“I knew no one here and yet I knew them all. i knew this tentative silence, these faces and their cautious withholding. I could sit without saying a word, enduring that discreet anonymity of Libyan male society, with its careful social architecture that allows each one to keep to himself all that matters, that one could come to know an individual intimately and yet have no idea of an essential fact about him.”
Browse quotes and source details for this work. more
Hisham Matar is a Libyan-British writer whose works delve into themes of political oppression, exile, and the human condition. Born in 1970, he is recognized for his novel 'The Return' and his memoir 'In the Country of Men'. more
“If you wanted to avoid our rage, perhaps you shouldn’t have left us with so little to lose.”
“If a man doesn't make you feel safe, it's not a man.”
“She's not the type to swoon for pretty lies.”