Matar won a Pulitzer Prize for his memoir, “The Return,” mourning his homeland and his father. In his new novel, he turns to the untranslatability of exile — and friendship.
The vessel set off with 86 people on board, the International Organization for Migration in Libya said, and women and children were among those who died in the shipwreck.
Repair work was agreed but never finished and Derna paid the price. Experts say infrastructure projects have long been neglected, with officials focusing instead on lining their own pockets.
Several people have been arrested and some journalists and aid workers have been shut out of the eastern city of Derna after dams burst, killing thousands. Communications have also been disrupted.
Khalifa Hifter, who oversees a military dictatorship that rules the eastern half of the divided, oil-rich nation, is dominating the response to the disaster and could use it to further entrench his power.