| In the Country of Men | 
 enlarge | Author: Hisham Matar
Publisher: Penguin
Category: Book
List Price: £7.99
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Avg. Customer Rating:  25 reviews
Sales Rank: 10471
Media: Paperback
Pages: 256
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 7.7 x 5 x 0.8
ISBN: 0141027037
EAN: 9780141027036
ASIN: 0141027037
Publication Date: March 1, 2007
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Condition: Little River Books dispatch daily from South Wales. Customer satisfaction is our guarantee.
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| Customer Reviews:
strong start for Hisham May 13, 2007
0 out of 13 found this review helpful
I got the book and read it well before it become a story in 2006, literally before it arrived to bookshops, do not ask me how, as a Libyan, I know and experienced the atmosphere and circumstances of the events of this book, brilliantly-simple novel, now still struggled to relate the title to the story, Hisham did not left any one to be called -man- in his country-novel, Ustaz Rashid ! Bu Sliman ? still the book deserves to be celebrated as a strong start for Hisham , looking forward to his next novel.
Hafed , UK
Libyan Dissent - Universal message May 7, 2007
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
I picked this book almost at random, as I like reading about the Middle East, so it came as a bit of a shock when the powerful reality of living under a dictatorship is described in heartrending clarity. The boy is left to cope with the consequences of adult behaviour, such as betrayal, hope, and his mothers addiction. Stongly recommended as a story, but also as a glimpse into the mind of a child. Orignal and thought provoking.
A fine book April 2, 2007
5 out of 8 found this review helpful
This book is not just about Suleiman's Despotic country-Libya but also about his complex relationship with his mother.
It reminds us of the way that Gaddafi employed to continue remaining in power as well as the tragedies children are caught up in because of their parents actions.
 A child's perceptions of life in a terror state March 17, 2007
15 out of 16 found this review helpful
It is 1979 and nine-year old Suleiman lives in the brutal police state of Gaddafi's Libya. When the novel opens, a neighbour and his father's close friend, Rashid, has been taken away by the police. Suleiman's father Faraj is in hiding; his febrile mother Najwa is distraught at the way Faraj has endangered himself and his family, and is furious with another friend, the Egyptian Moosa, who has egged on Rashid and Faraj into writing and distributing underground material. The sense of danger is palpable; it haunts Suleiman, and he is tossed about by one emotion after another: a child's love for his parents and for their friends alternates with anger and exasperation; friendship with Rashid's son Kareem alternates with betrayal; understanding and not understanding jostle each other; at times he holds himself in and will not speak, at others he acts impulsively, with fateful consequences; he is haunted by guilt, reinforced by the Islamic teaching he has received about the damnation in store for those who stray from the path of virtue. With his father away, Suleiman has been told he is the man of the house, but he is after all only nine years old. He has to see some terrible things. A few pages from the end of the book, his parents send him to safety in Egypt. With great economy, those pages convey the bleak effects of such a separation.
The Libyan setting - political, cultural and physical - is extremely well evoked. A novel of great power and psychological subtlety.
Brilliant, Gripping, Moving March 17, 2007
16 out of 16 found this review helpful
This is a fantastic book, beautifully written. Hisham Matar describes, through the eyes of 9yr old Suleiman, the appalling death of a neighbour, and the disappearance of his father an alleged 'traitor', who, after his mother begs the government official across the road, is eventually returned home, a hideous bleeding mess. Set in 1979 this is a time that saw some of the most tempestuous years when The Leader was at his pinnacle, and the Libyan people truly suffered. Although Matar insists this is not a true story, having lived there and heard many awful stories, this one strikes an authentic chord, making one think it could quite easily be based on truth. Suleiman's parents manage to get him out of the country to Cairo, but his heart is still firmly in Tripoli with its beautiful glittering sea, mulberry trees and childhood memories of playmates, also his mother either happily drawing in the garden, or unhappily drinking illegal gin in secret - her 'medicine' - something the secret police discover during one terrifying visit. The story describes in enthralling detail the young boy sitting with his mother and watching the public execution on TV of their friend from next door, the man's final humiliating moments broadcast live is both horrifying and riveting in equal measure. Also, how young Suleiman betrays his father to the secret police by telling them exactly where he is, is a powerful portrait of life in Libya at a time when people did disappear. I highly recommend this book, its impossible to put down.
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