The Return, a recent Costa Book Award shortlist by celebrated Libyan-British author Hisham Matar is an intense and unrelenting journey of a son's search for his father (or at least closure about the often avoided certainty of his death). The context is that Matar is the son of Jaballa Matar, one of the most visible and courageous dissidents in Qaddafi's Libya from the 1970s until the time of his kidnapping by Egyptian security personnel from his home in exile in Cairo. The impact of this act on his young son, Hisham, the narrator of the story, was profound at all levels - psychological, ideological, personal. The book traces, in a complex narrative that jumps around in chronology, Hisham's search for his father (or at least the traces of the man). The anger, frustration, hope, helplessness, resolution and courage he exhibits at various times are splashed onto the pages of the book, and the result is a deeply moving and, yes, angering and frustrating narrative that grabs the reader by the throat. There is no sugar-coating of anything in the book, yet the the story is told warmly, even delicately. It's certainly not a rant, and its gentleness makes it even more moving to read, as it speaks volumes about the writer and his pain.
For a review of the book from The Guardian, Click here: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/jul/03/hisham-matar-the-return-review
For a review of the book from The Guardian, Click here: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/jul/03/hisham-matar-the-return-review
