Quote by Amin Maalouf: “To understand one's era, one must question one's place within it.”

To truly grasp the times you live in, you need to think about your own role and perspective. It's about self-reflection and understanding how your experiences shape your view of the world around you, connecting personal with universal understanding.

From a novel set in 19th-century Lebanon during a period of Ottoman decline and European influence, reflecting on how individuals grapple with profound historical shifts and their personal positions within them.

Lebanese-French novelist and member of the Académie française whose work explores cultural identity, displacement, and the collisions of civilization. His 1998 essay On Identity (Les identités meurtrières) argued that rigid single-identity thinking is the root of modern violence.