it I T was 1979, and the sun was I everywhere. Tripoli lay brilliant I and still beneath it...” Twenty-four-year-old Suleiman, now living in Cairo, reminisces. Suleiman was nine when he was sent off to Cairo. It was a summer that changed a naive young boy. He had experienced a jarring chain of events, events that could easily sway anyone's point of view. That particular summer forced Suleiman to grow up overnight. Yet the way he narrates those life altering and perplexing experiences remains unpretentious. It was presumably the way a nine-year-old would look at life, upto that point.

Libyan author Hisham Matar, now living in London, starts off his debut novel In the Country of Men with a rather Amitav Ghosh-esque narrative. But move on to the end of page one and things change radically, as Suleiman goes on, “Baba never found out about Mama's illness; she only fell ill when he was away on business...”

Matar was born in New York and spent his childhood in the US with his Libyan parents while his father was working for the Libyan delegation to the United Nations. When he was three, the family moved back to Tripoli. Due to political persecution

by the Gaddafi government, in 1979 Matar's father was accused of being a reactionary by the Libyan revolutionary regime. He was forced to flee

the country with his family and they lived in exile in Egypt. Matar moved to London in 1986 for higher studies and got a degree in architecture. In 1990, while Matar was still in London, hisfatherwas kidnapped in Cairoand has been reported missing ever since. In 1996 the family received two letters with his father's handwriting, stating that he had been kidnapped by the Egyptian secret police, handed over to the Libyan regime and imprisoned in the notorious Abu-Salim prison in Tripoli. Since then there has been no more information about hisfather's well-being.

Matar began writing poetry and has experimented in theatre. He started working on his debut novel in early 2000. In the Country of Men was published in July 2006 and went on to be shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize and the Guardian First Book Award last year. The book has been translated in 14 languages and published in 17 countries.

The overall impression is that the novel zooms in on the madness and witch-hunt that lingered on decades after the 'Revolution' led by the 'Guide' (Muammar Gaddafi) took place. However, with subtlety and deceptively simple prose, Matar brings to light another blazing issue -

the obvious objectification of women in the Arab world. Suleiman's mother refers to the day of her marriage as 'that black day'. She was only 14 and the groom was 23. She was forced into marriage, after being spotted by her brother at a cafe having cappuccino in 'mixed company'. That 'progressive' poet brother, who went on to marry an all-American girl, ratted little sister out to the family. To save their 'honour' the 'high council' (as Suleiman's mother calls the men in her family) married her off as soon as possible, something she never got over and turned to substance abuse for temporary solace.

Baba, Suleiman's father, is a more distant figure, often away on business trips, oblivious to what is going on at home. Suleiman soon learns his father is not away on business at all. He is deeply involved in an underground movement voicing protests against the totalitarian Gaddafi regime.

The adults are secretive around Suleiman. The inquisitive kid sort of stumbles upon incidents like his best friend Kareem's father Ustath Rashid being dragged away by 'Revolutionary' men. Rashid's farcical trial becomes a public affair and his lynching is televised. Baba is constantly on

the run and his associates under threat.

In the Country of Men is also a story of betrayal. Adults around Suleiman betray each other, trying to protect their near and dear ones. Neighbour Ustath Jafer (a senior member of the Mokhabarat, trained in Moscow by the KGB) and his gossipy wife Um Masoud, become Mama's best friends overnight. Baba, after being tortured in captivity, discloses information on his associates. Suleiman too often finds himself hurting and verbally abusing his 'once best pal' Kareem. The ultimate betrayal comes as a blow to Suleiman when he is packed off to Egypt. The 'apple of the eye' of his parents, Suleiman lives in a world that he perceives to be a 'solitary confinement' with its perks and is labelled a 'stray dog' by the Libyan authorities.

Matar's way of storytelling is convincing. He keeps a child's memories unharmed, unadulterated. However, the novel seems to fall short towards the end. Matar takes only fifteen pages to go over fifteen years of Suleiman’s life in exile.

Karim Waheed is cultural reporter, The Daily Star