Hisham Matar on My Friends: London, Libya, and Living in Exile

On this episode, we were joined by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Hisham Matar to discuss his brilliant new novel ‘My Friends,’ which tells the story of three exiled Libyan friends living in London over the course of four decades, each marked by an act of real political violence which occurred at the Libyan embassy in St. James’s Square in 1984.

The author is himself an exile, having fled the country as a child due his father’s vocal criticism of the Qaddafi regime, ultimately settling in London, where he has lived for many years.

Hisham spoke to us about the long journey towards completing this highly personal novel; why he believes that authors are rarely in control of their own work; and the challenges of attempting to live freely as an exile, all the while knowing that your compatriots are struggling back home.

The novel is full of warmth, brilliant storytelling, and great style, all attributes which can also be used to describe this episode's guest.