So much beauty and so much pain suffuse Hisham Matar's decades-long odyssey of exile and anxiety as he tries in vain to find out what happened to his father, Jaballa, who disappeared while imprisoned by the Gaddafi regime. The Return is a dense fabric of names, places, and times which Matar weaves with effortless skill to encompass his immediate and extended family, as well as his entire nation as it enters a time of great upheaval. A searingly personal testament to the power of love in the face of arbitrary and total power, and a moving tribute to a father whose generous spirit and sense of justice touched so many before and during his imprisonment that his name became a rallying cry of the Libyan resistance after his disappearance.

The memoir is also intensely literary, and it is a privilege to read, view, and listen along with Matar as he cites his favorite works of art. A shining example of how culture enriches and contextualizes our lives.