My Friends: A Novel
Written by: Ferhat Polat
Hisham Matar’s My Friends is a novel about three friends living in political exile due to the oppressive Gaddafi regime in Libya. The book is narrated by Khaled Abd al Hady, who left Benghazi in 1983 to attend the University of Edinburgh in Scotland and has lived in London for thirty-two years. Khaled’s life goes through challenging times under Gaddafi’s dictatorship; he suffers from being away from his family and faces difficulties in starting over a new place. Throughout the novel, Matar skilfully navigates the delicate balance between the personal and the political. The characters’ struggles are inextricably linked to the broader historical and social forces shaping their lives.
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👁 Ferhat Polat
Ferhat Polat
Ferhat Polat is a Chevening Scholar from the 2022 cohort and a researcher at the TRT World Research Centre. Holding an MA in Middle East Studies from the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies at the University of Exeter, he specializes in North African geopolitics and security, with a particular focus on Libya. Polat is often invited as a commentator on news channels and has contributed numerous essays and articles on geopolitical issues that have been published in various journals, newspapers, and digital outlets.
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