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4.03 AVERAGE
4.03 AVERAGE
emotional
slow-paced
It was beautiful but I was a little bored and have a very long TBR to get to.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-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
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I wanted to like this novel more than I actually did.
The Map of Salt and Stars is a dual narrative that ties together two storylines set hundreds of years apart that follow the same physical route through the Middle East and North Africa. In one storyline, we follow Rawiya, a young girl disguised as a boy on a journey as a mapmaker’s apprentice. In the other storyline, we follow Nour, whose family moves back to Syria after her father’s death just before the civil war begins in 2011. There are overlapping elements and general themes of identity and home in both Rawiya’s and Nour’s stories.
Each chapter opened with Rawiya’s story, which is folklore, but based on historical figures. I often felt like I was powering through Rawiya’s story in order to continue Nour’s refugee story, which was where my interest was. However, my interest may have just been in comparison to my lack of connection to Rawiya’s story. I really did not feel a strong emotional investment in any of the characters in the novel, which feels so insensitive to say because Nour’s is such a tragic story. Perhaps the long breaks between Nour’s story caused me to pique and then lose interest each time?
The author’s descriptions are vivid, and the book cover is beautiful. While I appreciate the style and richness of Arab and Islamic storytelling, astronomy and culture, I can’t say that I was truly captivated by this novel.
The Map of Salt and Stars is a dual narrative that ties together two storylines set hundreds of years apart that follow the same physical route through the Middle East and North Africa. In one storyline, we follow Rawiya, a young girl disguised as a boy on a journey as a mapmaker’s apprentice. In the other storyline, we follow Nour, whose family moves back to Syria after her father’s death just before the civil war begins in 2011. There are overlapping elements and general themes of identity and home in both Rawiya’s and Nour’s stories.
Each chapter opened with Rawiya’s story, which is folklore, but based on historical figures. I often felt like I was powering through Rawiya’s story in order to continue Nour’s refugee story, which was where my interest was. However, my interest may have just been in comparison to my lack of connection to Rawiya’s story. I really did not feel a strong emotional investment in any of the characters in the novel, which feels so insensitive to say because Nour’s is such a tragic story. Perhaps the long breaks between Nour’s story caused me to pique and then lose interest each time?
The author’s descriptions are vivid, and the book cover is beautiful. While I appreciate the style and richness of Arab and Islamic storytelling, astronomy and culture, I can’t say that I was truly captivated by this novel.
adventurous
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
emotional
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:
No
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
slow-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:
Yes
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Thank you to Simon & Schuster Canada and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of [b:The Map of Salt and Stars|36373417|The Map of Salt and Stars|Jennifer Zeynab Joukhadar|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1513899985s/36373417.jpg|53645380] in exchange for an honest review.
[b:The Map of Salt and Stars|36373417|The Map of Salt and Stars|Jennifer Zeynab Joukhadar|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1513899985s/36373417.jpg|53645380] weaves together two stories. In one, 12-year-old Nour is still reeling from the loss of her father when a bomb destroys her family’s home in Syria. With only a few belongings in a burlap sack, the family journeys across borders in search of safety. The second story is told in the style of an old fable and follows Rawiya, who disguises herself as a boy and apprentices with a famous mapmaker.
This is a story of loss, survival, family, and hope, that is uplifting, yet utterly heartbreaking. It definitely isn't light reading. I found it slow to get into at first, and didn't fully connect with Rawiya's story until about halfway through. While I enjoyed the parts about Nour right from the start, heartache follows heartache as the story progresses and it's just so sad. Like, get the Kleenex out, you're gonna need it sad.
All that being said, it's 100% worth reading. The prose is beautiful, with imagery brought to life by Nour's synesthesia (which makes her perceive words and sounds as colours) and by the delightful ways the characters make sense of things. Sometimes these ‘revelations’ felt forced, but other times they felt so poignant that I had to screenshot them for later. Synesthesia is also something I'm really interested in (having first read about it in [b:Born on a Blue Day: Inside the Extraordinary Mind of an Autistic Savant|74812|Born on a Blue Day Inside the Extraordinary Mind of an Autistic Savant|Daniel Tammet|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1440235885s/74812.jpg|1461054]), so I was pleasantly surprised to see it featured in this book.
[b:The Map of Salt and Stars|36373417|The Map of Salt and Stars|Jennifer Zeynab Joukhadar|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1513899985s/36373417.jpg|53645380] tells an important story, and it tells it really well. I read this book because I’d heard great things, and because of that I learned about Syrian culture and the refugee experience. I love reading about different cultures and the way that narrative is able to connect me to things happening in the real world. When I'm given a human connection (even if those humans are fictional), I find I can understand an issue so much more compared to when I hear or read about it in the news.
The takeaway? You should definitely read this book, especially if you're into descriptive storytelling and can handle a good tearjerker. And if that doesn't appeal, buy it for the cover.
[b:The Map of Salt and Stars|36373417|The Map of Salt and Stars|Jennifer Zeynab Joukhadar|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1513899985s/36373417.jpg|53645380] weaves together two stories. In one, 12-year-old Nour is still reeling from the loss of her father when a bomb destroys her family’s home in Syria. With only a few belongings in a burlap sack, the family journeys across borders in search of safety. The second story is told in the style of an old fable and follows Rawiya, who disguises herself as a boy and apprentices with a famous mapmaker.
This is a story of loss, survival, family, and hope, that is uplifting, yet utterly heartbreaking. It definitely isn't light reading. I found it slow to get into at first, and didn't fully connect with Rawiya's story until about halfway through. While I enjoyed the parts about Nour right from the start, heartache follows heartache as the story progresses and it's just so sad. Like, get the Kleenex out, you're gonna need it sad.
All that being said, it's 100% worth reading. The prose is beautiful, with imagery brought to life by Nour's synesthesia (which makes her perceive words and sounds as colours) and by the delightful ways the characters make sense of things. Sometimes these ‘revelations’ felt forced, but other times they felt so poignant that I had to screenshot them for later. Synesthesia is also something I'm really interested in (having first read about it in [b:Born on a Blue Day: Inside the Extraordinary Mind of an Autistic Savant|74812|Born on a Blue Day Inside the Extraordinary Mind of an Autistic Savant|Daniel Tammet|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1440235885s/74812.jpg|1461054]), so I was pleasantly surprised to see it featured in this book.
[b:The Map of Salt and Stars|36373417|The Map of Salt and Stars|Jennifer Zeynab Joukhadar|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1513899985s/36373417.jpg|53645380] tells an important story, and it tells it really well. I read this book because I’d heard great things, and because of that I learned about Syrian culture and the refugee experience. I love reading about different cultures and the way that narrative is able to connect me to things happening in the real world. When I'm given a human connection (even if those humans are fictional), I find I can understand an issue so much more compared to when I hear or read about it in the news.
The takeaway? You should definitely read this book, especially if you're into descriptive storytelling and can handle a good tearjerker. And if that doesn't appeal, buy it for the cover.