Simon and Rachel speak with the novelist and non-fiction writer Hisham Matar. Born in New York to Libyan parents, Hisham spent his childhood in Tripoli and Cairo and has lived most of his life in London. He is the author of the novels "In the Country of Men", which was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize, and "Anatomy of a Disappearance", as well as two memoirs: "The Return", which was the recipient of a Pulitzer Prize in 2017, the PEN/Jean Stein Award, and the Rathbones Folio Prize, and "A Month in Siena", a meditation on grief, art and human intimacy. His most recent book, published in January, is the novel "My Friends". Hisham is a professor at Barnard College, Columbia University and his work has been translated into over 30 languages. We spoke to Hisham about his early life in Libya and Egypt, the abduction of his father in 1990 and how it shaped his development, and his new novel, "My Friends".

“Always Take Notes: Advice From Some Of The World’s Greatest Writers” - a book drawing on our podcast interviews - is published by Ithaka Press. You can order it via ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Amazon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Bookshop.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Hatchards⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Waterstones⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

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#186: Hisham Matar, novelist and non-fiction writer