My Friends

by Hisham Matar

I remain in my spot, inside this coat and this minute, as time folds all around me.

This need to prove to the natives, even those as exceptionally learned as Walbrook, that I knew as much about their culture, or could know as much about it, would become a bad habit. Even today I sometimes wonder, had I not been so keen to impress and blend in, what else might I have learned when I was young?

we ask of writers what we ask of our closest friends: to help us mediate and interpret the world.

Love is as much a miracle as it is an education.

She opened the door, surprised to see me, but then clearly pleased too—although, I thought to myself, it is impossible to know and it will remain forever impossible to know how anyone feels about anyone.