Praise for the return matar writes with both a novelists eye for physical and emotional detail, and a reporters tactile sense of place and time. Fathers, sons and the land in between first edition by matar, hisham isbn. Such is matars sensitivity, it seems unlikely that he. The return is a memoir by hisham matar that was first published in june 2016. One of the qaddafi regimes most prominent opponents in exile, he was held in a secret prison in libya. Mar 24, 2017 the following is an excerpt from hisham matars memoir the return. July 6, 2016 author hisham matar s new book, the return, is an account of his journey to his native libya in search of his father, a dissident kidnapped off the streets of cairo years before. Find all the books, read about the author, and more. His prizewinning memoir, the return, was published in 2016 and was the recipient of the 2017 pulitzer prize. Hisham matar is the author of the memoir the return. Jul 05, 2016 the return is his account of that trip and it is a truly remarkable book. Jul 15, 2016 in march 2012, five months after gadhafis overthrow, hisham matar, author of the novels anatomy of a disappearance and in the country of men, traveled to libya for the first time. Hisham matar interview, plus links to author biography, book. Born in new york city to libyan parents, hisham matar spent his childhood in tripoli and cairo and has lived most of his adult life in london.
Fathers, sons and the land in between hardcover international edition, july 5, 2016. Its an amazing book and has the 2017 pulitzer in biographyautobiography to show for. It was one of the new york times top 10 books of the year. Rawi hage the return is a personal memoir, concerned with the kidnapping and disappearance of the writers father at the hands of the qaddafi regime. Hisham matars memoir centers on his father, a libyan dissident who was kidnapped in 1990 and taken to the. The return fathers, sons and the land in between, is a memoir about his 2012 return to libya and attempt to come to terms with the unfathomable loss of his father, jaballa matar. Hisham endeavors also to convey the modern history of libya, what it was like to live under a brutal dictatorship and how the dissidents were inhumanely treated. Mr matar, your first two books were works of fiction. In march 2012, five months after gadhafis overthrow, hisham matar, author of the novels anatomy of a disappearance and in the country of men, traveled to libya for the first time. Fathers, sons and the land in between by hisham matar is a beautifully written and moving account by an expatriate libyan writer of his over 2 decade search to find out what. The country that separates fathers and sons has disoriented many travelers. This detailed literature summary also contains topics for discussion on the return.
The return, a sons pained search for a missing father. N ot knowing the date his father died complicated the boundary between life and death, writes hisham matar in his lyrical memoir of returning to his native libya. Hilary mantel a magnificent memoir of exile and loss. In this interview, he discusses his life, and the motives of his key characters. The return is at once a universal and an intensely personal tale. I got this expecting some kind of easybreezy memoir, i guess. And yet hisham matars memoir isnt just about the burden of the past, but the consolation of love, literature and art. Hisham matar s the return opens with the author waiting at cairo international airport for a plane to take him back to benghazi, in libya, following the fall of col. Every now and then, my mother glanced anxiously at me. In his new memoir, the return, the writer hisham matar confronts the ghosts of his past. Eloquently written and deeply felt, the return by hisham matar is a haunting memoir about a son investigating the fate of his missing father under qaddafis reign in libya.
How does one go on living in the face of a loved ones uncertain fate. All the books on libyas modern history could fit neatly on a couple of shelves, hisham matar writes in his new memoir the return. Fathers, sons and the land in between, a finalist for the 2017 penjean stein book award 6. Hisham matar tells his touching story from the naive, unknowing perspective of suleiman. The return quotes by hisham matar goodreads share book. Hisham matar writes libyas contemporary history with a proustian sensibility and the intellect of aljahiz. Minneapolis star tribune few trips could be as emotionally freighted as the one taken by libyanraised novelist hisham matar in his thrillerlike memoir, the return. At the center of this moving and vividly documented memoir is the authors quest to find answers to his fathers disappearance in 1990. Praise for the return a triumph of art over tyranny, structurally thrilling, intensely moving, the return is a treasure for the ages. I decided to buy this book based on an npr radio interview with the author that i heard soon after the books release. Jul 03, 2016 the return by hisham matar exquisite pain of a fatherless son. In the return, libyan novelist hisham matar in the country of men tells the harrowing story of his search for his father, jaballa matar. Few trips could be as emotionally freighted as the one taken by libyanraised novelist hisham matar in his thrillerlike memoir, the return.
After finishing his powerful memoir the return, hisham matar, seeking solace and pleasure, traveled to siena, italy. His memoir of the search for his father, the return, won the 2017 pulitzer prize for biography or autobiography and the 2017 pen america jean stein book award. From the raw materials of his anger, his suffering, and his grief, matar has built a testament to his father, his family. Hisham matar book of the day autobiography and memoir. From man booker prize and national book critics circle award finalist h. This led him to go to siena, the subject of his latest book a month in siena. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. In 2012, after the overthrow of qaddafi, the acclaimed novelist hisham matar journeys to. Hisham matar was nineteen when his father was kidnapped and taken to prison in libya. The return reads as easily as a thriller, but is a story that will stick. From man booker prize and national book critics circle award finalist hisham matar, a memoir of his journey home to his native libya in search of answers to his fathers disappearance.
Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read. The following is an excerpt from hisham matar s memoir the return. Do not sell my personal information the new yorker may. The return pulitzer prize winner by matar, hisham ebook. The book was on the coffee table, amid all the plates and cups and ashtrays.
It is 33 years since matar, then eight years old, left the country for exile in egypt and europe. Fathers, sons, and the land in between, about the postqaddafi search for his dissident fatherand his own deeply ambivalent sense of homecoming. Fathers, sons and the land in between kindle edition. The return by hisham matar exquisite pain of a fatherless. When hisham matar was a nineteenyearold university student in england, his father was kidnapped. The return by hisham matar exquisite pain of a fatherless son the libyan writer reckons the awful cost to his family of gaddafis tyranny with gentle dignity rachel cooke. In this weeks episode alexa, jenny, and special guest librarian mariam, talk about hisham martars memoir the return. The return by hisham matar books to look forward to. In his pulitzer prizewinning the return, the 2016 memoir about his long attempt to learn the fate of his father, the libyan dissident jaballa matar, hisham matar explained that he used to.
From man booker prize and national book critics circle award finalist hisham matar, a. Two very different books but both are extraordinary and highly recommended. Above all, it is a universal tale of loss and love and of one familys life. Jul 10, 2016 the return fathers, sons and the land in between by hisham matar 243 pp. An acclaimed novelist and author of the pulitzer prizewinning memoir the return, he has just written a book about sienese painting, a genre of lush, goldlit christian art from the. It is a dangerous time, shortly after the military coup of colonel gaddafi in libya, who is prepared to do anything to solidify his power. One of the qaddafi regimes most prominent opponents in. Early in muammar qaddafis regime, jaballa served as a u.
Hisham matar writes libyas contemporary history with a proustian sensibility. From the author of in the country of men, a man booker prize and national book critics circle award finalist, comes an extraordinary memoir of his journey home to his native libya in search of the truth behind his fathers disappearance. The change wasnt deliberate and it wasnt even selfconscious. The return documents hisham matars 2012 journey to his home country of libya after living for over thirty years in exile. Hisham matar is the pulitzer prizewinning author of the memoir the return, which also received the penjean stein award and other international prizes, and was selected as one of the new york timess ten best books of the year. The return roves back and forth in time with a freedom that conceals the. Hisham matar has the quality all historiansof the world and the selfmost need.
The return fathers, sons and the land in between by hisham matar 243 pp. Hisham matar talks about his book, the return, which has been shortlisted for the 2017 rathbones folio prize. In 1990, matar s father was kidnapped by the egyptian secret service and handed over to libyan authorities. Its the poignant yet sometimes tensionfilled and occasionally exciting true tale of a man in search of his father, his fathers ghost, his family, his country, his life. Oct 06, 2018 the return by hisham matar a beautifully written memoir by a man whose life has been steeped in exile. Libya in the time of revolution is published by faber. His debut novel in the country of men was shortlisted for the 2006 man booker prize. From the author of in the country of men, a man booker prize and national book critics circle award finalist, comes an extraordinary memoir of his journey home to his native libya in search of the truth behind his fathers disappearance when hisham matar was a nineteenyearold university student in england, his father was kidnapped. Fathers, sons and the land in between by hisham matar. Matar s work has been translated into thirty languages. Always finding comfort and clarity in great art, matar immersed himself in eight significant works from the sienese school of painting, which flourished from the th to the 15th centuries. Novelist matar anatomy of a disappearance, 2011, etc. By the time the reader reaches this episode in matars new memoir.
Hisham matar, an american born britishlibyan author, is an acclaimed novelist and essayist. It seems unfair to call hisham matars extraordinary new book a. Hisham matar follows his pulitzerwinning the return. Hisham matar writes about his father and the recent trip to libya in his article the return, published in this weeks edition of the new yorker. Now blair is not looking forward to the chilcot report, gaddafi is dead and hisham matar, who was the helpless onlooker, has published the return, a memoir about his father and about libya which. Matar s pulitzer prizewinning memoir, the return 2016, was about his libyan father who was kidnapped in cairo and taken back, imprisoned, and gradually, like salt dissolving in water, was made to vanish. It is an exquisite meditation on how history and politics can bear down on an individual life. Flight 835 for benghazi, a voice announced, was due to depart on time. The return is his account of that trip and it is a truly remarkable book. The narrative follows his 2012 return to libya the first time he has set foot in the country since his family fled in 1979 when he was eight. Fathers, sons and the land in between audible audiobook unabridged hisham matar author, narrator, penguin books ltd publisher 4. Hisham matar lived through many of the terrible events that he depicts in in the country of men. The return documents hisham matar s 2012 journey to his home country of libya after living for over thirty years in exile.