I know right up front there are a collection of people who won’t like this book. And that’s okay. If you like something lighter and not political than maybe this isn’t for you. But I thought this was a beautiful story, astonishing, lyrical and profound. Here is my book review My Friends by Hisham Matar.

Libya

Hisham Matar is an American born British/Libyan with another book The Return, nominated for both the Booker Prize and the Pulitzer. I need to read that one. In My Friends Matar navigates the Libyan political scene under the Gaddafi regime and the life of a forced exiled Libyan man living in England.

Read by the author, I was engrossed in this beautiful and difficult story that I listened to on Audible. The protagonist in the story, Khaled is also a writer, lover of poetry and a lover of the Libyan writer Hosam Zowa. Khaled hears a short story when he is just a boy in Benghazi by Zowa that will direct his entire life.

United Kingdom

Khaled will venture to Scotland for university, the pride of his father, mother and younger sister. Here he will meet another student and that relationship will change the projection of Khaled’s life when the two attend a protest at the Libyan Embassy in London. The events of that day, which Khaled barely survives, will keep him out of Libya and away from his family for decades to come.

Friendship

The heart of this beautiful book is about friends. How friendships can sustain us and also break our hearts. Khaled’s friends help him process the brutalities of the Gaddafi regime, even though they often disagree on what should happen in Libya. Khaled’s exile will test all aspects of his life; his complex feelings about his family still in Libya; how he sees his future as a Libyan man and the culture he was raised in; how his career unfolds; his love life; his personal regrets and fears and most of all his enduring yet multifaceted friendships.

Book Review My Friends by Hisham Matar

One of the best books I have listened to in a long time. I wonderful history lesson about Libya, a riveting tale of being in exile, and a beautiful story about the love of family, friends and country. I loved it.

*****Five stars for My Friends by Hisham Matar.

Thanks for reading my book review My Friends by Hisham Matar. See last week’s book review The God of the Woods by Liz Moore.