In the Country of Men

• Book: In the Country of Men
• Location: Tripoli
• Author: Hisham Matar

When he was just 9 years old, Hisham Matar’s family was forced to flee from Libya to escape Colonel Gaddafi’s tyrannical and repressive regime. In 1990 his father was kidnapped from Cairo and returned to Tripoli, where he was imprisoned and tortured for his dissident views. There has been no news of him since 1995, and to this day Matar doesn’t know if he is alive or dead. Gaddafi’s regime also imprisoned or hanged 3 of his cousins, an uncle and several friends. Such first-hand knowledge gives this book an added authenticity and poignancy.
It was written before the 2011 fall of Gaddafi, but remains as relevant as ever, for although the book is set in Libya and Gaddafi’s presence looms over the action, the book manages to transcend the topical to become a timeless depiction of totalitarianism and evil, wherever it occurs. The novel is essentially about how despotism affects the individual and how families are torn apart when tyrants take power. This is not so much a political novel as about ordinary people struggling to survive under a brutal and repressive regime.
The narrator, now an adult, looks back through the eyes of the child he was, to tell of what happened as a result of his father’s dissident activities. His mother wants nothing to do with political rebellion and takes refuge in alcohol, all too aware of the dangers her husband’s actions are putting the family into. Suleiman, torn between his mother and father, tries to understand and take control, but his misconceptions and only partial comprehension lead to betrayal and disaster. Away from his parents, Suleiman plays with his friends just like any other child, and the contrast between what should be a carefree boyhood existence, and the tensions, violence and repression going on in the background, makes this book a heart-wrenching and moving story. The universal tragedy of children caught up in political terror is poignantly and movingly portrayed, and even though Gaddafi’s regime has now been overthrown, the repercussions continue to this day in the lives of those who lived through it, and Suleiman’s experiences are no doubt being repeated in countries all over the world. Read it and weep for the loss of innocence and the destruction of childhood.

Back to book