Before the story – Maher Al-Ruhaili

The novel "Before the Story" by Saudi writer Maher Al-Ruhaili is a complex and profound narrative work, borrowing its form from the novel but breathing with the spirit of reflection and internal monologue. The journey begins with a metaphysical train that almost symbolizes life itself, where the protagonist "Mujahid" escapes from himself more than from reality, trying to find a window through which he can see the world with a new clarity. The escape here is not cowardice as it appears outwardly, but a philosophical pursuit of understanding and purification, as if the writer is saying that salvation is not in confronting others, but in reconciliation with the self that dwells within us all. The narration takes on a fragmented contemplative tone, akin to a soul’s diary moving between memories, natural scenes, and shadows of the past. From waterfalls and snow to ice, airports, and cemeteries, Al-Ruhaili writes the journey as a long search for the meaning of forgiveness. In each chapter, the place becomes a mirror of the inner; nature here is not just a backdrop, but a partner in the narration, witnessing the human’s fragility and weakness, then his brave attempts to rise again. The story is interwoven with friendly characters like Hamid, Fares, and Khalil, who later transform into more spiritual symbols than real people, making the novel essentially a journey between life and death, between guilt and repentance, between the story and its writer. Al-Ruhaili’s style in this work is characterized by linguistic clarity and emotional sincerity, blending narrative with philosophical reflection. The language is poetic without pretense, flowing as if it were a long confession written in a moment of honesty, with the tone shifting between internal dialogue and direct revelation. Those who read "Before the Story" feel as if they are reading about themselves in an unfamiliar mirror, where every sentence contains a question: what if we are the story that has not yet begun? In the end, Al-Ruhaili presents a novel about humans in their fragility and their ability to survive in the true sense, not just the act. It is a text about forgiveness, about the weight we carry inside us, and about the stories we live before we tell them. "Before the Story" is not just a novel about death, but about life that discovers itself late, gently asking us: are we the ones writing the story, or is it the one writing us? And can forgiveness be an end... or is it merely another beginning?