Tibor Jones // Authors // Hisham Matar // In the country of men

IN THE COUNTRY OF MEN

Nine year old Suleiman is just awakening to the wider world beyond the games on the hot pavement outside his home and beyond the loving embrace of his parents. He becomes the man of the house when his father goes away on business – but then he sees his father standing in the market square in a pair of dark glasses. Suddenly, the wider world becomes a frightening place where parents lie and questions go unanswered.
In her father’s worrying absence, Suleiman turns to his mother, who, under the cover of night, entrusts him with the secret story of his childhood. As lies and fears intensify, it feels it feels as if the walls of Suleiman’s home will break with the secrets held within it.

Shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize, 2006

Winner of the Commonwealth Writers Prize, Best First Book (Europe and South Asia)

Shortlisted for the Guardian First Book Award

'One of the most brilliant literary debuts of recent years.'
The Times

'Matar writes beautifully … He is a nuanced observer with a gift for conveying both absurdity and raw emotion.'
The Guardian

'This sad, beautiful novel captures the universal tragedy of children caught in their parents terrors.'
Washington Post Book World

'Wonderfully original...Hisham Matar’s exceptional first novel... brings to mind 1984 and fahrenheit 451 in the way it posits a cruelly simplified and onsensical universe.'
New York Times Book Review

'The spaces and the lights between his words...make reading (In The Country of Men) a physical as well as an emotional experience.'
Los Angeles Times

'A poetic and powerful account... resonant with the details of a Libyan childhood.'
Wall Street Journal

PUBLISHERS

UK – Viking
US – The Dial Press
Arabic – Dar Al Muna
Catalan – RBA Edicions
Chinese - Simplified, Yilin Press
Croatian – Algoritam
Czech Republic – NakladatelstvÍ Jota
Danish – Gyldendal
Dutch – JM Meulenhoff
French – Denoël
German – Luchterhand
Greek – Indiktos
Hebrew – Keter
Icelandic – JPV Utgafa
Italian – Giulio Einaudi
Japanese – Poplar
Korean – Hyundae Munhak
Norwegian – JW Cappelens
Poland - Smak Slowa
Portuguese-Brazil – Companhia Das Letras
Portuguese – Civilizacao
Romanian – Minerva
Serbia - IP MARSO Publishing House
Slovene – Metod
Spanish – Salamandra
Swedish – Bokforlaget Forum AB
Turkish – Aykiri