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lchamberlin97 's review for:
The Map of Salt and Stars
by Zeyn Joukhadar
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.