The main character describing his father:

I felt my love for him gather itself up — as heavy and as solid as a stone — in my chest. The talented historian who managed to remain independent, part of that silent army that exists in every country, made up of individuals who had come to the conclusion that they live among unreasonable compatriots and therefore must, like grownups in a playground, endure the chaos until the bell rings, resigned to the fact that this may come long after they are gone.

Matar, Hisham. My Friends. First U.S. edition. New York: Random House, 2024.