In the Country of Men

Hisham Matar

Unveiling a world that is rarely seen in fiction, this devastatingly emotional novel will appeal to fans of The Kite Runner

On a white-hot day in Tripoli in the summer of 1979, nine-year-old Suleiman is shopping in the market square with his mother. His father is away on business - but Suleiman is sure he has just seen him, standing across the street. Why doesn't he come over when he knows Suleiman's mother is falling apart? 

Whispers intensify around Suleiman as his friend’s father disappears and his mother frantically burns his father’s books. As Suleiman begins to wonder whether his father has gone for good, it feels as if the walls of his home will break with the secrets held within.

'A poignant story of a child exposed too early to the brutalities of Libyan politics'  J. M. Coetzee

Hisham Matar was born in New York in 1970 and spent his childhood in Tripoli and Cairo. He has lived in London since 1986. He is currently at work on his second novel. In the Country of Men will be published in thirteen languages.