Quote by Hisham Matar: “Exile is a strange room, where absence is a constant presence.”

This poignant metaphor describes exile not just as physical displacement but as a profound emotional state. It means that while you are physically away, the things and people you've lost, or the home you left, paradoxically feel intensely present in your mind, creating a unique form of longing and isolation.

Matar, having lived in exile from Libya since childhood, deeply explores its psychological toll in his writings, particularly 'The Return.' This quote vividly portrays the internal landscape of displacement, where longing for what's lost becomes a powerful, ever-present force, resonating with refugee experiences globally.

Libyan-British novelist who won the Pulitzer Prize for Biography in 2017 for The Return, a memoir about searching for his father who disappeared into Gaddafi's prisons. His novel In the Country of Men was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 2006.