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musicsaves's review against another edition
4.0
FIRST LINE REVIEW: "Early morning, March 2012." Okay, not a lot of deep "umph" to that sentence, but there's plenty of deep searching that goes on in the next 238 pages. Matar explores what it feels like to spend 25 years not knowing anything about a loved one, after he is kidnapped and thrown in the prison of a tyrannical dictator. The fluidity of time in this account is a bit confusing, but the emotional honesty can't be denied. Enlightening and heart-breaking.
ceegee's review
emotional
informative
sad
slow-paced
3.5
Personal exploration of his work and his family’s experience under the Qaddafi regime were fascinating. Impersonal explanations of artwork became quite tedious and dragged on. Abrupt ending.
emmagoldblum's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.75
jslive's review against another edition
3.0
"The return" by Hisham Matar is a touching story of a doomed search for a long gone father and country
theflamingopriss's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.75
jcoker10's review against another edition
5.0
Heartbreaking and spectacular. An amazing book that intertwines an untold history with a personal tragedy. Must read, brilliant writing and an incredibly important story.