading in the midst of chaos is, in fact, performing the most radical act of freedom.

Published in 20 countries

“While writing, I wasn't thinking about success. I was trying to stay true to the voice of the old man I carried within me, true to the idea that books can still mean something even after everything around has disappeared. The fact that other people want to listen to this voice – beyond borders and languages – gives me at least a little hope in these dark times.”
Rachid Benzine