BOOKCLUB NOTES: My Friends by Hisham Matar

This one scored a very respectable 4.4 stars overall, and the second night scored even higher with an average of 4.8! ⭐️

We found this to be a poignant and moving exploration of friends in exile - and it weighed heavily on many of us. We talked about the characters and their trauma, their inability to commit or build roots in London while far away from home. Their fear of being too honest with those around them given the danger they faced. The story sheds a light on the turbulent political history in Libya, which many of us knew little about. Most of us agreed on Matar’s beautiful story telling which stayed with us.

THE WINE 🍷 We chose two wines from Catalonia to celebrate Khaled and his friends who visited the Costa Brava on his first trip outside the UK since the shooting. Ferran at Bodega Clandestina made ‘El Soci’ to enjoy with friends. He wanted an easy drinking wine that brings people together and doesn’t have to be the centre of the conversation. This 9.5% Macabeo does just that. ‘Nuria’ from Lucy Chilvers is a more complex skin contact wine. A blend of Moscatel de Alejandria and Xarel Lo, it offers topical fruit flavours and mineral characteristics. Lucy named the wine after her friend and mentor, Nuria Renom. Both wines have a beautiful link to friendship which is also celebrated in this book.

Next book will be announced very shortly!