Status
Checked out
Publication
Penguin Books (2009), Edition: Reprint, 304 pages
Description
Nidali, the rebellious daughter of an Egyptian-Greek mother and a Palestinian father, narrates her story from her childhood in Kuwait, her early teenage years in Egypt (to where she and her family fled the 1990 Iraqi invasion), to her family's last flight to Texas.
User reviews
LibraryThing member EKAnderson
Nidali has an American passport, since she was born in Boston. Her Mama is Egyptian and Greek, her father is Palestinian, making Nidali "half-and-half." Growing up in Kuwait, she never quite feels at home - she has her friends, but she is on a different wavelength. She is a smart girl, but it's
A Map of home is an unusual, poetic book that simply has no equal in contemporary literature to date. Jarrar's language is fluid, honest, and liberating, painting a beautiful picture of the Middle East that one would think impossible during times of turmoil. Nidali's account of growing up - from school and friends to sex and politics - transcends culture and unites us all in the struggle that is adolescence. At the same time, this is a novel that shines a new light on coming of age in an Arab family. Jarrar is a storyteller in the truest sense of the word, using charm and humor as much as hardship to bring us close to her characters and her truly musical narrative.
Show More
never quite enough for her father, a man who expects her to become a famous professor. While the story of her parents' courtship is one she remembers, somehow, with fondness, Nidali now deals with the almost constant fights in her household. And, on her thirteenth birthday, Saddam Hussein's Iraqi army invades Kuwait, leaving her mixed family with no option but to flee to Egypt where Nidali once again wonders what it means to be at home. When finally Nidali's family makes their last move to Texas, she decides that there is one way to escape her overbearing father and eccentric mother, to step out into the world and find herself and her home. A Map of home is an unusual, poetic book that simply has no equal in contemporary literature to date. Jarrar's language is fluid, honest, and liberating, painting a beautiful picture of the Middle East that one would think impossible during times of turmoil. Nidali's account of growing up - from school and friends to sex and politics - transcends culture and unites us all in the struggle that is adolescence. At the same time, this is a novel that shines a new light on coming of age in an Arab family. Jarrar is a storyteller in the truest sense of the word, using charm and humor as much as hardship to bring us close to her characters and her truly musical narrative.
Show Less
LibraryThing member TrishNYC
An absolutely delightful book that takes you from Boston to Kuwait to Egypt and finally settles in Texas. The author weaves a very interesting tale of Nidali Ammar and her eccentric family. Nidali is a girl born to a Palestinian father and an Egyptian mother. Unlike many books that I have read
The story of the meeting and courtship of Nidali's parents is in stark contrast to the present that Nidali and her brother are forced to inhabit. Her parents fight often and use choice langauge in private and in front of their children. Her father is physically violent both to his wife and children. Yet despite his volatile temper, you find it a bit hard to hate him, I certainly did not like him but I think that the way that the story is crafted makes you acknowledge his numerous faults without fully detesting him. Her mother is somewhat odd but is essentially a good and feisty soul who feels trapped by the situations she finds herself in.
On Nidali's thirteenth birthday, Sadaam Hussein attacks Kuwait which is Nidali's residence at the time. She and her family are forced to flee to Egypt and eventually end up in Texas where he father finds a job. Again she trys to find where she fits in and school becomes her refuge as it had been all her life. But again her father will not let her be her own person and they fight over her choices.
Its almost impossible not to love Nidali. She is such a lovely young lady. Her observations about life are sometimes rib achingly funny. But even in these moments of hilarity, one is gleaning a picture of her world. A world that is frought with loneliness, displacement, loss and the search for an identity that is independent of your parents and culture, whilst still loving one's parents and culture. This book is very reminiscent of Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis and it articulates many similar themes. I could have done without some of the crass and vulgar language. Also reading about a thirteen year old masturbating was certainly not a highlight of my day. But all in all I would absolutely recommend this book.
Show More
about the Middle East, Nidali's parents do not want her to marry young rather her father stresses education almost above everything else. He wants her to be a famous professor who can hold her own against any man. Her father's ambition feels like he is trying to live vicariously through her and since her younger brother shows early on that he is not a book worm, her father rationalizes his obsession. Her father, Waheed, was forced to leave Palestine because of a war and he moved to Egypt where he got his university degree in Architecture/Engineering. But it is clear that his chosen career would most likely have been different had he been able to grow up in his own country, free of the turmoil of war. With this in mind, he concerntrates his efforts on making his daughter into all that he wished he had been. The story of the meeting and courtship of Nidali's parents is in stark contrast to the present that Nidali and her brother are forced to inhabit. Her parents fight often and use choice langauge in private and in front of their children. Her father is physically violent both to his wife and children. Yet despite his volatile temper, you find it a bit hard to hate him, I certainly did not like him but I think that the way that the story is crafted makes you acknowledge his numerous faults without fully detesting him. Her mother is somewhat odd but is essentially a good and feisty soul who feels trapped by the situations she finds herself in.
On Nidali's thirteenth birthday, Sadaam Hussein attacks Kuwait which is Nidali's residence at the time. She and her family are forced to flee to Egypt and eventually end up in Texas where he father finds a job. Again she trys to find where she fits in and school becomes her refuge as it had been all her life. But again her father will not let her be her own person and they fight over her choices.
Its almost impossible not to love Nidali. She is such a lovely young lady. Her observations about life are sometimes rib achingly funny. But even in these moments of hilarity, one is gleaning a picture of her world. A world that is frought with loneliness, displacement, loss and the search for an identity that is independent of your parents and culture, whilst still loving one's parents and culture. This book is very reminiscent of Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis and it articulates many similar themes. I could have done without some of the crass and vulgar language. Also reading about a thirteen year old masturbating was certainly not a highlight of my day. But all in all I would absolutely recommend this book.
Show Less
LibraryThing member pinprick
A Map of Home tells the story of Nidali, a girl born of a Palestinian father and an Egyptian mother sometime in the late 1970's--early 80's. Through the book her family moves to various places in the middle east, and Nidali tells the story of her own childhood as well as the history of her family
The writing is lovely and lyrical, interspersed with Arabic poetry and quotes from the Koran. In later chapters, hip hop exerts its own influence. What I enjoyed about the book was how even the tragic and unsavory parts of the story were written about with the same care. Nidali is unblinking when she recounts beatings at her father's hand, yet she never paints him as a stereotypical angry Arab male. She's as quick to point out that her father never tries to marry her off early, he's far more concerned with her education and future as a great professor. All the characters in Jarrar's book receive similar treatment; never are they reduced to mere cultural stereotypes; all are fleshed out, three-dimensional characters.
Nidali is a smart, funny girl who is easy to like, and her family and history make a compelling read. She's sassy and a bit of a smart-alek, and at the books end I wanted to know what was going to happen to her. Based on the small author bio on the back of the book, I wonder how much of Jarrar is built into Nidali. It doesn't really matter; I found the book a delightful read, the characters moving, and would definitely recommend this book to friends.
Show More
and country. The story is mainly centered on Nidali and her family; the way war has shaped it in the past as well as the present, as well as exploring what it means for her to grow up all around the world, sandwiched between cultures and homelands. The writing is lovely and lyrical, interspersed with Arabic poetry and quotes from the Koran. In later chapters, hip hop exerts its own influence. What I enjoyed about the book was how even the tragic and unsavory parts of the story were written about with the same care. Nidali is unblinking when she recounts beatings at her father's hand, yet she never paints him as a stereotypical angry Arab male. She's as quick to point out that her father never tries to marry her off early, he's far more concerned with her education and future as a great professor. All the characters in Jarrar's book receive similar treatment; never are they reduced to mere cultural stereotypes; all are fleshed out, three-dimensional characters.
Nidali is a smart, funny girl who is easy to like, and her family and history make a compelling read. She's sassy and a bit of a smart-alek, and at the books end I wanted to know what was going to happen to her. Based on the small author bio on the back of the book, I wonder how much of Jarrar is built into Nidali. It doesn't really matter; I found the book a delightful read, the characters moving, and would definitely recommend this book to friends.
Show Less
LibraryThing member jlelliott
Nidali Ammar, born in America to a Greek/Egyptian mother and a Palestinian father, spends her childhood in flux between Kuwait, Palestine, Egypt, and Texas. A Map of Home chronicles her childhood from birth to departure to college, and has such a biographical feel that I was unsurprised to find
That very authenticity makes the verbal and physical abuse in Nidali’s family even more starkly depressing. There is obviously love among the Ammar family members, but that doesn’t keep Nidali’s father from berating (whore is a popular epithet) or hitting Nidali and her mother. While Nidali’s mother, a former pianist, squeezes some joy out of life in each of their homes, her once poetic father seems to have a bleak and resentful existence. Nidali is blunt, sarcastic, and spirited, but her family life made me ponder why people treat the ones they love so miserably. While many scenes, including those of family strife and a fairly depressing deflowering, have a raw authenticity, other scenes appear more contrived, and sometimes the sophistication of the narrator is out of scale with her chronological age. The narrative and writing is strong enough to overcome these flaws, though in my eyes the book does suffer from at least one significant shortcoming.
I, perhaps unfairly, long for works of fiction to have an overarching point, which A Map of Home appears to lack. What does it mean that this girl has experienced these events in her life? An autobiographical work, a real person’s story, needs no justification aside from the mere existence of a person who has lived. In a work of fiction I want more, a meaning, a message, some kernel of truth about humanity. I am left not knowing exactly what Jarrar wanted to tell me with this novel, except that a girl like Nidali might exist out there. Perhaps that is enough.
Show More
that first-time author Randa Jarrar is also the daughter of a Greek/Egyptian mother and a Palestinian father who spent her youth moving from country to country. Jarrar set out to write a book that would represent her own identity, and I imagine she has succeeded as in many instances Nidali’s narrative feels very real. That very authenticity makes the verbal and physical abuse in Nidali’s family even more starkly depressing. There is obviously love among the Ammar family members, but that doesn’t keep Nidali’s father from berating (whore is a popular epithet) or hitting Nidali and her mother. While Nidali’s mother, a former pianist, squeezes some joy out of life in each of their homes, her once poetic father seems to have a bleak and resentful existence. Nidali is blunt, sarcastic, and spirited, but her family life made me ponder why people treat the ones they love so miserably. While many scenes, including those of family strife and a fairly depressing deflowering, have a raw authenticity, other scenes appear more contrived, and sometimes the sophistication of the narrator is out of scale with her chronological age. The narrative and writing is strong enough to overcome these flaws, though in my eyes the book does suffer from at least one significant shortcoming.
I, perhaps unfairly, long for works of fiction to have an overarching point, which A Map of Home appears to lack. What does it mean that this girl has experienced these events in her life? An autobiographical work, a real person’s story, needs no justification aside from the mere existence of a person who has lived. In a work of fiction I want more, a meaning, a message, some kernel of truth about humanity. I am left not knowing exactly what Jarrar wanted to tell me with this novel, except that a girl like Nidali might exist out there. Perhaps that is enough.
Show Less
LibraryThing member Heatherlee1229
This novel was very well-written, with a compelling and interesting narrator that I really got to know throughout the book. It is basically your standard coming-of-age story, except instead of being a “normal” teenager with “average” problems, Nidali is half Palestinian, half Egyptian, and
The story itself was interesting, as Jarrar focused on life in the three different countries that Nidali grew up in you really got a feel for how different each one was from the others. There was some history sprinkled in too - mostly about Iraq in the 1990’s - which helped to more firmly ground the story in the reality of that time. The fact that a teenage girl was telling the story (fictional, of course) of how she lived through that period of time illuminated the situation a little bit for me, and I really liked that aspect of this book.
Show More
her most prominent growing-up years are spent in three very different countries, during a hugely significant time in our world’s history. My favorite thing about the novel was, most definitely, Nidali herself. She was so authentic, in her dealings with her incredibly strict father, her worries about fitting in with American teenagers, and her first experiences with boys and sex she came across as such a real person - I liked her personality, and I felt a lot of sympathy for her as she navigated her way through her teenage years. The story itself was interesting, as Jarrar focused on life in the three different countries that Nidali grew up in you really got a feel for how different each one was from the others. There was some history sprinkled in too - mostly about Iraq in the 1990’s - which helped to more firmly ground the story in the reality of that time. The fact that a teenage girl was telling the story (fictional, of course) of how she lived through that period of time illuminated the situation a little bit for me, and I really liked that aspect of this book.
Show Less
LibraryThing member whisperingfen
As a half Iranian, half American girl I am drawn to stories about coming of age in America when your parents bring a culture and idealism all their own. This is a funny and sweet book. It's an easy enough read. Not incredibly fast paced. But it has moments of humor and wit. Enjoyable.
LibraryThing member BlueBookReviews
An interesting coming-of-age tale of a girl growing up in Kuwait, Eqypt, and Texas. It transcends the stereotypical view of Arab culture that Americans are used to reading. Nidali's father pushes her constantly to become a famous professor, taking great joy in the fact that his daughter is smarter
Show More
than most boys in school. Nidali's mother is eccentric, but far from the submissive wife we expect to encounter. Through her parent's fights, through war, through a move to a far off country, Nidali fights against what is expected of her, wishing only to figure out what she wants out of life. If you would like to read a coming-of-age tale, I would recommend this book. It does slow in parts, but viewing life through the eyes of a spunky Arab girl is well worth the time. Show Less
LibraryThing member saffron12
This book seemed well-written and I got into parts of it, but it never really totally held my interest. After a while, it felt like a chore to continue reading it. Like some of the other reviewers have mentioned, it did have a wonderful biographical feel to it. I will revisit this book and see if I
Show More
have any further thoughts about this book. Show Less
LibraryThing member markon
Wonder woman, physical violence, a piano on roller skates and multiple relocations. Sharply intelligent and acerbically humorous, [A map of home] is the story of Nidali’s childhood and her family’s tumultuous relationships. Born in the USA, she, along with her Palestinian father and
As a preschooler, Nidali’s Baba tells her that moving is part of being Palestinian. “Our people carry their homeland in their souls . . .You can go wherever you want, but you’ll always have it in your heart.”
Later, when he discovers she is learning nothing about Palestinian history at her English school in Kuwait, he provides an all night session in history and map drawing. In Egypt, after being told that the family will not be allowed to return to Kuwait after the first gulf war, Nidali redraws the map of Palestine she remembers from that night, but isn’t sure she drew it correctly. When she asks her father if it’s correct, he responds, “Who knows?”
“What do you mean, Baba, when you say ‘who knows’?”
“Oh habibiti. That map is from a certain year. The maps that came earlier looked different. And the ones that came after, even more different.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean . . . there’s no telling. There’s no telling where home starts and where it ends.”
This is true in Nidali’s family relationships as well. Her father insists on her getting an education so she won’t be like his sisters who left school after 6th grade to marry as adolescents. But is it because he loves her, or he wants her to be a poet like he once was? Early in the book Nidali says, “I knew from the beginning that home meant fighting, arguing and embellishing. That’s why I loved school.”
Her parents fight orally and physically, and Nidali is beaten by her father as well. In Texas, where the family moves when her father can’t get a job in Egypt, she runs to the police station after her father chases her around the house with a knife. She takes her parents to court, dropping the charges after she thinks they’ve learned their lesson: that parents can’t get away with everything in America. Running away from home is a strategy she successfully uses to negotiate with her parents over curfew and contact by letter with Fakhr, the friend and lover she left in Egypt.
At the end of the book, she runs away again. She has applied to, and been accepted at, a college on the east coast of the US. Her father, however, wants her to go to school at a local college and stay at home. She stays at a friend’s house and hides under the bed when her mother comes looking for her. But finally she gets ready to go home on her own terms:
I remembered how I used to believe that when I was forced to run to a new home, the skin of my feet would collect sand and rocks and cactus and seeds and grass until I had shoes made of everything I picked up from running. I always thought that when I got those earth-shoes, I’d be able to stop running and settle down somewhere I’d never have to run away from again. In the morning, I’d be going home. I had to stick up for myself so that when I went away to school I wouldn’t be running. Just going. I raised my leg than and looked at the bottom of my foot. It was dark and thick with dirt.
Show More
Greek-Egyptian mother, travel back to Egypt for her grandmother’s funeral. The family lives in Kuwait during her childhood, but they leave for Egypt during her thirteenth year because of the 90-91 Gulf war.As a preschooler, Nidali’s Baba tells her that moving is part of being Palestinian. “Our people carry their homeland in their souls . . .You can go wherever you want, but you’ll always have it in your heart.”
Later, when he discovers she is learning nothing about Palestinian history at her English school in Kuwait, he provides an all night session in history and map drawing. In Egypt, after being told that the family will not be allowed to return to Kuwait after the first gulf war, Nidali redraws the map of Palestine she remembers from that night, but isn’t sure she drew it correctly. When she asks her father if it’s correct, he responds, “Who knows?”
“What do you mean, Baba, when you say ‘who knows’?”
“Oh habibiti. That map is from a certain year. The maps that came earlier looked different. And the ones that came after, even more different.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean . . . there’s no telling. There’s no telling where home starts and where it ends.”
This is true in Nidali’s family relationships as well. Her father insists on her getting an education so she won’t be like his sisters who left school after 6th grade to marry as adolescents. But is it because he loves her, or he wants her to be a poet like he once was? Early in the book Nidali says, “I knew from the beginning that home meant fighting, arguing and embellishing. That’s why I loved school.”
Her parents fight orally and physically, and Nidali is beaten by her father as well. In Texas, where the family moves when her father can’t get a job in Egypt, she runs to the police station after her father chases her around the house with a knife. She takes her parents to court, dropping the charges after she thinks they’ve learned their lesson: that parents can’t get away with everything in America. Running away from home is a strategy she successfully uses to negotiate with her parents over curfew and contact by letter with Fakhr, the friend and lover she left in Egypt.
At the end of the book, she runs away again. She has applied to, and been accepted at, a college on the east coast of the US. Her father, however, wants her to go to school at a local college and stay at home. She stays at a friend’s house and hides under the bed when her mother comes looking for her. But finally she gets ready to go home on her own terms:
I remembered how I used to believe that when I was forced to run to a new home, the skin of my feet would collect sand and rocks and cactus and seeds and grass until I had shoes made of everything I picked up from running. I always thought that when I got those earth-shoes, I’d be able to stop running and settle down somewhere I’d never have to run away from again. In the morning, I’d be going home. I had to stick up for myself so that when I went away to school I wouldn’t be running. Just going. I raised my leg than and looked at the bottom of my foot. It was dark and thick with dirt.
Show Less
LibraryThing member labfs39
I have been trying to read more Middle Eastern books, and I picked up A Map of Home because it is about an American-Palestinian-Egyptian-Greek girl who grows up primarily in Kuwait. Because my goal is to learn more about the Middle East, I may not have been in the best demographic to read this
Show More
coming of age story. I didn't love A Map of Home, I think partly because the style is written in a way that reminds me of young people text messaging. I feel as though perhaps other teens/young 20's would "get" things to which I was oblivious. In addition, to be honest, I was a bit turned off to the liberal use of f**k and the descriptions of the best ways to masturbate. It just didn't seem central to the plot and rather gratuitous, as though the author occasionally felt the need to stir things up for the reader. I would have enjoyed more about topics she dealt with lightly: identity crisis, family relationships in a dysfuctional home, and repeatedly moving into unknown cultures. This is a first novel, and I hope the author continues to write, as I think she has important things to say, I just didn't hear them all in this book. Show Less
LibraryThing member meggyweg
This is a fairly typical coming-of-age story, beginning with the birth of the narrator, Nidali, and ending when she goes away to college. The most atypical thing about it is the unusual setting and the characters' unusual national/ethnic origin. Nidali was an Arab girl born in Boston, raised in
I deeply enjoyed this story. (It had many hilarious passages, like the time Nidali's aunt's car, which the aunt hated, broke down because she deliberately hadn't changed the oil in years. Then her aunt accidentally-on-purpose set the car on fire.) Nidali had some very colorful relatives, in particular her parents: her mother, a frustrated pianist, and her father, a frustrated poet, who was loving but often abusive towards his wife and children. The only character I didn't really get a sense of was Nidali's brother Gamal.
I would recommend this to people who like coming-of-age stories, funny books about dysfunctional families, or stories about Arab people.
Show More
Kuwait, where her younger brother was born. Her father was Palestinian and her mother Greek/Egyptian. After the 1991 invasion of Kuwait, the family fled to Egypt, then moved to America when they realized there was no going home again. It's clearly based on the author's own life.I deeply enjoyed this story. (It had many hilarious passages, like the time Nidali's aunt's car, which the aunt hated, broke down because she deliberately hadn't changed the oil in years. Then her aunt accidentally-on-purpose set the car on fire.) Nidali had some very colorful relatives, in particular her parents: her mother, a frustrated pianist, and her father, a frustrated poet, who was loving but often abusive towards his wife and children. The only character I didn't really get a sense of was Nidali's brother Gamal.
I would recommend this to people who like coming-of-age stories, funny books about dysfunctional families, or stories about Arab people.
Show Less
LibraryThing member Jpeshke
I loved A Map of Home! It was such a wonderful and refreshing piece of writing. Jarrar is wickedly funny! I can't wait for her future work.
LibraryThing member kgib
There are so many coming of age stories out there, but this one stands out. Funny, subtle, well-written. Can't wait to read her next book.
LibraryThing member TomMcGreevy
There is real depth in this novel, though the omnipresent glibness takes its toll. It takes a while to discover the depth but the effort is well expended. And yes, identity and family are so interwoven, aren't they?
LibraryThing member PhoenixTerran
A Map of Home by Randa Jarrar has the honor of being the first book to be offered to me for review directly by the publisher. (Thanks, Penguin!) The book is Jarrar's debut novel and has already garnered quite a bit of praise, several awards, and has been translated into four other languages so far.
Nidali Ammar was born in the United States to an Egyptian-Greek mother and a Palestinian father. Soon after, they move to Kuwait where her brother is conceived. But the invasion of Kuwait by Iraq during the First Gulf War forces the entire family to flee to Egypt and then eventually to America. Ultimately this means Nidali faces a few more challenges growing up than the average teenager. A Map of Home is told in three parts, each section focusing on Nidali's life in one of the countries, what she like there, what she dislikes, what she misses, and what she wants. Of course, what she wants for herself can differ drastically from what her parents, and particularly her father, want for her. Each time they emigrate she must not only redefine herself and start over, she also has to redefine what home and family really means to her.
Nidali makes a fantastic if unreliable narrator. She's got quite a bit of sass and sarcasm in her, appropriately so given her age, and her frankness about her sexuality is rather refreshing. In some ways she reminds me of Anamika in Abha Dawesar's Babyji; both girls are precocious, intelligent, and a little rebellious and strong-willed while working out their place in the world. There are other similarities that exist between the books despite some significant differences (namely, Anamika's lesbianism and the cultural and geographical characteristics of India). A Map of Home is also vaguely reminiscent of Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis.
I really quite enjoyed A Map of Home and am very glad I had the opportunity to read it--Jarrar is a marvelous storyteller. For the most part, her writing flows beautifully but occasionally there's a bit of a hiccup where it feels like something is missing or a reference was lost. The final third of the book is a bit more disjointed than the rest of the book due to some of the techniques used. (Also, at least one of the chapters was previously published as a short story.) This was a little distracting at first but overall wasn't detrimental to the enjoyment of the book. I like Nidali a lot and Jarrar captures her voice perfectly. I couldn't help but cheer her on as she grew up, discovering and rediscovering who she was and what she wanted out of life, a process only made more difficult by her family's situation. Jarrar is adept at at mixing humor and heartbreak, tears and triumph, and A Map of Home does not disappoint.
Experiments in Reading
Show More
The work is a semi-autobiographical coming of age story that is sure to appeal to many. I was particularly drawn to A Map of Home because of my personal interest in the Middle East (where much of the story takes place) and because the author graduated from the University of Michigan with her Master of Fine Arts and lives in Ann Arbor. When I had first seen the book as part of LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program, I hadn't realized that she was a local author.Nidali Ammar was born in the United States to an Egyptian-Greek mother and a Palestinian father. Soon after, they move to Kuwait where her brother is conceived. But the invasion of Kuwait by Iraq during the First Gulf War forces the entire family to flee to Egypt and then eventually to America. Ultimately this means Nidali faces a few more challenges growing up than the average teenager. A Map of Home is told in three parts, each section focusing on Nidali's life in one of the countries, what she like there, what she dislikes, what she misses, and what she wants. Of course, what she wants for herself can differ drastically from what her parents, and particularly her father, want for her. Each time they emigrate she must not only redefine herself and start over, she also has to redefine what home and family really means to her.
Nidali makes a fantastic if unreliable narrator. She's got quite a bit of sass and sarcasm in her, appropriately so given her age, and her frankness about her sexuality is rather refreshing. In some ways she reminds me of Anamika in Abha Dawesar's Babyji; both girls are precocious, intelligent, and a little rebellious and strong-willed while working out their place in the world. There are other similarities that exist between the books despite some significant differences (namely, Anamika's lesbianism and the cultural and geographical characteristics of India). A Map of Home is also vaguely reminiscent of Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis.
I really quite enjoyed A Map of Home and am very glad I had the opportunity to read it--Jarrar is a marvelous storyteller. For the most part, her writing flows beautifully but occasionally there's a bit of a hiccup where it feels like something is missing or a reference was lost. The final third of the book is a bit more disjointed than the rest of the book due to some of the techniques used. (Also, at least one of the chapters was previously published as a short story.) This was a little distracting at first but overall wasn't detrimental to the enjoyment of the book. I like Nidali a lot and Jarrar captures her voice perfectly. I couldn't help but cheer her on as she grew up, discovering and rediscovering who she was and what she wanted out of life, a process only made more difficult by her family's situation. Jarrar is adept at at mixing humor and heartbreak, tears and triumph, and A Map of Home does not disappoint.
Experiments in Reading
Show Less
Awards
Arab American National Museum Book Award (Winner — Adult Fiction — 2009)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2008-09-02
Physical description
304 p.; 5.09 inches
ISBN
0143116266 / 9780143116264
Local notes
Fiction