The Return (memoir)

Last updated

The Return: Fathers, Sons and the Land in Between
Cover of The Return, memoir by Hisham Matar.jpg
Author Hisham Matar
LanguageEnglish
Genre Memoir
Publisher
Publication date
June 2016
Publication placeUnited States
Media typePrint (hardback and paperback), e-book, audiobook [3]
Pages304
Awards
ISBN 978-0-670-92333-5 (Hardcover)

The Return: Fathers, Sons and the Land in Between is a memoir by Hisham Matar that was first published in June 2016. [4] The memoir centers on Matar's return to his native Libya in 2012 to search for the truth behind the 1990 disappearance of his father, a prominent political dissident of the Gaddafi regime. [1] It won the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography, [5] the inaugural 2017 PEN/Jean Stein Book Award [6] and the 2017 Folio Prize, becoming the first nonfiction book to do so. [7]

Contents

Synopsis

In 1990, Hisham Matar's father, a prominent critic of Muammar Gaddafi's dictatorship, was kidnapped by Gaddafi's agents and imprisoned in Libya. Matar never saw his father after that. The memoir follows Matar's return to Libya in 2012, following Gaddafi's death, to find out what happened to his father. [1] [8]

Reception

Critical response

The Return was critically acclaimed. [7] It was named as one of the 10 best books of 2016 by the editors of The New York Times Book Review [9] and The Washington Post . [10] According to Book Marks, the book received "rave" reviews (or "A+" based on ten critic reviews [11] ) based on eleven critic reviews with ten being "rave" and one being "positive". [12] On Bookmarks November/December 2016 issue, a magazine that aggregates critic reviews of books, the book received a Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg (4.00 out of 5) from based on critic reviews. [13] [14]

Writing for The Guardian , writers Julian Barnes, Alan Hollinghurst, Blake Morrison, Rupert Thomson, Lucy Hughes-Hallett and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie named The Return as one of their favorite books of 2016, with Adichie noting that it "moved [her] to tears and taught [her] about love and home." [15] [16] Writing for The New York Times , Pulitzer Prize-winning critic Michiko Kakutani selected the book as one of her top 10 books of 2016, describing it as part "detective story", part "story of exile" and part "story of what's happened in Libya and the Middle East." [17]

Accolades

The Return won the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography [5] and the 2017 Folio Prize, becoming the first nonfiction book to do so. [7] It also won the inaugural 2017 PEN/Jean Stein Book Award [6] and the 2016 Slightly Foxed Best First Biography Prize. [4] The memoir was a finalist for the 2016 Baillie Gifford Prize, [18] 2016 Costa Biography Award, [19] 2017 National Book Critics Circle Award [20] and 2017 Los Angeles Times Book Prize. [21] It was listed by the New York Times in 2024 as one of the best 100 books of the 21st century. [22]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Susan Faludi</span> American feminist author and journalist

Susan Charlotte Faludi is an American feminist, journalist, and author. She won a Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Journalism in 1991, for a report on the leveraged buyout of Safeway Stores, Inc., a report that the Pulitzer Prize committee commended for depicting the "human costs of high finance". She was also awarded the Kirkus Prize in 2016 for In the Darkroom, which was also a finalist for the 2017 Pulitzer Prize in biography.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Packer</span> American journalist and writer (born 1960)

George Packer is an American journalist, novelist, and playwright. He is best known for his writings about U.S. foreign policy for The New Yorker and The Atlantic and for his book The Assassins' Gate: America in Iraq. Packer also wrote The Unwinding: An Inner History of the New America, covering the history of the US from 1978 to 2012. In November 2013, The Unwinding received the National Book Award for Nonfiction. His award-winning biography, Our Man: Richard Holbrooke and the End of the American Century, was released in May 2019. His latest book, Last Best Hope: America in Crisis and Renewal, was released in June 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Reiss</span> American author, historian, and journalist

Tom Reiss is an American author, historian, and journalist. He is the author of three nonfiction books, the latest of which is The Black Count: Glory, Revolution, Betrayal, and the Real Count of Monte Cristo (2012), which received the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography. His previous books are Führer-Ex: Memoirs of a Former Neo-Nazi (1996), the first inside exposé of the European neo-Nazi movement; and The Orientalist: Solving the Mystery of a Strange and Dangerous Life (2005), which became an international bestseller. As a journalist, Reiss has written for The New Yorker, The Wall Street Journal, and The New York Times.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michiko Kakutani</span> American critic, writer (b. 1955)

Michiko Kakutani is an American writer and retired literary critic, best known for reviewing books for The New York Times from 1983 to 2017. In that role, she won the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism in 1998.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Azadeh Moaveni</span> American journalist and writer

Azadeh Moaveni is an Iranian-American writer, journalist, and academic. She is the former director of the Gender and Conflict Program at the International Crisis Group, and is Associate Professor of Journalism at New York University's Arthur L. Carter Institute of Journalism. She is the author of four books, including the bestselling Lipstick Jihad and Guest House for Young Widows, which was shortlisted for numerous prizes. She contributes to The New York Times, The Guardian, and The London Review of Books.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ron Chernow</span> American writer (born 1949)

Ronald Chernow is an American writer, journalist, and biographer. He has written bestselling historical non-fiction biographies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anthony Shadid</span> American journalist (1968–2012)

Anthony Shadid was a foreign correspondent for The New York Times based in Baghdad and Beirut who won the Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting twice, in 2004 and 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hisham Matar</span> American born British-Libyan writer

Hisham Matar is an American-born British-Libyan novelist, essayist, and memoirist. His debut novel In the Country of Men was shortlisted for the 2006 Man Booker Prize, and his memoir of the search for his father, The Return, won the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography and several other awards. Matar's essays have appeared in The New Yorker, The Guardian, The New York Times, and many other publications. He has also written several other novels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Margo Jefferson</span> American writer and academic (born 1947)

Margo Lillian Jefferson is an American writer and academic.

<i>In the Country of Men</i> 2006 novel by Hisham Matar

In the Country of Men is the debut novel of the writer Hisham Matar, first published in July 2006 by Viking, an imprint of Penguin Books. It was nominated for the 2006 Man Booker Prize and the Guardian First Book Award. It has so far been translated into 22 languages and was awarded the 2007 Royal Society of Literature Ondaatje Prize as well as a host of international literary prizes. The book was also nominated for the 2007 National Book Critics Circle Award in the U.S and won the Arab American Book Award in 2007.

<i>Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention</i> 2011 book by Manning Marable

Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention is a biography of Malcolm X written by American historian Manning Marable. It won the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for History.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jean Stein</span> American author and editor

Jean Babette Stein was an American author and editor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">T. J. Stiles</span> American biographer (born 1964)

T. J. Stiles is an American biographer who lives in Berkeley, California. His book The First Tycoon: The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt won a National Book Award and the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography. His book Custer's Trials: A Life on the Frontier of a New America received the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for History.

TheWriters' Prize, previously known as the Rathbones Folio Prize, the Folio Prize and The Literature Prize, is a literary award that was sponsored by the London-based publisher The Folio Society for its first two years, 2014–2015. Starting in 2017, the sponsor was Rathbone Investment Management. At the 2023 award ceremony, it was announced that the prize was looking for new sponsorship as Rathbones would be ending their support. In November 2023, having failed to secure a replacement sponsor, the award's governing body announced its rebrand as The Writers' Prize.

This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 2016.

<i>In the Darkroom</i> 2016 book by Susan Faludi

In the Darkroom is a memoir by Susan Faludi that was first published on June 14, 2016. The memoir centers on the life of Faludi's father, who came out as transgender and underwent sex reassignment surgery at the age of 76. It won the 2016 Kirkus Prize for nonfiction and was a finalist for the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography.

British Libyans are citizens or residents of the United Kingdom that are of Libyan ancestry. British-Libyans may also include children born in the United Kingdom to a British parent and a Libyan parent.

<i>A Promised Land</i> 2020 memoir by Barack Obama

A Promised Land is a memoir by Barack Obama, the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. Published on November 17, 2020, it is the first of a planned two-volume series. Remaining focused on his political career, the presidential memoir documents Obama's life from his early years through to the events surrounding the killing of Osama bin Laden in May 2011. The book is 768 pages long and available in digital, paperback, and hardcover formats and has been translated into two dozen languages. There is also a 29-hour audiobook edition that is read by Obama himself.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reception and legacy of Muammar Gaddafi</span> Views on the Libyan dictator

Muammar Gaddafi dominated Libya's politics for four decades and was the subject of a pervasive cult of personality. He was decorated with various awards and praised for his anti-imperialist stance, support for Arab—and then African—unity, as well as for significant development to the country following the discovery of oil reserves. Conversely, many Libyans strongly opposed Gaddafi's social and economic reforms; he was posthumously accused of various human rights violations. He was condemned by many as a dictator whose authoritarian administration systematically violated human rights and financed global terrorism in the region and beyond.

<i>My Friends</i> (novel) 2024 novel by Hisham Matar

My Friends is a 2024 novel by Hisham Matar published by Penguin Random House. The novel tells the story of three Libyan friends living in London as exiles from their country. The story follows their intertwined lives from the 1980s to the 2011 Arab Spring. Fearing retribution from the Gaddafi regime, they are fearful of returning to their own country or contacting their families.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "The Return - Kirkus Review". Kirkus Reviews. April 18, 2016. Retrieved June 25, 2017.
  2. Cooke, Rachel (July 3, 2016). "The Return by Hisham Matar – exquisite pain of a fatherless son". The Guardian.
  3. The Return (official publisher's page). Penguin Books. March 2, 2017. Retrieved June 26, 2017.
  4. 1 2 "Slightly Foxed Best First Biography Prize 2016: The Winner". Slightly Foxed. Retrieved June 26, 2017.
  5. 1 2 "2017 Pulitzer Prize winners". The Washington Post. April 10, 2017.
  6. 1 2 Maher, John (March 27, 2017). "At PEN Awards, A Scaled-Up Atmosphere and Political Bent". Publishers Weekly.
  7. 1 2 3 Kean, Danuta (May 24, 2017). "Folio prize goes to Hisham Matar's memoir The Return". The Guardian.
  8. Creswell, Robyn (July 5, 2016). "Libya's Prisons Were Emptying. But Hisham Matar's Father Was Nowhere to Be Found". The New York Times.
  9. Editors of The New York Times Book Review (December 1, 2016). "The 10 Best Books of 2016". The New York Times.
  10. Book World Reviewers (November 17, 2016). "The 10 Best Books of 2016". The Washington Post.
  11. "The Return: Fathers Sons and the Land in Between". Book Marks. Archived from the original on October 23, 2016. Retrieved July 12, 2024.
  12. "The Return: Fathers, Sons, and the Land in Between". Book Marks. Retrieved January 16, 2024.
  13. "The Return". Bookmarks. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
  14. "The Return". Bibliosurf (in French). October 4, 2023. Retrieved October 4, 2023.
  15. "Best books of 2016 – part one". The Guardian. November 26, 2016. Retrieved June 26, 2017.
  16. "Best books of 2016 – part two". The Guardian. November 27, 2016. Retrieved June 26, 2017.
  17. Kakutani, Michiko; Garner, Dwight; Senior, Jennifer; Maslin, Janet (December 14, 2016). "Times Critics' Top Books of 2016". The New York Times.
  18. Flood, Alison; Cain, Sian (November 15, 2016). "Philippe Sands wins the 2016 Baillie Gifford prize for nonfiction". The Guardian.
  19. Cain, Sian (November 22, 2016). "Costa book award 2016 shortlists dominated by female writers". The Guardian.
  20. Charles, Ron (January 17, 2017). "Finalists for the National Book Critics Circle Awards". The Washington Post.
  21. Schaub, Michael (February 22, 2017). "L.A. Times Book Prize finalists include Zadie Smith and Rep. John Lewis; Thomas McGuane will be honored". Los Angeles Times.
  22. "The 100 Best Books of the 21st Century". The New York Times. July 8, 2024. Archived from the original on July 8, 2024. Retrieved July 9, 2024.