"In the Country of Men" is a novel, by Hisham Matar. It’s about Suleiman, a nine year old boy who lives in oppressed 1970s Libya governed by Colonel Qaddafi. The novel is set in a context of extreme oppression in which there is no freedom of speech, religion and even thought, anyone who expressed their discontent against the regime was torture or killed. Suleiman is the son of Najwa, his mother, and Faraj, an international businessman and secret political rebellion activist. Through all of the story, Suleiman is in a constant conflict with betrayal as the result of an unstable and confusing world, which Suleiman barely understands.
Betrayal, in Hisham Matar’s novel, is represented in different ways, one of them is by the relationship between Suleiman’s family and Kareem’s, his best friend. At the beginning of the novel, Kareem and Suleiman treat each other like they are brothers. “[] what united Kareem and me rarely felt like friendship, but something like blood or virtue (23).” Then Kareem’s dad is taken away by the revolutionary committee and some tension starts to build up between them. Suleiman instead of being empathetic, turns his back on him “‘Everybody knows your father is tr---‘(108)”. The separation between both families is also represented by Najwa’s relationship with Kareem’s mom. “[] no two days would pass before one called or visited each other (39).”, but “After Ustah Rashid was taken Mama didn’t go to Auntie Salma and Auntie Salma didn’t call or visit (40).” This separation doesn’t make any sense for Suleiman, but he is told to live with it, as a result confusion sets in his mind and causes Suleiman to mistreat Kareem.
Suleiman’s dad also is a perfect example of disloyalty. Faraj is worried for his family safety and his, so instead of dying like a hero, like Ustah Rachid (Faraj’s friend) he decides to betray his people. Who betrayed Ustah Rachid? Who told the secret service...