How fiction reveals truths journalism cannot | Lawrence Wright

Key Concepts

The Human Scale: A novel by Lawrence Wright exploring the Israel-Palestine conflict.
Black-and-White Thinking: The dangerous tendency to view the conflict in absolute terms of good vs. evil, hindering understanding.
Devaluation and Overvaluation of Human Life: The core issue identified by Wright, where one side's lives are considered vastly more valuable than the other's, perpetuating conflict.
Novel as a Tool for Empathy: The unique ability of fiction to delve into characters' inner lives, histories, and motivations, fostering reader empathy for those they might not normally sympathize with.
Operation Cast Lead: An Israeli military operation in Gaza in 2009, referenced as a period of immense destruction.
"Mow the Grass": An Israeli term for periodic invasions into Gaza aimed at suppressing terrorist activities.
Hebron: A major Palestinian city in the West Bank, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, depicted as disfigured by occupation and a central setting for the novel.
Kiryat Arba: An Israeli settlement above Hebron, a source of constant conflict.
Intifadas: Palestinian uprisings against Israeli occupation.
Peacenik: A term used to describe an individual advocating for peace, exemplified by the character Jamal Khalil.

Introduction to "The Human Scale" and the Author's Motivation

Lawrence Wright, a staff writer for "The New Yorker" and author of 15 books (including 11 non-fiction works like "The Looming Tower" about Al-Qaeda), discusses his novel, "The Human Scale." He describes it as a "dangerous book" due to the intensely polarized views surrounding the Israel-Palestine conflict, where people are often "deaf to hearing any excuses or explanations for behavior from the other side." Wright emphasizes the peril of "black-and-white" thinking, where the situation is perceived as "all good or all evil."

His primary motivation for writing the novel was to "open up spaces in the reader's mind that would allow them to see the humanity of people they don't normally sympathize with." He argues that while a reporter can observe and evaluate, only a novel allows one to delve deeply "into the history and the imagination of your characters and their longings, their faults," portraying them in a way no other artistic form can.

The Core Problem: Devaluation and Overvaluation of Human Life

Wright's extensive experience in Gaza and Israel consistently left him with a "great sense of frustration" at the inability of "wonderful people on all sides" to overcome mutual hatred and resentment. He cites a specific incident from 2009, after Operation Cast Lead, where Hamas kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit for five years, eventually trading him for "a thousand Palestinian prisoners for one Israeli." This event prompted Wright to ask, "how does one life get to equal a thousand?"

He posits that this "devaluation and overvaluation of human life" is fundamentally "at the root of the fact that this conflict is so durable." When the value of lives is so unbalanced, it becomes difficult for people to care for each other. If one side perceives itself as "a thousand times more valuable," they are unlikely to credit their opponents; conversely, if one feels devalued, it increases the likelihood of violent action. "The Human Scale" aims to expose this disparity, which Wright believes is a major impediment to resolving the conflict. He contrasts the persistence of this conflict with the resolution of other major historical struggles like the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Apartheid, and the Vietnam and Iraq wars, highlighting its unique durability.

"The Human Scale" as a Detective Story and its Evolution

Frustrated by his inability to fully understand the internal mentalities of people in the region through reporting, Wright decided to "experiment with going into the mentality of the people that I'd met" through a novel. He chose to set the story in the West Bank in Israel and structured it as a detective story involving a murder investigation. The crime genre, he explains, "allows you to explore society, dig deep, uncover hidden layers," making it suitable for examining the complex social fabric of the region.

Wright completed a first draft and returned to the region in February 2023 for fact-checking. However, the events of October 7th, 2023, presented a significant dilemma. Recognizing the "deep wound in Israeli society," he faced a "thin line between explaining and exploiting." His resolution was to "go directly into the tragedy and make it a part of the narrative," which "changed everything about the book." He acknowledges that some readers might find it difficult due to the grief it evokes, but believes it is now a "truer story" because it confronts issues he himself had been "reluctant to confront."

Personal Experiences and Insights from Gaza

Wright recounts his 2009 visit to Gaza after Operation Cast Lead, an Israeli invasion described by the term "Mow the grass" – periodic actions to suppress terrorists. He observed the "immensely destructive actions" of the Israeli Defense Force, which he noted were "inconsequential in the long run" as they failed to suppress violence. The devastation, though not as severe as current events, was profound.

He describes a surreal experience: attending a Hamas summer camp for boys, where children sang Hamas songs alongside commanders. The previous night, he observed the Mediterranean Sea outside his hotel, a "nauseating mix of green and brown" due to a bombed power plant and lack of sanitation. This led him to order steak (cattle brought through tunnels), and the waiter's question, "Would you like that well done or very well done?" became a poignant memory. The next day, during an interview with Khalil al-Hayya, a senior Hamas official (now chief peace negotiator), Wright felt lightheaded and "fell right outta the chair," continuing the interview while lying on prayer mats. This incident, where al-Hayya was "very kind" despite being a planner of October 7th, illustrates "how difficult this problem is and the complexities of the humanity that we're faced with."

Plot and Characters of "The Human Scale"

The novel is a murder mystery centered on the killing of Jacob Weingarten, the Israeli Police Chief in Hebron. Hebron itself is presented as a character: a major Palestinian city in the West Bank, historic and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, but "disfiguring" under occupation with closed shops, uncollected trash, and its Old City largely shut down by the Israeli Army. The nearby Israeli settlement of Kiryat Arba is in constant conflict with the Muslim Hebronites.

The investigation is led by Yossi Ben-Gal, the deputy chief. Yossi is portrayed as a tough, ex-IDF veteran who participated in breaking the arms of rock-throwing boys during the Intifadas. His parents were Holocaust survivors, instilling in him the belief that Israel is the only safe place for Jews, to which he has dedicated his life. Into this scenario comes Tony Malick, an American of Palestinian origin whose family is from Hebron, though he has never visited. Initially arrested as a suspect, Tony is revealed to be an FBI agent. Yossi and Tony, despite "hating each other," are forced to collaborate to solve the crime, as neither can do it alone.

The potential suspects and motivations explored in the novel include:

Hamas: Though their methods (like beheading) are not typical of Hamas (more associated with ISIS/Al-Qaeda in later stages), it remains a possibility.
Settlers: Often at odds with both the police and the Israeli Army.
Organized Crime: Including weapons sales (from the Israeli Army to terrorists) and a significant drug problem in the territories.

Key supporting characters include:

Sara Ben-Gal: Yossi's daughter, who is disaffected by current Israeli politics, participated in pre-October 7th protests, and is studying political science in Paris.
Dina: Tony's niece, whom he has never met. Her wedding is the occasion for Tony's return to Hebron.
Jamal Khalil: Dina's fiancé, described as "the only peacenik" in Hebron. He is based on the real-life activist Issa Amro. Wright compares Amro to the American Freedom Riders, willing to endure harm to make a statement. Wright witnessed Amro being "brutally assaulted" by an Israeli soldier in February 2023, unprompted, despite the presence of Wright and a video-recording Belgian photographer. This incident "sobered" Wright, compelling him to address such violence in his writing.

The Author's Message and Conclusion

Wright reiterates that "The Human Scale" is a "dangerous book" because of the deeply entrenched, "black-and-white" perspectives on the conflict. His aim is to create characters that readers, regardless of their existing sympathies, can identify with. He hopes that by creating "that space," it might "fill in with something other than hate," introducing "a little bit of nuance" to the ongoing efforts for peace in a region consumed by so much hatred.

Synthesis/Conclusion of Main Takeaways

Lawrence Wright's novel, "The Human Scale," is a deliberate attempt to humanize the deeply polarized Israel-Palestine conflict by leveraging the unique empathetic power of fiction. Frustrated by the conflict's durability and the limitations of journalistic reporting, Wright uses a murder mystery format to explore the internal lives and motivations of characters from both sides. The central thesis of the book, born from Wright's personal observations, is that the conflict is perpetuated by a profound "devaluation and overvaluation of human life." By forcing readers to confront the complexities and shared humanity of individuals caught in this struggle, even those they might typically demonize, Wright hopes to introduce nuance and foster understanding, ultimately aiming to create a space where something other than hatred can emerge. The novel's evolution to incorporate the tragedy of October 7th underscores its commitment to confronting difficult truths and offering a "truer story" of the region's enduring pain and resilience.