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Anatomy of a Disappearance: A Novel Audiobook
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(3.01) - 941 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
Nuri is a young boy when his mother dies. It seems that nothing will fill the emptiness that her strange death leaves behind in the Cairo apartment he shares with his father. Until they meet Mona, sitting in her yellow swimsuit by the pool of the Magda Marina hotel. As soon as Nuri sees her, the rest of the world vanishes. But it is Nuri’s father with whom Mona falls in love and whom she eventually marries. And their happiness consumes Nuri to the point where he wishes his father would disappear. Nuri will, however, soon regret what he wished for. His father, long a dissident in exile from his homeland, is taken under mysterious circumstances. And, as the world that Nuri and his stepmother share is shattered by events beyond their control, they begin to realize how little they knew about the man they both loved. Anatomy of a Disappearance is written with all the emotional precision and intimacy that have won Hisham Matar tremendous international recognition. In a voice that is delicately wrought and beautifully tender, he asks: When a loved one disappears, how does their absence shape the lives of those who are left?
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"What happened to Nuri's father? The reader never gets a full answer but we learn more about the secrets in Nuri's life as the book progresses. A good study of how we don't know as much as we think we do about the real life of the people we are closest to. A beautifully written book."
— Marianne (4 out of 5 stars)
Anatomy of a Disappearance Listener Reviews
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" I'm not really sure what the book was about - coming of age with an attractive, insecure, rather immoral stepmother? It didn't seem to be about what I thought it would be about (and why I bought the book)- the disappearance of a father who had been involved in the politics of the Arab world. Not much about the Arab world or politics or the father. That said, I finished the book becasue I wanted to know where it went and because it is well-written. "
— Robin, 2/2/2014 -
" really enjoyed this book...it provoked a lot of discussion at bookclub...about men and women and the arrangements we make around each other...the plight of the son...and the 'evil empire' at work in the background... funny story...but compelling really "
— Kerry-ynne, 1/19/2014 -
" I had to restrain myself from writing to her too often, especially because she rarely wrote back or responded with the speed and in the manner I had allowed myself to expect. Some people manage to escape the obligation a sincere letter places on them. "
— Isabel, 1/4/2014 -
" Really loved the minimalist prose - felt like I was living this experience - great characters, hugely credible plot - a disconcerting delight! "
— Jane, 8/2/2013 -
" Such a wonderful book, I'm interested in readers who have no knowledge of Arab or North African culture and what they thought of it. "
— Philippa, 5/26/2013 -
" It was okay - not a favorite of mine. Told from the perspective of Nuri whose father is abducted in 1972 when Nuri is a pre-teen. It is the story of Nuri and his relationship not only with his father but with the women in his father's life, including his father's second wife Mona. "
— Trudi, 5/1/2013 -
" A compelling book about an Arab boy who loses his mother, his father disappears and he must make sense of the complication of a life lived beyond his awareness and his longing for the past and for the life he believed he had been living. "
— Patricia, 1/25/2013 -
" Elegant, haunting, and engaging story. Very highly recommend. "
— Yoonmee, 6/3/2012 -
" I can't put exactly my finger on why, but I immensely enjoyed this. "
— Mona, 1/2/2012 -
" I thought you always knew where this book must be going, but the surprise was still there, which really reflects on how well it was written. "
— Dick, 10/22/2011 -
" Really lovely writing and story! And in light of what is going on in the politics of the Middle East, a very enlightening read. I want to read more by Matar. What beautiful prose! "
— Marlene, 10/9/2011 -
" The ending was unfufilling, but I guess that was expected. Full of loss.<br/> "
— Teal, 9/20/2011 -
" Loved it. Listened to it on my ipod...one of the best. Couldn't wait to get back in the car and get my ipod on. "
— Nancy, 9/14/2011 -
" a spare, elegant book on loss and the complexities of love. "
— Jeniece, 9/11/2011
About Hisham Matar
Hisham Matar is the author of several books, including his memoir The Return, which won the 2017 Pulitzer Prize, the PEN/Jean Stein Book Award, and the Rathbones Folio Prize. It was also shortlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize, the Costa Biography Award, and a National Book Critics Circle Award. In the Country of Men was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. He was born in New York City to Libyan parents, spent his childhood in Tripoli and Cairo, and has lived most of his life in London. He is a professor at Barnard College and Columbia University and is a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and an honorary fellow of the Royal Academy of Arts. His work has been translated into more than thirty languages.
About Khalid Abdalla
Steve West, the winner of multiple Earphones Awards for narration, is an international actor who has starred on London’s prestigious West End stage, including productions of Mamma Mia! and Oh, What a Night! He is widely known for his television and film work in both the United States and the UK, and he has performed for Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace. He hosts his own television show for the UK live from Los Angeles.