The Return

Fathers, Sons and the Land in Between

By: Hisham Matar

Narrated by: Hisham Matar

Pulitzer Prize, Biography/Autobiography, 2017

From the author of In the Country of Men, a Man Booker Prize and National Book Critics Circle Award finalist, comes a beautifully written, uplifting memoir of his journey home to his native Libya in search of the truth behind his father's disappearance.

When Hisham Matar was a 19-year-old university student in England, his father was kidnapped. One of the Qaddafi regime's most prominent opponents in exile, he was held in a secret prison in Libya. Hisham would never see him again. But he never gave up hope that his father might still be alive. "Hope," as he writes, "is cunning and persistent." Twenty-two years later, after the fall of Qaddafi, the prison cells were empty, and there was no sign of Jaballa Matar. Hisham returned with his mother and wife to the homeland he never thought he'd go back to again.

The Return is the story of what he found there. It is at once an exquisite meditation on history, politics, and art; a brilliant portrait of a nation and a people on the cusp of change; and a disquieting depiction of the brutal legacy of absolute power. Above all, it is a universal tale of loss and love and of one family's life. Hisham Matar asks the harrowing question: How does one go on living in the face of a loved one's uncertain fate?

©2016 Hisham Matar (P)2016 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

• Pulitzer Prize, Biography, 2017

“ The Return is a riveting book about love and hope, but it is also a moving meditation on grief and loss. It draws a memorable portrait of a family in exile and manages also to explore the politics of Libya with subtlety and steely intelligence. It is a quest for the truth in a dark time, constructed with a novelist's skill, written in tones that are both precise and passionate. It is likely to become a classic.” (Colm Tóibín)

“A triumph of art over tyranny, structurally thrilling, intensely moving, The Return is a treasure for the ages.” (Peter Carey)

“What a brilliant book. Hisham Matar has the quality all historians - of the world and the self - most need: He knows how to stand back and let the past speak. In chronicling his quest for his father, his manner is fastidious, even detached, but his anger is raw and unreconciled; through his narrative art he bodies out the shape of loss and gives a universality to his very particular experience of desolation.” (Hilary Mantel)

A meditation on love and loss

Where does The Return rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Very much at the top!

What other book might you compare The Return to and why?

I don't read very many memoirs because I find they hold my attention less so than great fiction. But this one gripped me from the very first page and kept me riveted to the page till the very end.

Have you listened to any of Hisham Matar’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

This is the first time I have listened to Matar and I found his reading truly remarkable. His distinctive accent, I suppose a mix of English and Arabic, coupled with the slow, measured pace of the delivery made the listening experience a rapturous one. Matar recounts how his father used to recite poetry at social gatherings, and later when he was captive in prison. The author has clearly inherited his father's gift.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

There were so many. Here is one from the beginning. When Matar went to boarding school in England, he went under a false name and a false background, as a Christian Egyptian. There he befriends a Libyan Muslim: it is only at the end of their schooling that he confesses his true identity to his friend.

Any additional comments?

The language here is so lovely, akin to reading poetry. And Matar gave me insights on how to observe art.

True story but just didn't grab my attention

If you desire to know about the Lybian struggles, you may enjoy it but it was hard to stay focused. It just didn't grab my attention. Felt more of a sense of his feeling of loss than the facts.

A jewel

A book that cannot be described but has to be experienced, that it is narrated by the author himself makes it even more poignant - a true tale of unspoken grief which also reads like poetry. Of course it informs us about the geopolitics in the world of dictators and their powerful western sponsors, but that’s a side note.

Excellent

I haven’t read so well written in so long! Great writer!! I was totally immerse in the narration !!

Hard to follow

I really wanted to like this book. It was interesting and heartbreaking but difficult to follow as the timeline jumps around. I think it may have been easier to make sense of in print where you could easily go back and review.

Not for me

Although the history was interesting, terrifying and sad and the book was beautifully written, it didn't really go anywhere and ended far too abruptly. I applaud more people hearing about what happened but I cannot say it was an enjoyable listen.

A decent story of a painful land

A story of life in Libya under the criminal Gaddafi regime, as seen through the eyes of the son of an imprisoned and murdered man

Touching and heartbreaking

Mr. Matar could recite the dictionary and I would be happy he has such a beautiful and soothing voice! I feel so deeply for him and the rest of his family and for their forced exile and loss.

We are so unaware of the situations and tragedies going on around us in other parts of the world. Looking back, I remember visiting Italy in 1996, totally oblivious to the political climate at the time, and the things going on right across the Mediterranean in Libia.

This book is definitely worth the read!

Best book I’ve listened to

I’m an avid reader and have grown to appreciate audiobooks. Hisham Matar’s book and narration are best out there. He is the writer of our time.

Touching memoir. Consider hard copy

Sometimes I wondered whether this book would not deserve to be read rather than being listened to. Though the voice of the author carries the story well, its low tone can at first appear monotonous, and later accentuates the story's heaviness to a degree that is hardly bearable at times. I also have the hard copy of the book and turning the pages from times to times felt good; the poetry seemed even more multi-faceted and the depths were easier to deal with. Anyway, whatever format one prefers, I highly recommend it.