Political dictatorships take possession not just of money and belongings but of narrative. Hisham Matar More Quotes by Hisham Matar More Quotes From Hisham Matar Grief loves the hollow; all it wants is to hear its own echo. Hisham Matar echoesgriefwant Dreams have consequences. There is no turning back. A revolution is not a painless march to the gates of freedom and justice. It is a struggle between rage and hope, between the temptation to destroy and the desire to build. Its temperament is desperate. It is a tormented response to the past, to all that has happened, the recalled and unrecalled injustices - for the memory of a revolution reaches much further back than the memory of its protagonists. Hisham Matar struggledreammemories Books written out of fire give me a great deal of pleasure. You get the sense that the world for these writers could not have continued if the book hadn't been written. When you come across a book like that it is a privilege. Hisham Matar firegivingbook The three things that help writing the most are living, writing, and reading. In that order. Hisham Matar readingwritingorder There and then, sitting beside her and within the strength of my adoration, I felt invincible. Hisham Matar adorationinvinciblesitting I wanted to wear her as you would a piece of clothing, to fold into her ribs, be a stone in her mouth. Hisham Matar ribspiecesmouths It is sometimes hard to escape the belief that history exists against the artist. Hisham Matar artistbeliefsometimes I am of the firm opinion that no one should tell writers what to do, or what to write, or how to write. Hisham Matar opinionshouldwriting Season of Migration to the North, by Tayeb Salih, is an eloquent and restrained portrait of one man's exile. It is a rare narrative in that it charts a life divided between England and Sudan. Without a doubt it is one of the finest Arabic novels of the 20th century, and Denys Johnson-Davies' translationdoes the original justice. Hisham Matar doubtjusticemen When I first began writing In the Country of Men all I had was the voice of the protagonist. He intrigued me and my desire to want to know him and his world became almost compulsive. Hisham Matar writingmencountry Nothing is more acceptable than what we are born into. Hisham Matar acceptableborn I used to be a keen rider. Sometimes I could sense what a horse liked or preferred to do. Hisham Matar ridersensehorsesometimes To be okay with not knowing is a sign of a mature person and a mature society. Hisham Matar not-knowingokaymaturesociety In the end, madness is worse than injustice, and justice far sweeter than freedom. Hisham Matar endmadnessfreedomjustice Over the centuries, close-knit tribes have played an important part in the cohesion of Libyan society. Hisham Matar overcohesionsocietyimportant Throughout my entire life, I have lived in the shadow of the dictatorship. It denied me safety and security. Hisham Matar mesafetyshadowlife Like all novelists, I'm interested in the filters between reality and the imagination. Hisham Matar likefiltersimaginationreality The laws of the lowly gangster govern Qaddafi and his sons. Hisham Matar governlawsgangsterhis All great art allows us this: a glimpse across the limits of our self. Hisham Matar greatlimitsselfart Turgenev's achievement lies in how he succeeded, in spite of himself, his country, and his time, in exempting his work from public duty. This has given it that unnameable quality that makes every sentence true, every silence trustworthy. Hisham Matar achievementqualitysilencework
