Reviews

The Return: Fathers, Sons and the Land in Between by Hisham Matar

janey's review against another edition

4.0

For some reason, this one seemed to start slowly, which very likely is more a reflection on me than on Matar's writing. The second half, however, sped along with great interest. I'm glad that I didn't give up.

salmasri's review against another edition

emotional sad tense medium-paced

5.0

caitowen26's review against another edition

dark emotional informative inspiring tense fast-paced

4.0

cammi's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective

5.0

erhwang's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

mssarahmorgan's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

hegesteindal74's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional slow-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Violence, and War

yoreadzbooks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative medium-paced

4.25

chris_mcc's review against another edition

dark emotional informative reflective sad fast-paced

4.0

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.