A Decent and Honorable Detective

PW Talks with Matt Benyon Rees

by Alison Friesinger -- Publishers Weekly, 12/4/2006

British journalist Matt Benyon Rees, the author of Cain's Field: Faith, Fratricide, and Fear in the Middle East, provides a view of Palestinian society few Westerners are privileged to see in his first novel, The Collaborator of Bethlehem (Reviews, Nov. 27).

You write intimately about the West Bank and the Palestinians. Where does your knowledge come from?

I've been in Jerusalem over 10 years; from 2000 until 2006 I was bureau chief for Time. I've spent a great deal of time in the Palestinian towns of the West Bank and Gaza and built strong relationships with a number of Palestinians. I've also had cause to meet Palestinians who truly are villains, to sit and talk to them and sometimes face their hostility.

What do you think was your "in" with the Muslims and the Christians in Palestine?

I'm a good listener. I don't judge people when I'm talking to them. I listen calmly, even when someone might be saying something deeply hateful or even threatening me. I always take the view that I'm not there to convince people of the error of their opinions.

You convey the characteristic qualities of the culture without overwhelming or confusing the reader.

I learned Arabic and spent a great deal of time over the course of a decade with Palestinians. I decided that while The Collaborator of Bethlehem would be as culturally accurate as possible, I would be sure that every aspect of Palestinian society would be explained.

Omar Yussef is not a classic detective figure. What made you choose such an unprepossessing figure as your hero?

Omar's moral core is what's important to him. He has a sense of decency and honor that makes him stronger than all the military men and gunmen around him. I wanted the characters to represent the Palestinians I'd known who stood up against the corrupt politics of their leaders and the gun law in their towns. Their struggle wasn't linked to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and all the clichés that go along with writing about it. It was about having the integrity to think independently at a time when your society is wrapped up in war fever. I based Omar on a Palestinian friend who truly did this and gained my admiration.

How many books do you see in this series?

I'm already contracted to write three. I'm now finishing the second one, in which Omar finds himself in Gaza, and the third'll be set in Nablus. My intention is to write one in each of the big Palestinian towns, because they're much more distinct than you might think.