Book of the Month - By Kathleen Thorne

In the Country of Men
By Hisham Matar

Published by Viking
Cost € 16.40

In the Country of Men is a novel set in 1979 during the early days of Colonel Gadaffi's military dictatorship in Libya. The narrator is a boy called Suleiman. He is the only child of a father who is actively involved in a democracy movement to oust Gadaffi.

Suleiman's mother was forced into marriage at the age of 14 and has never fully recovered. She suffers from an illness which we gradually come to realise is alcoholism. Tripoli in 1979 is a dangerous place. There are those who support Gadaffi and those who oppose him. The latter are students and respectable middle class people who wish for a more democratic society. In Suleiman's small neighbourhood there is a dangerous mix of pro- and anti - Gadaffi people. Suleiman's father – Baba – and his friend Ustath Rashid, are anti-Gadaffi. But the Gadaffi henchmen are everywhere. They watch people and carry out raids on the homes of suspects.

They arrest Ustath Rashid in full view of his son Kareem. They beat him and humiliate him before shoving him into a car. Suleiman also witnesses the arrest. Later he watches the televised interrogation and execution of Ustath Rashid – a most terrifying event for the child.

It doesn't stop there. Before the execution of Rashid, Suleiman's father, Baba, is arrested. He does not suffer the fate of Rashid, but he is returned home under suspicion of having betrayed him. The themes of betrayal and victimisation run throughout the story. One is aware of the betrayal of Suleiman's mother by her parents. She in turn betrays her son, through her inability to cope with her problems and her consequent neglect of him.

Kareem's sadness after the capture of his father is movingly described: It wasn't the sadness of longing, it was the sadness of betrayal, the silent sadness that comes from being let down. Suleiman victimises a crazy beggar, Bahloul. There is a sad episode where Suleiman bullies him cruelly. But the kinder element of the boy's nature is also there. He wants to apologise. In a way, this event epitomises a book that could have been entirely negative and depressing.

Love triumphs in other smaller ways. Moosa, an Egyptian who is also an anti-Gadaffi activist, is a close friend of the Suleiman family. He is appalled by Baba's betrayal of Ustath Rashid. Nevertheless, he loves the boy Suleiman, and arranges for him to leave the dangers of Libya and go to live in Egypt.

Moosa's father, Judge Yaseen, has been Baba's great friend. He now takes charge of Suleiman, who remains in Egypt for many years. This book is readily accessible through its beautiful and deceptively simple prose. It portrays complex and cruel events, but there is always a glimmer of hope through the glimpses of positive human emotions.

Moreover, it gives us genuine insights into a culture that is utterly different from ours. The author knows this culture intimately, having spent his childhood in Tripoli and Cairo. In the Country of Men was shortlisted for the Man booker prize. It would have been a fitting winner.

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