Week 5: Overall Impressions

Hisham Matar's, "In The Country of Men" is an excellent book. I enjoyed the leisurely tone that the author set forth. Because the book wasn't too intense, it allowed for a casual read. One of the biggest drawbacks (which is completely understandable) is the first person point of view. The main reason I did not like this POV is because it lengthened out simple passages and made them confusing sometimes. The reason this is understandable is because it shows how a young boys mind is constantly thinking of other things. However, I do not think that a nine-year-old boy would reflect on his own life so much. The benefits of the point of view are that surprises to Suleiman are surprises to us to. For example Suleiman tries to protect his dad's books when Moosa and Najwa are burning them. At first I thought that Moosa was trying to get rid of Faraj's influence to Najwa, and that Moosa was going to move in, but when Faraj comes home and is pleased we understand that Faraj had told Moosa and Najwa to burn the books. Overall I thought this book was an enjoyable read. If I were to read it now, knowing what I do know about it, I would read another book along with it, since this book isn't exactly one which "you can't put down", once you've picked it up. I would rate it 6.5 out of 10.

Week Five

Welcome to Week Five, and our last week week of blogging.

This week's post should be on your overall thoughts about the book. It must be a ten sentence summary. You also need to comment on at least five other people's posts. Don't wait until the last minute.

Blog 4: ???

Why does the author incorporate Suleiman's thoughts which are completely unrelated to the context? (For example he starts talking about Scheherazade when he hears Moosa offering the Revolutionary Committee members cigarettes.

Week Four

Welcome to Week Four!

For this week's blog you will post a thought-provoking question that does not have only one answer. Remember that you must make 10 comments this week, not 5. Please do not leave this until the last minute, you have the whole week to get it done.

Literary Elements

Hisham Matar brilliantly expresses the mind of a child during tough times. After Suleiman's mom tells him not to play with Kareem so much, Suleiman is disheartened to see the way Kareem acts when he does play with him. As Kareem sulks around when he is playing with Suleiman, it makes Suleiman realize how much Kareem has lost. Matar repeats the word "quiet" to show how Kareem has changed, "He became quieter--he was always quiet, but not this quiet". Suleiman, no realizing how much his father means to him, ignorantly thinks "I wished the Revolutionary Committee would return and this time take my father so that we would be equal". The bond between the two children is so great, Suleiman does not want something his best friend doesn't have. Then, Suleiman seems mature beyond his age, "Sorry we didn't all stand arm in arm to block the way". This touched me the most, to think that a nine-year old would say something so deep. Then in a moment of recognition, Suleiman realizes he was behaving the same way earlier. He says he was mad at Kareem, just like the way his mother must have felt. The level of maturity given to Suleiman creates a power story.

Week Three

Welcome to Week Three of the Discussion! This weeks discussion will run from Monday, March 9 to Sunday, March 15.

This week's discussion will be on figurative language and literary elements in your book. Please find an example of these in your book and POST a 10-sentence comment on it. Don't forget to comment on 5 other posts on this blog. You have all week to complete this assignment, please don't wait until the last minute.

Discussion #2

At first I (ignorantly) imagined the setting to be a small African village in the middle of the Sahara. I thought this because the Suleiman and his mom take midday naps and seem like the don't have anything better to do. As I continued to read, I realized that they lived in a very modern town, on the outskirts of Tripoli. The author had mentioned that they lived in Tripoli, and the year was 1979, but I hadn't realized it was a city then. The setting impacts Suleiman, because he often goes swimming in the sea, at his will. Also, since his mom takes afternoon naps, he is able to go and walk around his neighborhood without supervision. To me, the book would still make sense even if it wasn't in Libya. The perspective of Suleiman, leads the reader to believe that Tripoli is just an ordinary city. If thee story was narrated by an outsider, a different mood would be set. Tripoli could be in the middle of Mexico, and the story would be exactly the same. Suleiman and those he knows are shaped by their surroundings: he gains a view of the outside world by Calzoni. Calzoni's restaurant, which is located by the sea, always reminds the owner of his hometown of Italy.