Painfully poignant and haunting.

Listening to the audiobook narrated by the author himself made the whole experience all the more intimate and gripping.

This is the story of one man’s search for his father, who was disappeared and imprisoned during Qaddafi’s brutal rule, in Libya. It’s a book about men, where the women feature in the background but do the heavy emotional weightlifting. The disappeared were the children of these women, their fathers, brothers, and husbands, yet their grief translates through that of their children and other menfolk.

There’s a tinge of sadness in Matar’s voice. Throughout the book, one can’t help but experience the pain and yearning as he flashbacks in his narration to various episodes of togetherness, absence, separation, and hope.

The book is an epic of endurance, resistance and the undying hope that the relatives of disappeared political prisoners in Libya and the Arab world continue to hold for a better future.

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Deeply moving, the horrors of separation

A well deserved Pulitzer Prize for Hisham Matar, who speaks bravely about the terrible experiences his family faced under the Gaddafi regime and not knowing the fate of his diplomat father. It is gripping and terrifying to hear how easy it was for the authorities to arrest and kill Libyans at will even on foreign soil and the complicity of western countries that allowed it to happen. Truly a harrowing and stirring listen.

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Good but drawn out

Interesting but somewhat drawn out, written by professional writer and somewhat literary in style. Actual story was interesting though just took a while to get through.

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Let down by poor recording

A great book well narrated but is spoiled by poor editing - the final word of each chapter is cut short by the start of the mew chapter. I am suspicious that some paragraphs of recording were also cut out. Not the quality i am used to or expect.

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Deeply personal and devastating

I love the pace of Hisham Matar’s delivery. This is a challenging and painful personal story but full of riches from an incredible writer. I was so moved, but really learned something. Matar is an incredible empath - a privilege to witness his journey in this book.

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Exceptional....

The material, so sensitive and personal almost stopped me listening. It’s beautifully written and narrated exceptionally as only a writer himself is able; telling the tragic cruel history of Libya; his diaspora and return and the rediscovery of his absent imprisoned father and family.
I’m not going to dare offer further bumbling comment but the sound editors didn’t leave enough of a natural pause between chapters, and the book deserves this.

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Beautifully written and read

The fact that the author is reading his story to us makes it all the more poignant.
This beautifully written book explains the pain of losing his father but never having closure, the horrors and violence of Gaddafi’s regime, the huge number of deaths in the country over a long reign of terror and it is about his difficult return to his homeland after many years elsewhere. It is a sad account and so movingly read by the author. Yet it is not entirely miserable - I was left with a sense of just how resilient humans can be.
The poor editing of chapter starts/ends was very irritating. The author’s performance was excellent, Audible’s less so.

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Compassion fatigue

I expected great things. I enjoyed finding out about Libya and the personal history. In the end the search for the author's father became repetitious and a bit dull. The narrator's tone exacerbated my impatience. Maybe I just lack empathy.

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superb

It's impossible to find the words to praise this book, and its presentation by the author himself. The subject is tragic, the reading measured and sombre and the story is completely gripping. it should be read by anyone who cares about the fate of those trapped in vicious and violent regimes but who try always to speak truth to power.

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I am in love with this author/narrator's voice!

I could listen to Hisham Matar's gently accented voice all day and all night. He is a true wordsmith. This is a stunning story with pearls of wisdom and beauty hidden in the deep sadness of loss and despair.

(Is there a production error? Is chapter 14 repeated, or did I do something strange when I downloaded it?)

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