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The Return
- Fathers, Sons and the Land in Between
- Narrated by: Hisham Matar
- Length: 8 hrs and 48 mins
- Categories: Biographies & Memoirs, Art & Literature
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Summary
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography, 2017
Hisham Matar was 19 when his father was kidnapped and taken to prison in Libya. He would never see him again. Twenty-two years later, after the fall of Gaddafi, Hisham was finally able to return to his homeland for the first time.
In this heartbreaking, illuminating memoir, he describes his return to a country and a family he thought he would never see again. The Return is at once a universal and an intensely personal tale of loss. It is an exquisite meditation on history, politics and art. It's the story of what it is to be human.
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What listeners say about The Return
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Anthony
- 18-12-16
Search for justice and closure - a Libyan story
Beautifully written, moving, tenacious story of a son's search for what happened to his father in Libya's political prisons. A story of his search for the truth and closure, and the betrayals he learned about along the way.
Beautifully read - the pronunciation of Leeebiya (Libya) will stay with me forever.
So too will the story of the return by the author's mother, week after week, to the political prison to bring lovingly prepared food for her incarcerated husband,... And what became of the bodies and bones of those who were killed by the Gaddafi regime ...
Autobiographical, deeply human story...
4 people found this helpful
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- Suswati
- 18-04-17
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.
2 people found this helpful
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- FJF
- 06-02-17
brilliant, beautiful and intimate
having Hisham himself as the reader, really transforms this story into a personal conversation.
1 person found this helpful
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- Roly
- 10-09-19
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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- Petra
- 08-06-18
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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- Mrs B
- 21-04-18
well written autobiography
includes African history of Libyan occupation and a story of a man in search for his father
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- Amazon Customer
- 16-09-17
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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- Richard
- 06-08-17
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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- Lorraine
- 04-08-17
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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- Tala!
- 29-04-20
What a journey
Very rare a book or an author can take me into his or her journey so deeply ... maybe it’s the story, the narration, the beautiful writing or a combination of all of them! I felt Hisham’s pain, his disappointment, and his longing ... I savoured it till the last second .