In the Country of Men
Hisham Matar
 The book follows the plight of Suleiman, a nine-year-old boy living in Tripoli in Libya, stuck between a father whose clandestine anti-Gaddafi activities bring about searches, stalkings and telephone eavesdroppings by Gaddafi's state police, and a vulnerable young mother who resorts to various drugs to bury her anxiety and anger. The only people he has to turn to are his neighbour Kareem, and his father's best friend Moosa. The book provides a gripping description of Libya under Gaddafi's terror regime, and a beautiful narration of ordinary people's lives as they try to survive the political oppression.