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In the Country of Men: A Novel Audiobook
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(3.01) - 1,849 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
Libya, 1979. Nine-year-old Suleiman's days are circumscribed by the narrow rituals of childhood: outings to the ruins surrounding Tripoli, games with friends played under the burning sun, exotic gifts from his father's constant business trips abroad. But his nights have come to revolve around his mother's increasingly disturbing bedside stories full of old family bitterness. And then one day Suleiman sees his father across the square of a busy marketplace, his face wrapped in a pair of dark sunglasses. Wasn't he supposed to be away on business yet again? Why is he going into that strange building with the green shutters? Why did he lie?
Suleiman is soon caught up in a world he cannot hope to understand-where the sound of the telephone ringing becomes a portent of grave danger; where his mother frantically burns his father's cherished books; where a stranger full of sinister questions sits outside in a parked car all day; where his best friend's father can disappear overnight, next to be seen publicly interrogated on state television.
In the Country of Men is a stunning depiction of a child confronted with the private fallout of a public nightmare. But above all, it is a debut of rare insight and literary grace.
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"I usually find Arabic authors to be repetitive in their themes and so I read them less and less. In this case while some of those themes are present [deflowering of a young teen bride] there is a freshness present here. I like how he views Muhmar Quadafi's regime and the horror that he caused through the eyes of a nine year old boy. The translation was well done too, reading smoothly"
— Dovofthegalilee (4 out of 5 stars)
Quotes
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“Matar writes in a voice that shifts gracefully between the adult exile looking back and the young boy experiencing these events through his limited, confused point of view.”
— Washington Post -
Wonderfully original…. Brings to mind 1984 and Fahrenheit 451.
— New York Times Book Review -
“A tender-hearted account, winning in its simplicity, of a childhood infected too soon by the darkness of adults.”
— Kirkus Reviews (starred review) -
“With so much horror to digest, Hoye wisely doesn’t try to infuse childish ingenuousness into Suleiman’s observations. An exceptional debut novel is given an intelligent, respectful reading.”
— AudioFile
Awards
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New York Times bestseller
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Washington Post bestseller
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National Book Critics Circle Award Nominee
In the Country of Men Listener Reviews
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" Beautiful prose. Left me feeling humble and deeply grateful for the life I have in the West. Gives a glimpse how ordinary people behave in a hostile environment in order to get by and not be noticed. "
— Shui, 2/13/2014 -
" Love the opening and seeing the story through the eyes of a young boy. The language brings the reader into the story immediately. "
— Isabella, 2/6/2014 -
" Talks about an early period in Qaddafi's rule of Libya from a child's point of view. Well written but left with no ending! "
— Rashid, 2/6/2014 -
" Written in 2008 about Libya in 1979, it seeps prescient: a police state, revolutionary students, secret police, arbritary arrests, told through the eyes of a 9 year old boy. It is a strange story, strangely told. "
— Nicole, 1/27/2014 -
" Insight into Libya under Gaddafi. "
— Rick, 1/9/2014 -
" A dark story set in Libya before its dictator became a jolly fellow. Seen through the eyes of a not-very-appealing nine year-old. "
— Lynn, 1/9/2014 -
" I'm not sure why I gave up on this, as it really is the most convincing and well-executed of the "child"-narrated tales of atrocity that I have read. "
— Cody, 12/31/2013 -
" Reading this for book club, liking the start. "
— Sandra, 12/24/2013 -
" An impressive thought provoking book. Makes you think twice about the liberties we have and so often take for granted. "
— Hermien, 11/29/2013 -
" Controlled language. Sad and beautiful. "
— Dilruba, 11/24/2013 -
" changing our beleives just to stay alife without pain its the real death ,, also whatever our life is bad if we love its will the best in our eyes. "
— Rema, 9/27/2013 -
" Khadaffi's Libya through the eyes of a child. Illuminating and disturbing. "
— Richard, 9/8/2013 -
" It's not exactly breaking news that living in a dictatorship with an alcoholic mom is not going to make for a carefree childhood. Still, this book did present a somewhat interesting perspective on how totalitarianism can affect families in the most intimate ways. "
— Joy, 6/22/2013 -
" good story , but i didn't like that it was all from 9 year old boy , he loses focus from main events , maybe it was Hisham matar wish to focus on day to day life under Gaddafi's regime , but it wasn't what i wished to read about Libya "
— Ziad, 1/22/2013 -
" lovely, if painful, story about a mother-son relationship "
— Sarah, 9/15/2012 -
" Vivid story about life in Libya in the late 70s and 80s, from a young boy's perspective. "
— Narjes, 5/16/2012 -
" Really good read, fiction but you learn a lot about Libya before the revolution. "
— Lisa, 10/12/2011 -
" Nothing to make it any more memorable than any other book about life under dictatorship "
— Ctb, 10/6/2011 -
" Matar's tale of a nine year old boy in 1979 Libya is poignant, sweet, at times cruel and disturbing in its autobiographical echoes. Through his protagonist, the author shows us how childhood development is affected by the world in which we live. "
— Aaron, 5/28/2011 -
" Good read, and describes the horrors of living in Qaddafi's Libya. I highly recommend it. I only gave it 3 stars because personally, I didn't like it all that much; this is my pure very impressionist rating. Objectively though, it is good. "
— Yahya, 5/8/2011 -
" Nothing to make it any more memorable than any other book about life under dictatorship "
— Ctb, 5/7/2011 -
" Tells the story of Qaddafi's rule in Libya thru the eyes of a 9 year old boy. A coming of age story about a timely subject. "
— Mbhatia, 5/1/2011 -
" Matar's tale of a nine year old boy in 1979 Libya is poignant, sweet, at times cruel and disturbing in its autobiographical echoes. Through his protagonist, the author shows us how childhood development is affected by the world in which we live. "
— Aaron, 4/4/2011 -
" Rough going at first, so grim initially i found it difficult to stick with. The book is beautifully written and now that I've finished it I am sorely missing it. A book of great human depth. Striking perspective of a boy. I am eagerly awaiting his new book to be released in the U.S. "
— Samantha, 3/27/2011 -
" Great story of a child's perspective of political upheaval and the ramifications for his family. "
— Jessica, 3/22/2011 -
" The story of post-revolutionary Libya through the eyes of a nine-year-boy who tries to make sense of the insensible. A variety of issues are examined, including the role of women, childhood, resistance, secret police, betrayal, torture, and survival. Timely, important, and interesting. "
— Carol, 3/20/2011 -
" a fascinating novel following a young boy, son of a rebel under Qadhafi. I almost gave it five stars "
— Marilyn, 3/18/2011 -
" A magnificent book from a child's point of view, when everything is going wrong in the adult world. Very moving. "
— Kirsten, 3/17/2011 -
" Through the eyes of the 9-year-old narrator we encounter the totality of a totalitarian state's grip on the lives of its citizens. A telling quote from the novel, "Nationalism is as thin as a thread, perhaps that's why many feel it must be anxiously guarded." "
— Terry, 3/6/2011
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 Stephen Hoye
Stephen Hoye has worked as a professional actor in London and Los Angeles for more than thirty years. Trained at Boston University and the Guildhall in London, he has acted in television series and six feature films and has appeared in London’s West End. His audiobook narration has won him fifteen AudioFile Earphones Awards.