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4.03 AVERAGE
4.03 AVERAGE
Realized I wasn’t in the mood for this book. Will pick back up again when I am.
I really struggled to pay attention to this in audiobook form.
The historical chapters about the map maker are paralleled well against the current day chapters about the refugees. The characters from both timelines are close to their families but lose them (sometimes temporarily) and both develop relationships with father figures during a journey.
The switches from one timeline to the other works well and is necessary to keep the book from being all a bummer. I like how the map maker story shows up at times during the current day chapters.
The historical chapters about the map maker are paralleled well against the current day chapters about the refugees. The characters from both timelines are close to their families but lose them (sometimes temporarily) and both develop relationships with father figures during a journey.
The switches from one timeline to the other works well and is necessary to keep the book from being all a bummer. I like how the map maker story shows up at times during the current day chapters.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault, War
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This started out really strong. The present day story was personal and character driven and the "fairy tale" we also get was an interesting look into som middel eastern lore (I presumed). Unfortunately (for me) both narratives learn more and more toward being polt-driven and by the halfway point we more and less go from action scene to action scene. That just isn't for me.
This book is so beautiful and tragic and heartbreaking. I loved it, even though I had to take a few breaks because there are portions that are so heavy that I had to stop and grieve for a bit. There are two stories in this book, but they actually tell the same story. This concept is summed up (possibly foreshadowed?) on page 34: " 'Like the old tales you like,' she says, smiling with the good times in her eyes, the times when we had Baba. 'You have to weave two stories together to tell them both right.' She presses her palms together, then opens them. 'Like two hands.' "
The first story is of Nour, a 12 year old girl with synesthesia, who, with her mother and two sisters, leaves New York City when her father dies of cancer, to go back to their native land of Syria in 2011. Three months after returning, their hometown is bombed and they become refugees, trying to make their way to Gibraltar, Spain, to seek asylum with their uncle who lives there. Along the way, they make new friends, lose old friends, and endure hardships that will bring tears to your eyes. Nour's synesthesia makes her extremely sensitive and aware of her surroundings, giving her a unique point of view, and a perspective that is quite compelling for the reader.
The second story is the legend of Rawiya, a poor widow's daughter who leaves home to seek her fortune and winds up in the middle of grand adventures, finding love, and coming into her own identity. These two stories intersect as they follow the same path on the map, and one is the shadow of the other, almost a metaphor.
I began this book on audio, and the narrator is excellent. Her voice is lyrical which matches the poetic writing style of the author well. However, there are so many foreign words in this book that I wanted to see them myself, so I wound up checking the print copy out of the library as well and finished it that way. I am glad that I did because there is a map of Nour and Rawiya's travels in the inside cover of the book and that added to the story. Also, some of the words are written in the shape of countries in the narrative which makes a difference when you get to the end and realize what those words represent (you'll understand when you read it). Also, the author's notes in the back of the hard copy add to the book, however they are left out of the audio. Maybe the two should be read and listened to together for maximum enjoyment.
It turns out, when reading the author's notes, I learned that Rawiya's legend is based on history, though some of the characters in her legend are not real, some are, as well as some events. That, and the depiction of Nour's journey which tells a modern history of the life of a Syrian refugee in our current times, place this novel in the historical fiction genre for me.
I loved hearing Nour's perspective. I loved the author's rhythmic writing style. I loved so many quotes that I am going to put below. This is a very sensitive book and should be handled gently.
p. 108 "Stories ease the pain of living, not dying. People always think dying is going to hurt, but it doesn't. It's living that hurts us."
p. 159 "It used to make me wonder whether the most important things we see in God are really in each other."
p. 177 "No one sees the future, no one knows what's planned. But safety is not about never having bad things happen to you. It's about knowing that the bad things can't separate us from each other."
p. 207 "The most important places on a map are the places we haven't been yet." (also p. 12)
p. 325 "We rarely know when we try to do good, if the outcomes of our actions will actually be good. Perhaps God plans it that way, to teach us that the planning is best left to him."
The first story is of Nour, a 12 year old girl with synesthesia, who, with her mother and two sisters, leaves New York City when her father dies of cancer, to go back to their native land of Syria in 2011. Three months after returning, their hometown is bombed and they become refugees, trying to make their way to Gibraltar, Spain, to seek asylum with their uncle who lives there. Along the way, they make new friends, lose old friends, and endure hardships that will bring tears to your eyes. Nour's synesthesia makes her extremely sensitive and aware of her surroundings, giving her a unique point of view, and a perspective that is quite compelling for the reader.
The second story is the legend of Rawiya, a poor widow's daughter who leaves home to seek her fortune and winds up in the middle of grand adventures, finding love, and coming into her own identity. These two stories intersect as they follow the same path on the map, and one is the shadow of the other, almost a metaphor.
I began this book on audio, and the narrator is excellent. Her voice is lyrical which matches the poetic writing style of the author well. However, there are so many foreign words in this book that I wanted to see them myself, so I wound up checking the print copy out of the library as well and finished it that way. I am glad that I did because there is a map of Nour and Rawiya's travels in the inside cover of the book and that added to the story. Also, some of the words are written in the shape of countries in the narrative which makes a difference when you get to the end and realize what those words represent (you'll understand when you read it). Also, the author's notes in the back of the hard copy add to the book, however they are left out of the audio. Maybe the two should be read and listened to together for maximum enjoyment.
It turns out, when reading the author's notes, I learned that Rawiya's legend is based on history, though some of the characters in her legend are not real, some are, as well as some events. That, and the depiction of Nour's journey which tells a modern history of the life of a Syrian refugee in our current times, place this novel in the historical fiction genre for me.
I loved hearing Nour's perspective. I loved the author's rhythmic writing style. I loved so many quotes that I am going to put below. This is a very sensitive book and should be handled gently.
p. 108 "Stories ease the pain of living, not dying. People always think dying is going to hurt, but it doesn't. It's living that hurts us."
p. 159 "It used to make me wonder whether the most important things we see in God are really in each other."
p. 177 "No one sees the future, no one knows what's planned. But safety is not about never having bad things happen to you. It's about knowing that the bad things can't separate us from each other."
p. 207 "The most important places on a map are the places we haven't been yet." (also p. 12)
p. 325 "We rarely know when we try to do good, if the outcomes of our actions will actually be good. Perhaps God plans it that way, to teach us that the planning is best left to him."
adventurous
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Wow, just wow, this is the 3rd or 4th refugee books I've read in the last year and they are all so heart-wrenching and good. I suspect there will be many many more of these books written as more and more people grown up or spend time as refugees. This had an interesting twist that was two simultaneous stories happening at once, one filled with war, pain and loss. The other was more fantasy than I was expecting, a good folktale story. This would be a great read for anyone wanting to know more about war in Syria, the refugee experience, or folktales from that area.
What a beautiful and heart-achingly tragic book. Though I had been vaguely following news about Syria in the past few years, Joukhadar’s book showed me just how woefully small was my knowledge of the reality for Syrians. This is a phenomenally sad book, they type of which I like to appreciate knowing about before beginning, but I highly recommend it— the depth of feeling I developed for all the characters is a testament to the author’s lyrical writing. I’ll also add that this was the first book I read with a character with synesthesia. The main character’s association between sounds and language with colors adds a uniquely rich dimension to the book that ignites the imagination.
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Easily one of the most incredible books I have ever read. Everyone should read this.