My Friends
It is praised as a novel that explores exile and the loss of friendship through a restrained voice. The spare style leaves a strong impression, though some readers wish for a little more momentum.
作品情報
It captures time and memory among people living far from home with quiet intensity.
A novel about Libyan exiles, their friendship, and the aftermath of political violence in London in 1984. Through the slow changes in their relationships, it sketches the shape of a life lived away from home.
レビュー要約
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Its quiet handling of exile and loss of friendship is widely appreciated. Because it favors resonance over high drama, some readers experience the restraint as very strong.
書籍情報
- 出版社
- Penguin Books Ltd
- 発売日
- 2024-01-11
- ページ数
- 464ページ
- 言語
- 英語
- サイズ
- 15.4 x 3.3 x 23.4 cm
- ISBN-13
- 9780241409497
- ISBN-10
- 0241409497
- 価格
- 4361 JPY
- カテゴリ
- 洋書/Literature & Fiction/Literary
LONGLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE 2024 FINALIST FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD 2024 WINNER OF THE ORWELL PRIZE FOR POLITICAL FICTION FINALIST FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE FROM THE PULITZER-PRIZE WINNING AUTHOR OF THE RETURN ''A brilliant novel about innocence and experience, about friendship, family and exile'' COLM TOIBIN Khaled and Mustafa meet at university in Edinburgh: two Libyan eighteen-year-olds expecting to return home after their studies. In a moment of recklessness and courage, they travel to London to join a demonstration in front of the Libyan embassy. When government officials open fire on protestors in broad daylight, both friends are wounded, and their lives forever changed. Over the years that follow, Khaled, Mustafa and their friend Hosam, a writer, are bound together by their shared history. If friendship is a space to inhabit, theirs becomes small and inhospitable when a revolution in Libya forces them to choose between the lives they have created in London and the lives they left behind. ''The first Booker contender of 2024 . . . a deeply touching, beautifully composed book'' Sunday Times ''It is impossible to describe the profound depth and beauty of this book'' MAAZA MENGISTE, author of THE SHADOW KING ''My Friends is both a complex and unsentimental meditation on what friendship means and a searingly moving exploration of how exile impacts those who are forced to live in this state of loss. It is a book that we loved for its spareness of language and its deeply affecting storytelling.’ Booker Prize Judges 2024
レビュー
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The book is of very good quality. The cover page looks beautiful and the pages inside doesn’t bleed much if you use a pen!
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This is the book that has most driven home to me the simplicity of living in a new country like Australia. Reading of the family pull and the author’s textured homeland descriptions and the ever present political and historical involvement makes me aware of a love of country and legacy and ancestry that is incomprehensible to nationals of Australia and countries with short histories. Matar’s depth of insight into words, appearances and nuances of his fellow Libyan associates is matched by his ability to express those insights, yet keep it an accessible compelling read. The lack of plot falls away as the subtle shift in maturity or appreciation of his nation’s struggles over-rides it. Similarly with the development of his friendships, love interests and even mere acquaintances. I highlighted many perceptive gems in Matar’s prose and always looked forward to picking the book up, but without knowing what I was really looking forward to. I think I just wanted ti spend more time with the Khaleed and share his developing maturing wisdom. The analogy of the young girl on a mule whose only option was ti keep moving forward will stick with me as other memories if this book eventually subside.
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Great book
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Loved this story of 3 Libya friends struggling with the cruelty and hardship caused by by Qaddafi’s reign and having to leave the country they love. The strength of the human spirit, its weaknesses and disappointments are all so well described that you can feel the pain just being alive brings with it. It’s a journey we all should take.
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This is a brilliant book and I would wish everyone could read it before meeting anyone who comes to live here from another country, just what it feels like when you cannot go back to your original home; the longing, the passion and the sheer difficulties of living in another country. Although the book is about friendship, in essence, it is such a good read I didn't want it to end. It also teaches us about individuality and the richness of other cultures.
関連する文学賞
- Orwell Prize 第31回（2024年） ・Winner