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4.03 AVERAGE
4.03 AVERAGE
DNF at 24% I couldnt get into it even though the story was so intriguing to me. I couldnt really connect with the fantasy storyline and the POVs and felt disruptive of the refugee storyline. I have no doubt it all comes together in the end but unfortunately I wont sit this one trough. I am looking forward to the authors new novel coming out this year as I highly appreciate her view on the world.
this book has been on my TBR for literal years and i'm so glad i finally got around to reading it! in the map of salt and stars we follow two girls and their stories, 800 years apart. i enjoyed reading both of their POVs, i found them both to be interesting main characters; we have rawiya living during the 13th century who decides to join the infamous map maker al-idrisi disguised as a boy and turns into a warrior, and we have 12 year old nour who has synesthesia, living in 2011 as a syrian refugee.
like i said i really enjoyed both main characters as well as their families and companions, i loved the way the writing style changed between the changed perspectives. there was a diverse cast of characters in this and they all had distinct reactions to the same events, showing beautifully how different circumstances can influence the way you think. the writing generally was beautiful and having a very young character with synesthesia made it highly immersive in my opinion. the author found a beautiful way to take two specific characters and get them into deep and meaningful conversations with each other, there were multiple moments were nour and one of her older sisters or her mother or one of her friends were alone with her and had these really impactful conversations and i enjoyed those parts of the book a lot!
furthermore i loved the way the story was intertwined. i oftentimes thought of the quote "oh, but history moved in such vicious circles." since rawiya and nour's stories were connected in a way, even when they were living 800 years apart. there were lots of parallels with their feelings, the events surrounding them, the themes and symbolism and that was awesome to read. there was of course a lot of map making/cartography in this, geology, descriptions of salt, love for astrology and parallel events happening.
overall i really enjoyed this book, i think it's relevant to this day and beautifully and meaningfully written. the biggest con would be the pacing that sometimes wasn't perfect (to me, at least) and made it hard to get into the book but that's about it. there are of course some heavy (and very important!!) topics depicted so i'd recommend looking over the trigger warnings first.
like i said i really enjoyed both main characters as well as their families and companions, i loved the way the writing style changed between the changed perspectives. there was a diverse cast of characters in this and they all had distinct reactions to the same events, showing beautifully how different circumstances can influence the way you think. the writing generally was beautiful and having a very young character with synesthesia made it highly immersive in my opinion. the author found a beautiful way to take two specific characters and get them into deep and meaningful conversations with each other, there were multiple moments were nour and one of her older sisters or her mother or one of her friends were alone with her and had these really impactful conversations and i enjoyed those parts of the book a lot!
furthermore i loved the way the story was intertwined. i oftentimes thought of the quote "oh, but history moved in such vicious circles." since rawiya and nour's stories were connected in a way, even when they were living 800 years apart. there were lots of parallels with their feelings, the events surrounding them, the themes and symbolism and that was awesome to read. there was of course a lot of map making/cartography in this, geology, descriptions of salt, love for astrology and parallel events happening.
overall i really enjoyed this book, i think it's relevant to this day and beautifully and meaningfully written. the biggest con would be the pacing that sometimes wasn't perfect (to me, at least) and made it hard to get into the book but that's about it. there are of course some heavy (and very important!!) topics depicted so i'd recommend looking over the trigger warnings first.
It took me a good, long while to read this book. The writing is poetic and the story is tragic - beauty bound by words and salt and stars.
This is a really good book hidden in a just okay book. There are two alternating storylines: one in the ~1200s and one in 2011. The modern one is muchhh more interesting. I can see what the author was going for with the juxtaposition of two "travelers" stories but it didn't work for me. Very nice prose though
DNF. Well written and I think it was very good. I just couldn't right now. Too heavy on my heart. A 9 year old afraid of encroaching war is not something I can read right now.
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
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:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
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:
Complicated
I loved this book it is woven together so well. Rawiya and Nour’s stories enter twine so beautifully the story for was seamless. Although one is set in the twelfth century and one present day it shows how we as people don’t change that our life experiences are the same from the happy to the tragic. There is such a poetical way with this book the words carry you along and sweep up into the characters lives. I can’t wait to read what this author does next. I highly recommend this book not just for the content but the message it conveys also with the refugee crisis that is going on today.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No