By Saeed Saeed

Abbas Beydoun is tired of excuses. The 72-year-old Lebanese author and poet urges readers and writers to avoid complacency – and to always look beyond the surface.

To explain why, he highlights the central theme of his acclaimed novel, The Autumn of Innocence, which tackles the nature of tyranny.

“It’s not good enough to look at violence as just something abnormal or new to us,” he says.

“Violence doesn’t just fall from the sky. It comes from our ethics and our behaviours. It comes from ourselves and we have to be aware of that.”

Set in an Arab village, The Autumn of Innocence revolves around the relationship between a domineering father and his easy-going son. Dismayed by his son’s intransigence, the father arranges his murder.