From the Bookshelf of The Roundtable…

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Hisham Matar

Start date: September 1, 2025

Finish date: October 15, 2025

Discussion: 2025 Tournament

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Showing 2 of 15 topics — 357 comments total

2025 Tournament

Round E - 1 August - 15 September - Reservoir 13 vs Klara and the Sun vs Headshot
By Henk · 15 posts · 19 views

last updated Sep 16, 2025 02:12AM

Round E voting - 15 September
By Henk · 12 posts · 12 views

last updated Sep 14, 2025 10:36PM

What Members Thought

Aug 13, 2024 Henk rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Longlisted for the Booker prize 2024. My general feel with the longlist of this year is that the jury picked solid reads, but not many that really blew me away, and this book is an exponent of that.
A well written and at times touching account of the impact of exile and the dangers of a life not lived. Still I found this book more to be admired than loved, despite the quality writing
After a little silence he said “Friend, what a word, most use it over someone they hardly know, but it is a wondrou ...more

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Jan 13, 2024 Lark Benobi rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: africa, 2023, libya

I will share a personal take, one that seems quite out of line with the majority of readers of this novel. I consistently felt the narrative voice of the novel was weighed down with so much unnecessary roundaboutness that I had trouble caring, even though I know I should care very much, because of the urgency of these times, and because of the urgency of this author's story. And yet I felt the voice was so hesitant and circumspect that even scenes that should have been riveting hit me more like ...more

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Jun 21, 2025 Pamela rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: won-other

“It turns out it is possible to live without one’s family. All one has to do is to endure each day and gradually, minute by minute, brick by brick, time builds a wall.”

Poignant story of three Libyan friends who are in exile from their homeland for political reasons. Khaled and Mustafa are students at Edinburgh University who travel to London for the (factual) demonstration at the Libyan embassy in 1984. Both are shot and after a time in hospital realise they can no longer return to their studi “It turns out it is possible to live without one’s family. All one has to do is to endure each day and gradually, minute by minute, brick by brick, time builds a wall.”

Poignant story of three Libyan friends who are in exile from their homeland for political reasons. Khaled and Mustafa are students at Edinburgh University who travel to London for the (factual) demonstration at the Libyan embassy in 1984. Both are shot and after a time in hospital realise they can no longer return to their studies and certainly not to Libya - in fact, they cannot even let their families know what has happened for fear of retribution from the regime.

The third friend, Mosam, is six years older and a writer whose satirical short story inspired the bookish Khaled and Mustafa. When the presenter who reads it on the BBC is murdered - this assassination is another factual event- Mosam begins an odyssey across Europe until eventually his path crosses with Khaled’s in Paris and they end up living in the same block of flats in London. It is the Arab Spring in 2011 that forces the friends to make choices about their futures - to return to Libya or to accept the new lives they have made in exile.

The book is beautifully written with a spare and lucid style, and really gets into the thoughts and fears of the exiles. Khaled is a well developed character who matures through the book. He doesn’t always understand or like his friends’ actions but cares deeply for them. He clings to the life he has built in London, keeping much of his grief and fear hidden from those around them. Mustafa and Hosam are mainly seen through Khaled’s eyes and this works well to create the sense of intimacy between the three.

I enjoyed the way real life events from the 1980s through to the Arab Spring are integrated into the narrative through the lives of the friends. London is almost a character itself and is brilliantly described, as are the scenes in Libya. This is a beautiful and powerful book that really gets to grips with complex themes of loss, exile, regret for the potential life unlived, and friendship. ...more

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Jun 30, 2025 Irene rated it really liked it · review of another edition

This is an exquisitely written powerful novel that captures the loneliness of exile, the enduring fear of a tyrannical regime despite distance, the bonds of family, the complicated and important dynamics of friendship and the struggle to discern one’s journey. 4.5 stars

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Apr 04, 2025 Dawn rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: literary-fiction, read-2025

I have found over the years of reading stories of immigration and displacement that I can't seem to find a connection, that the stories fall flat for me, even though I can appreciate the stellar writing, the stories never resonate. In particular, those that start in Africa seem to leave the biggest gaps between the words and my imagination.
This is one of those books for me. The reasons, the characters, the setting, the thoughts; none of it coalesced, I didn't really understand, and ultimately d ...more

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