Lawrence Wright, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, discusses his new novel, The Human Scale, which aims to explore the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through the lens of a Palestinian American FBI agent investigating a murder in Hebron. After the tumultuous events of October 7 and the war in Gaza, Wright revisited his manuscript, wrestling with the moral complexities of the conflict while recognizing the limitations of reporting. The novel represents Wright's attempt to offer a more nuanced understanding of the conflict's enduring nature beyond what traditional journalism can convey.
As a reporter in the Middle East, I was always frustrated that I couldn't adequately explain why this conflict was so durable, why it kept going, year after year.
The Human Scale is an attempt to tell the story of Israel and Palestine in a way that my reporting never could, following a Palestinian American FBI agent.
I wanted to tell this story properly to address the moral complexity, humanizing individuals in a conflict that often feels dehumanizing.
Wright faced challenges of writing fiction during an ongoing war, reflecting on how reporting can sometimes obscure deep moral complexities.
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