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4.03 AVERAGE
4.03 AVERAGE
See my review at https://topplingbookpile.blogspot.com/2019/06/the-map-of-salt-and-stars-by-jennifer.html
One of those beautifully intertwined tales of magic and mystery and adventure. It was all so poetic and deep of thought. Two stories running parallel across the countries as they both long to be home.
The story was dark and harrowing and full of sadness. And yet it was stunning.
The story was dark and harrowing and full of sadness. And yet it was stunning.
This book was recommended by Chris Bohjalian and I was so lucky to win a hardback copy from Goodreads.
It is a story of a journey to safety for Nour, a young Syrian refugee who has to flee Homs after a shell destroys her family house. Nour’s travel is intertwined with the journey of Rawiya, a young girl who traveled 800 years earlier along the same path of Nour with Al-Idris, a cartographer author of the Tabula Rogeriana.
I loved as the modern story of Nour with her difficulties, dangerous situations and losses were somewhat parallel to the battles and mythological encounters of Rawiya. I loved how the characters evolve and how their relationships develop.
I think that if the author wanted to make us think about the dire conditions of refugee and this can happen to people like us she succeeded.
It is a story of a journey to safety for Nour, a young Syrian refugee who has to flee Homs after a shell destroys her family house. Nour’s travel is intertwined with the journey of Rawiya, a young girl who traveled 800 years earlier along the same path of Nour with Al-Idris, a cartographer author of the Tabula Rogeriana.
I loved as the modern story of Nour with her difficulties, dangerous situations and losses were somewhat parallel to the battles and mythological encounters of Rawiya. I loved how the characters evolve and how their relationships develop.
I think that if the author wanted to make us think about the dire conditions of refugee and this can happen to people like us she succeeded.
Perhaps I was itching for a really good fairytale, or a story of survival and resilience. This book contains both that are expertly woven together. Engrossing and empowering It was hard not to fall in love with our main characters.
adventurous
emotional
This book is not an easy read, but it does an excellent job of dealing with some of the real heartache and loss that Syrian refugees are experiencing, while telling to two excellent (both fictional) stories. One is from the point of view of a 12-year-old American-born girl, Nour, whose family goes back to Syria following the death of her father... just in time to get caught up in the war and become refugees. One interesting aspect of the story is that Nour has synesthesia, and hears and smells things as colors. The other story is one that Nour's father told her that took place 800 years ago, when a girl, Rawiya, disguised herself as a boy to become an apprentice of the great mapmaker Al-Idrisi and travel with him around the Mediterranean. Nour and her family find themselves tracing part of the great voyage made by Rawiya so many centuries before. There are terrible things that happen to both groups of travellers, but themes of love, friendship, and family come shining through.
This is a rich and intense story, but it had the potential to be so much better.
I liked the story of Rawiya and the mapmaker. However, Nour's story in the modern day felt like it lacked depth. The characters felt like archetypes who got little chance for development: the stressed but loving mother, the father-figure, the always-kind-and-optimistic-and-faithful sister who never once whines or shows she has endured trauma, the bratty sister (who actually does get some character growth)... And Nour. At times she has the innocence of an 8 year old but the odd wisdom of an old woman. It was jarring and felt hard to get a grasp on her actual age (which is 12).
Finally, Nour's narration was so preachy, it took me out of the narrative. "My whole life, Mama and Baba celebrated two religions' worth of holidays--Christmas, Eid-al-Fitr, Easter. It used to make me wonder whether the most important things we see in God are really in each other." "Huda lets out her air. 'You choose what defines you. Being a refugee doesn't have to.'" Are all these children Proverb-a-Day calendars? Insights are great, but it feels condescending to the reader when the narrator/author has to explicitly point out these insightful theses every other page instead of trusting the reader to make their own conclusions (both those quotes are from the same page. It happens a lot). The 'everyone always speaks with deeply insightful wisdom' feels so unrealistic. I wanted more superficial, realistic conversations between the characters.
I did like, however, the fresh and creative writing. The author's metaphors and descriptions feel new and creative and convey great imagery. Further, Nour has synesthesia, so we get a lot of descriptions in the form of vivid colors, and it felt so new and refreshing.
I know this author has so much potential, because the preachy nature of her writing doesn't show up in Rawiya's story. I would read another book by her, but I hope she trusts her readers more next time to draw their own conclusions instead of having to slap us over the head with her main characters wondering about how God is in the little things *every other page.*
I liked the story of Rawiya and the mapmaker. However, Nour's story in the modern day felt like it lacked depth. The characters felt like archetypes who got little chance for development: the stressed but loving mother, the father-figure, the always-kind-and-optimistic-and-faithful sister who never once whines or shows she has endured trauma, the bratty sister (who actually does get some character growth)... And Nour. At times she has the innocence of an 8 year old but the odd wisdom of an old woman. It was jarring and felt hard to get a grasp on her actual age (which is 12).
Finally, Nour's narration was so preachy, it took me out of the narrative. "My whole life, Mama and Baba celebrated two religions' worth of holidays--Christmas, Eid-al-Fitr, Easter. It used to make me wonder whether the most important things we see in God are really in each other." "Huda lets out her air. 'You choose what defines you. Being a refugee doesn't have to.'" Are all these children Proverb-a-Day calendars? Insights are great, but it feels condescending to the reader when the narrator/author has to explicitly point out these insightful theses every other page instead of trusting the reader to make their own conclusions (both those quotes are from the same page. It happens a lot). The 'everyone always speaks with deeply insightful wisdom' feels so unrealistic. I wanted more superficial, realistic conversations between the characters.
I did like, however, the fresh and creative writing. The author's metaphors and descriptions feel new and creative and convey great imagery. Further, Nour has synesthesia, so we get a lot of descriptions in the form of vivid colors, and it felt so new and refreshing.
I know this author has so much potential, because the preachy nature of her writing doesn't show up in Rawiya's story. I would read another book by her, but I hope she trusts her readers more next time to draw their own conclusions instead of having to slap us over the head with her main characters wondering about how God is in the little things *every other page.*
A very pretty read - at times a little too lyrical and pretty for its subject matter. Still, the intertwining tales were beautiful and I loved the descriptive, poetic prose.
When I started this book, I was skeptical all around.
The voice of Nour seemed like a lot with her description of voices by colors and whatnot...but I definitely came around to appreciate how that fit with her dreaminess/storytelling.
Rawiya's parallel story seemed either too parallel or too pointless, I couldn't decide which...but it came around and tied in nicely, with the similarities AND differences between her life and Nour's.
The suggestion that it was "Kite Runner for Syria" put me on edge - both high expectations and anticipation of sadness...but I thought it was its own book, with its own sadness but also its own happiness.
Somehow, I got really attached to the characters. I don't know how or when it happened, but somehow I was very emotionally attached to the dying or potentially dying people. That's where I thought this book excelled - when I am expecting a tragic sort of tale about refugees, sometimes I'm extra hardened to it. But Joukhadar did a fabulous job of making this something more than just making you feel sorry for Syrian refugees - it makes them real people. Which is ironic, considering half the book is decidedly fake people and Nour's imaginings.
The reason this got docked a star is because I was a little skeptical of the whole map thing.
Overall, though, really well written and well done.
The voice of Nour seemed like a lot with her description of voices by colors and whatnot...but I definitely came around to appreciate how that fit with her dreaminess/storytelling.
Rawiya's parallel story seemed either too parallel or too pointless, I couldn't decide which...but it came around and tied in nicely, with the similarities AND differences between her life and Nour's.
The suggestion that it was "Kite Runner for Syria" put me on edge - both high expectations and anticipation of sadness...but I thought it was its own book, with its own sadness but also its own happiness.
Somehow, I got really attached to the characters. I don't know how or when it happened, but somehow I was very emotionally attached to the dying or potentially dying people. That's where I thought this book excelled - when I am expecting a tragic sort of tale about refugees, sometimes I'm extra hardened to it. But Joukhadar did a fabulous job of making this something more than just making you feel sorry for Syrian refugees - it makes them real people. Which is ironic, considering half the book is decidedly fake people and Nour's imaginings.
The reason this got docked a star is because I was a little skeptical of the whole map thing.
Spoiler
Nour makes a big deal about discovering where she's supposed to go based on the map her mother made - and what's hidden beneath the map her mother made - but I don't know if I'm buying it. I felt like I'm missing something, honestly. Why was the uncle such a big secret? In the moment in which you are separated from your daughter, I would kind of think that you would just TELL HER. Also, I liked the thing with the fountain, but I was kind of confused how it came about.Overall, though, really well written and well done.