Displacement is a common theme for Abdelkader Benali: the distance between countries and cultures or from a marathon’s start to finish. In his Radio Books story it’s the distance between family members.

Abdelkader Benali - 'My Father's Photo Album'

Abdelkader Benali was born in Ighazzazen, Morocco in 1975. At the age of five his family moved to The Netherlands. He burst onto the Dutch literary scene when he was a 21 year old history student at Leiden University. His debut novel 'Bruiloft aan zee' (Wedding by the sea) won major Dutch and French literary awards and was translated into more than a dozen languages including English.

It’s the story of Lamarat Minar who would’ve been a champion Parcheesi player if he had stayed in Morocco. But instead he left with his family to live in Holland. He returns home to attend his sister's wedding to their uncle Mosa, to whom she was promised when still a child. However Mosa has disappeared to his favourite whorehouse. Lamarat is dispatched to bring him back and salvage the family honour.

“Vivid, mythic and heartfelt,” wrote a critic for the Financial Times. “A tale of origins real and imagined which, while it speaks of the departure, reaches always for the moment of return.” Translated by Susan Massoty, 'Wedding by the sea' is available from Arcade Publishing.

Palestinian Shylock

Benali also writes for the theatre. His play 'Yasser' is an unusual take on the Middle-East conflict. The title character is an idealistic young Palestinian actor preparing to perform as Shakespeare’s classic Jew, Shylock – though he’d rather be playing his namesake Yasser Arafat. “Can anyone really demand a pound of flesh without spilling blood,” he asks? The play won the 2002 Best New Writing Prize in the Netherlands. It was also nominated for the Amnesty International Freedom of Expression Award when it had it’s English premiere at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August 2008.  

Benali’s desire to live in an Arabic country, learn Arabic and perhaps write a book about it led him to Beirut in June 2006. He had no idea a war was about to start. Unlike many others, he decided to stay and wrote a weblog for a Dutch newspaper about his day to day experiences. This became the basis for his book 'Reports from a Besieged City.'

Marathon salvation

His latest book is 'Marathonloper' (Marathon runner). He first became interested in long distance running at the age of twelve when on television he watched Moroccan athlete Said Aouita win Gold for the 5000 meters at the 1987 World Championships.

“The marathon is the only religion that doesn’t include resurrection. Salvation lies in the moment you cross the finish line, after which the marathon lies forever behind you. While the journey lasts, I don’t have to think about the future…”    - from 'Marathon Runner'

Rotterdam homecoming

Abdelkader Benali’s contribution to Radio Books is 'My Father’s Photo Album.' A young man of Moroccan descent travels from Amsterdam to Rotterdam to visit his parents. The story has a very personal tone. But Benali says the only autobiographical element is the fact that he moved from Rotterdam to Amsterdam, where he currently lives.

“In Rotterdam everything seems more solid than in Amsterdam. Amsterdam nags you all day long with its carillons and tourists. In Rotterdam it’s quiet, even when it's coming down in buckets, like this morning. This is the first time I’ve been to Rotterdam in months—a homecoming which, to my own surprise, I’ve managed to put off time and again. Just like you can paint a portrait of yourself by describing the things you aren’t, I always find a reason not to go.”

'My Father’s Photo Album' by Abdelkader Benali was translated into English by David McKay. The story is read by David Swatling.

The series Radio Books is an initiative of Flemish-Dutch Huis de Buren in Brussels, in association with the Flemish radio broadcaster Klara and Radio Netherlands Worldwide.