In his narrating Amin Maalouf has been able to blend the light soul, evocative of wonders, of the Oriental tale with the art of the western novel distilled between history and fiction.

In all his work he had indicated us the only lighthouse that can guide who is “a stranger” between the racism of who hosts him and the despise of his brothers who have found a refuge in the quiet island of their traditions; this star that can take us back to the time of “light gardens” is tolerance.

In “Ports of Call” we find the extreme song of who ardently desires that those places cease to be lands of sacking and hatred and start blooming again as meeting and exchange places.

The prize will be delivered by Emmanuel Le Roy Ladurie.