Andalusian in JerusalemPaperback, 15 January 2018

"Mois Benarroch is an intriguing and unique writer." A writer must follow his books, his readers, his words. Otherwise, he's unforgivable. That's why I wandered about the streets of Jerusalem, as if my book were leading me somewhere, as if I had no choice but to follow my words. I followed my words and my words chased me. The words I spoke in class when I was eight, lacking much sense, without clearly understanding why, in the school in Lucena, at the end of the world, "I'm a Jew," just as I said it to my best friend in secret, a secret which lasted half a morning before the whole class knew it and one day longer before it was on everybody's lips, from students to headmaster. My intimate friend, I think his name was Raúl, said to me: "I knew it!" Which I couldn't understand, how could he know it, if I had invented it. But everybody knew it the very same day, that is, everybody told me they knew I was an odd guy...