Call number
FIC JOU
Collection
Genres
Publication
Touchstone (2018), 368 pages
Description
"In the summer of 2011, just after Nour loses her father to cancer, her mother moves Nour and her sisters from New York City back to Syria to be closer to their family. In order to keep her father's spirit as she adjusts to her new home, Nour tells herself their favorite story--the tale of Rawiya, a twelfth-century girl who disguised herself as a boy in order to apprentice herself to a famous mapmaker. But the Syria Nour's parents knew is changing, and it isn't long before the war reaches their quiet Homs neighborhood. When a stray shell destroys Nour's house and almost takes her life, she and her family are forced to choose: stay and risk more violence or flee across seven countries of the Middle East and North Africa in search of safety--along the very route Rawiya and her mapmaker took eight hundred years before in their quest to chart the world"--Amazon.com.… (more)
Library's review
The structure of this novel intertwines a refashioning of "1001 Arabian Nights" type stories with the saga of a family fleeing political violence. The result is an engaging story that helps you rethink the notions of immigration, refugees, diasporic wandering, and home. (Brian)
User reviews
LibraryThing member Othemts
This novel is the story of 12-year-old Nour, who grows up in Manhattan, but after the death of her father, her mother takes the family back to their native Syria. Nour find herself an outsider, unable to speak Arabic. Unfortunately, their move to Syria coincides with a time of increasing protests
Throughout the novel, Nour tells herself her father's story of Rawiya, a girl from hundreds of years earlier, who disguised herself as a boy and has adventures traveling around the Meditteranean. The two stories interweave through the novel, intersecting in the similarities of the two protagonists.
The novel is a good story and in Nour and Rawiya has two characters that readers can identify. It's a good introduction for young adult readers (and old adults like me) to the issues of contemporary Syria from the perspective of a child.
Rating: ***1/2
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that grow into the Arab Spring and then the Syrian Civil War. Nour and her family become refugees crossing the Middle East and North Africa.Throughout the novel, Nour tells herself her father's story of Rawiya, a girl from hundreds of years earlier, who disguised herself as a boy and has adventures traveling around the Meditteranean. The two stories interweave through the novel, intersecting in the similarities of the two protagonists.
The novel is a good story and in Nour and Rawiya has two characters that readers can identify. It's a good introduction for young adult readers (and old adults like me) to the issues of contemporary Syria from the perspective of a child.
Rating: ***1/2
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LibraryThing member shazjhb
Loved the fable and the current story about Refuges. Not sure why anyone volunteers to return to Syria. Reading the book, you really get some sense of how crazy the world is. Better than the news
LibraryThing member jmoncton
Recently, our view the refugee experience has been the trip trying to enter the US or the initial immersion into a culture that is vastly different. This book has a different take on things when young Nour, after the death of her father, leaves the US with her family to migrate to Syria. The
In parallel, the book shifts back to an ancient myth of a young girl, Rawiya, who goes on a heroic adventure impersonating a young man, and battling mythical creatures and invading armies. This alternate story serves as an inspiration to Nour as she sees Rawiya as a sort of role model, but I found these stories both to be good on their own, however, not that well connected.
Overall, this is a fascinating story and opens a view into lives very different than the safe ones we lead in the US. I did feel that the author throws every possible hardship into Nour's life. And although it brought out my sympathies after awhile I felt like it was just too much. Still a good story.
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intention is that her mother can earn enough as a map maker to support the family. However the unrest and violence in Syria soon has them fleeing to try and make their way back to safety. In parallel, the book shifts back to an ancient myth of a young girl, Rawiya, who goes on a heroic adventure impersonating a young man, and battling mythical creatures and invading armies. This alternate story serves as an inspiration to Nour as she sees Rawiya as a sort of role model, but I found these stories both to be good on their own, however, not that well connected.
Overall, this is a fascinating story and opens a view into lives very different than the safe ones we lead in the US. I did feel that the author throws every possible hardship into Nour's life. And although it brought out my sympathies after awhile I felt like it was just too much. Still a good story.
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LibraryThing member pennykaplan
Nour, a twelve-year-old Syrian-American girl, her two teenaged sisters, and their recently widowed mother, a mapmaker, have returned to Homs, Syria, after more than a decade living in New York City. Unfortunately, the Syrian civil war begins and quickly envelops them. Their house is shelled, and
Their flight out of Syria and across revolution-torn north Africa parallels the path taken by the 12th-century north African mapmaker, al-Idrisi. All her life, Nour’s parents have told her stories of this famous geographer. The legends of his journeys are brought to life in the novel by a young girl disguised as a boy, Rawiya, who accompanies al-Idrisi and his entourage on their long trek. These stories and histories, along with the memories of her happy childhood in New York and her beloved father, help to sustain Nour in the family’s harrowing, and (to Nour), bewildering flight to safety.
Beautifully written and highly recommended.
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they are forced to become refugees, fleeing Syria.Their flight out of Syria and across revolution-torn north Africa parallels the path taken by the 12th-century north African mapmaker, al-Idrisi. All her life, Nour’s parents have told her stories of this famous geographer. The legends of his journeys are brought to life in the novel by a young girl disguised as a boy, Rawiya, who accompanies al-Idrisi and his entourage on their long trek. These stories and histories, along with the memories of her happy childhood in New York and her beloved father, help to sustain Nour in the family’s harrowing, and (to Nour), bewildering flight to safety.
Beautifully written and highly recommended.
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LibraryThing member untitled841
A beautiful story about family and survival in Syria. The perspective of a personal or intimate journey of survival and expierance of doing anything it takes to stay together and ssurvie as a family.
Quotes and Snippets
Part 6: It used to make me wonder if the really important things we used to see
I wonder if almost can cost you as much as did. If the real wound is the moment you can understand you can do nothing.
Part 12: a person can be two things at the same time. The land where your parents where born will always be in you. Words survive. Borders are nothing to words and blood.
Colors used as descriptions for shapes and emotions.
Quotes and Snippets
Part 6: It used to make me wonder if the really important things we used to see
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in god are in each otherI wonder if almost can cost you as much as did. If the real wound is the moment you can understand you can do nothing.
Part 12: a person can be two things at the same time. The land where your parents where born will always be in you. Words survive. Borders are nothing to words and blood.
Colors used as descriptions for shapes and emotions.
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LibraryThing member SusanGeiss
I had such high hopes for this book but ended up having a hard time connecting with this book. I felt as if the characters never truly developed and the story in a story was more of a distraction.
LibraryThing member BookConcierge
I carried our memoires all this way, the story of what happened to us. It was heavy on my shoulders this whole time, but I didn’t fall down.
Joukhadar uses dual story lines and two young heroines to tell this story of family, loss, perseverance, grief, love and success. Nour’s story takes place
I liked both Nour and Rawiya, and loved some of the supporting characters. Both girls must navigate through harsh territory and face numerous dangers from both the environment and the people they encounter. Both sometimes rely on being disguised or taken for a boy. Both find an unlikely champion / savior on more than one occasion. I was a little suspicious at first about Abu Sayeed, but came to love him and the gentle way he helped and protected Nour and her family. Like Nour, I relaxed in the safety he provided: I am covered with a thick rind of safety, like an orange.
I did find myself more drawn to Nour’s modern-day story, probably because I’m less inclined towards “fairytales” at this stage of my life. Dual timelines seems to be all the rage in novels these days, as well as dual narrators. But it’s a difficult style to pull off well. Joukhadar is a talented writer, but I felt tossed back and forth, getting invested in one story only to be yanked across centuries to a completely different scenario when I turned the page. I enjoyed the legendary tale but would have preferred to read a book that was set entirely in the present.
Still, Joukhadar gave me a compelling read with well-drawn characters and some interesting parallels. I also rather liked the opening of each part of the novel, where the author gave us a passage from a seemingly ancient text, printed, in each case, in the outline of that country. I checked the author notes but didn’t find any specific citation, so I assume that Joukhadar wrote these passages, rather than quote them. Though they fascinated me, they represented yet another style / storyline to try to get straight within the context of the entire book.
At one point Nour reflects on a scar left on her leg: Life draws blood and leaves its jewelry in our skin. This novel doesn’t draw any blood, but will definitely leave its mark on the reader.
NOTE: Author is a transgender male. The book was originally published with the author listed as Jennifer Zeynab Joukhadar. But the author now goes by Zeyn Joukhabar.
Joukhadar uses dual story lines and two young heroines to tell this story of family, loss, perseverance, grief, love and success. Nour’s story takes place
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in 2011; she has returned to Syria from Manhattan with her mother and sisters, after her father’s death. But it is not the safe haven her mother expected, because war is tearing the country apart. Rawiya, is a 12th-century girl who, legend has it, disguised herself as a boy to travel with renowned mapmaker al-Idrisi. Her story is the favorite one of Nour’s father’s tales and Nour recites it to herself as a way of keeping her father close. But there are parallels to the girls’ journeys, one as she explores new lands, the other as she flees across many countries to find safety once again.I liked both Nour and Rawiya, and loved some of the supporting characters. Both girls must navigate through harsh territory and face numerous dangers from both the environment and the people they encounter. Both sometimes rely on being disguised or taken for a boy. Both find an unlikely champion / savior on more than one occasion. I was a little suspicious at first about Abu Sayeed, but came to love him and the gentle way he helped and protected Nour and her family. Like Nour, I relaxed in the safety he provided: I am covered with a thick rind of safety, like an orange.
I did find myself more drawn to Nour’s modern-day story, probably because I’m less inclined towards “fairytales” at this stage of my life. Dual timelines seems to be all the rage in novels these days, as well as dual narrators. But it’s a difficult style to pull off well. Joukhadar is a talented writer, but I felt tossed back and forth, getting invested in one story only to be yanked across centuries to a completely different scenario when I turned the page. I enjoyed the legendary tale but would have preferred to read a book that was set entirely in the present.
Still, Joukhadar gave me a compelling read with well-drawn characters and some interesting parallels. I also rather liked the opening of each part of the novel, where the author gave us a passage from a seemingly ancient text, printed, in each case, in the outline of that country. I checked the author notes but didn’t find any specific citation, so I assume that Joukhadar wrote these passages, rather than quote them. Though they fascinated me, they represented yet another style / storyline to try to get straight within the context of the entire book.
At one point Nour reflects on a scar left on her leg: Life draws blood and leaves its jewelry in our skin. This novel doesn’t draw any blood, but will definitely leave its mark on the reader.
NOTE: Author is a transgender male. The book was originally published with the author listed as Jennifer Zeynab Joukhadar. But the author now goes by Zeyn Joukhabar.
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LibraryThing member DeltaQueen50
It took me quite some time to totally become engrossed in A Map of Salt and Stars by Jennifer Joukhadar but once I did, this became a book that I couldn’t put down. There are two plot lines to follow in this book, one about a contemporary girl called Nour whose mother moves the family back to
Nour’s and Rawiya’s stories become entwined as both girls travelled very similar trails through Jordan, Egypt, Libya and Algeria. Nour also disguises herself as a boy for safety’s sake, and both girls face cold, hunger and frequent bureaucracy. While Rawiya’s story is more of an adventure, Nour’s is the harrowing story of a refugee.
The Map of Salt and Stars is a remarkable debut novel. This coming of age story is enhanced by Nour’s synesthesia which brings an added richness to the descriptions. While both girls have to make hard choices and sacrifices, I was much more invested in the contemporary story but I do wish that the book had included a map that showed exactly where these girls travelled.
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Syria from America after the death of her father. All too soon bombs are dropping on their city and their house is destroyed and the family is suddenly homeless, searching for a safe place. Nour comforts herself by remembering a story that her father used to tell her and this story becomes the second narrative. This story is about a girl called Rawiya in the twelfth century who disguises herself as a boy and becomes apprenticed to a mapmaker charting trade routes.Nour’s and Rawiya’s stories become entwined as both girls travelled very similar trails through Jordan, Egypt, Libya and Algeria. Nour also disguises herself as a boy for safety’s sake, and both girls face cold, hunger and frequent bureaucracy. While Rawiya’s story is more of an adventure, Nour’s is the harrowing story of a refugee.
The Map of Salt and Stars is a remarkable debut novel. This coming of age story is enhanced by Nour’s synesthesia which brings an added richness to the descriptions. While both girls have to make hard choices and sacrifices, I was much more invested in the contemporary story but I do wish that the book had included a map that showed exactly where these girls travelled.
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LibraryThing member sanyamakadi
Beautiful, lyrically written parallel stories of a family's harrowing journey across the Middle East, which mirrors the journey of an ancient map maker and his young apprentices. Heavily infused with magical realism and almost crushing emotion, the story will overwhelm you but keep you turning
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pages. The writing is sophisticated, so you forget that the first person narration is coming from an 11-year old, until she does something or reacts in a way that could only come from a child. At the same time, the historical part of the story reads like a factual historical account, until something mystical happens. In both these ways the reader is constantly being pushed and pulled into different perceptions and understands of the reality the book creates. The young narrator is also a synesthete, which adds a depth of understanding to the character's physical context as well as her emotional connections to her family. The author herself is also a synesthete, so the reader can be confident that this is a real depiction of the way someone with synethesia understands the world. Show Less
LibraryThing member kglattstein
Enter a world seen through the eyes, memories, and stories of an adolescent girl who is removed from a world she knows in NYC into a world only imagined through others in Syria. The author leads us through parallel journeys of Nour and Rawiya. Their thoughts, challenges, and ability to survive
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under unimaginable hardships as they travel through similar geographic settings, but with vastly different circumstances. I appreciated how both stories were woven together and gave a sense of the history of the region. This story educated me on a part of the world I know little of their history or culture. Zeyn's storytelling, descriptions, and research weaved a story that captivated me, changed my perceptions, and made me realize how culture is shaped. I loved the character's descriptions of faith, the importance of family, and trust in relationships and how it got them through tough times. I enjoyed following Noir and Rawiya on their journey. This is a story that will stick with me for a long time. Show Less
LibraryThing member thewanderingjew
Map of Salt and Stars, Jennifer Zeynab Joukhadar, author; Lara Sawalha, narrator
This book is written with such a fine hand that it is like reading poetry rather than a novel. However, because it is long and repetitive, with parallel narratives, it often became almost too lyrical, making listening
Two young girls travel the same lands in the Middle East, centuries apart. One character, Rawiya, 16 years old, is impersonating a boy and calling herself Rami, as she travels with Al-Idrisi, a well-known mapmaker who was commissioned by the king to map the entire world. Her father had died and she left her home to ease her mother’s financial burden. The time is some time in the twelfth century. In her story she encounters dangerous mystical creatures. She fights them with extraordinary courage.
The other girl is Nour. She is 12 years old and was born in America. Her mother is a mapmaker of some renown. Nour suffers from synesthesia and sees certain sights and sounds in color. In 2011, after her father’s death, her mother moves the family from New York City, back to her home of origin in Homs, Syria, and they unwittingly become trapped in the violence of the Syrian War, still going on today. When a bomb destroys their home, they are forced to run, seeking safety elsewhere. Nour’s favorite story, as told to her by her father, is actually the story of Rawiya’s journey with the mapmaker.
Both girls experience the terrors refugees face. They are constantly on the run trying to escape the violence around them. They experience tragedy, grief, destruction and bloodshed. Both girls are headstrong, independent, intelligent and creative thinkers. Both, unexpectedly, are adept at map reading. Both girls collect stones. Both girls exhibit great courage in the face of the great danger and ruin that they witness as they travel through the Middle East, hoping to find safety. Both girls travel the same route, and it is a bit of a scary thought to think that although centuries have passed, war rages on in the region and there is no peace.
In one story, the legend of the Rok, a mythical evil bird drops from the sky and terrorizes Rami and those with her. Her bravery conquers the bird of prey. In the other it is the bombs that drop causing death and destruction that terrorize Nour and her family. As they escape, Nour’s courage in the most difficult of situations is exemplary. In both stories the girls witness tragedies as they travel over land and sea, but they face all obstacles and continue onward.
The descriptions of the pain and suffering feel real. There are similar themes running through both narratives. Both stories are connected by a stone that is magical and beautiful. In the one story, Rami possesses it, in the other Nour searches for it. Both are traveling with a mapmaker. Both are fatherless. Both pass as boys, although for Rami it is deliberate and for Nour it is because of head lice forcing her mom to shave her head. Both girls suffer the ravages of war. Both girls suffer the loss of a loved one and rediscover love again. Sometimes the narrative became predictable.
The salt in the title represents loss, sorrow and tears which flow abundantly as the stories are revealed. At times the story feels like historic fiction and at times like a fairy tale written for children. The prose is very easy to follow with beautiful descriptive language to place the reader in the time and place, but the reader speaks in one voice making it hard to discern, at times, which story is being told, the past or present. At other times, I felt that the reader’s portrayal of events was competing with the author’s prose for attention.
I am conflicted when reading about the Middle East and the beauty of bygone and present days. I am not welcome or safe in many of the places that the girls traveled, so their beauty is lost on me. In some way, I believe that the book presents a prettier, more positive view of Syria than one gets today from the news media or the current events.
This book is written with such a fine hand that it is like reading poetry rather than a novel. However, because it is long and repetitive, with parallel narratives, it often became almost too lyrical, making listening
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to it sometimes tedious. I found myself occasionally slipping away and losing my concentration, even as the plight of the refugee was detailed vividly. Yet, at other times, the enormous burdens placed on the characters as they endured great suffering and loss in order to escape the turmoil in their countries, created so much tension that I had to suspend listening. The story contains magical realism and fantasy, history and the beauty of the countries and landscapes traveled contrasted with the war, poverty and lawlessness they encountered. Often, it felt surreal.Two young girls travel the same lands in the Middle East, centuries apart. One character, Rawiya, 16 years old, is impersonating a boy and calling herself Rami, as she travels with Al-Idrisi, a well-known mapmaker who was commissioned by the king to map the entire world. Her father had died and she left her home to ease her mother’s financial burden. The time is some time in the twelfth century. In her story she encounters dangerous mystical creatures. She fights them with extraordinary courage.
The other girl is Nour. She is 12 years old and was born in America. Her mother is a mapmaker of some renown. Nour suffers from synesthesia and sees certain sights and sounds in color. In 2011, after her father’s death, her mother moves the family from New York City, back to her home of origin in Homs, Syria, and they unwittingly become trapped in the violence of the Syrian War, still going on today. When a bomb destroys their home, they are forced to run, seeking safety elsewhere. Nour’s favorite story, as told to her by her father, is actually the story of Rawiya’s journey with the mapmaker.
Both girls experience the terrors refugees face. They are constantly on the run trying to escape the violence around them. They experience tragedy, grief, destruction and bloodshed. Both girls are headstrong, independent, intelligent and creative thinkers. Both, unexpectedly, are adept at map reading. Both girls collect stones. Both girls exhibit great courage in the face of the great danger and ruin that they witness as they travel through the Middle East, hoping to find safety. Both girls travel the same route, and it is a bit of a scary thought to think that although centuries have passed, war rages on in the region and there is no peace.
In one story, the legend of the Rok, a mythical evil bird drops from the sky and terrorizes Rami and those with her. Her bravery conquers the bird of prey. In the other it is the bombs that drop causing death and destruction that terrorize Nour and her family. As they escape, Nour’s courage in the most difficult of situations is exemplary. In both stories the girls witness tragedies as they travel over land and sea, but they face all obstacles and continue onward.
The descriptions of the pain and suffering feel real. There are similar themes running through both narratives. Both stories are connected by a stone that is magical and beautiful. In the one story, Rami possesses it, in the other Nour searches for it. Both are traveling with a mapmaker. Both are fatherless. Both pass as boys, although for Rami it is deliberate and for Nour it is because of head lice forcing her mom to shave her head. Both girls suffer the ravages of war. Both girls suffer the loss of a loved one and rediscover love again. Sometimes the narrative became predictable.
The salt in the title represents loss, sorrow and tears which flow abundantly as the stories are revealed. At times the story feels like historic fiction and at times like a fairy tale written for children. The prose is very easy to follow with beautiful descriptive language to place the reader in the time and place, but the reader speaks in one voice making it hard to discern, at times, which story is being told, the past or present. At other times, I felt that the reader’s portrayal of events was competing with the author’s prose for attention.
I am conflicted when reading about the Middle East and the beauty of bygone and present days. I am not welcome or safe in many of the places that the girls traveled, so their beauty is lost on me. In some way, I believe that the book presents a prettier, more positive view of Syria than one gets today from the news media or the current events.
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LibraryThing member CarrieWuj
This is a physically and narratively beautiful book. With maps inside the covers, chapters marked by a shaped poem for each country the family visits, and a secret "message" hidden beneath the title, the book itself contributes to the story. Mostly it comes from the view point of Nour, a young 12
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year old who has recently lost her father to cancer. Her mother, a creative mapmaker is bereft and lost in their adopted home of NYC, so she moves her daughters Nour, Zahra, and Huda back to Syria to be near family. It is 2011. To say that this is ill-timed is an understatement. Within months of their return, their family home is bombed and they become refugees. Their plight is harrowing, but Nour's understanding is a bit naive and she also filters things differently - she is a synthesthete, seeing the world in colors and emotions rather than stark reality. This gives her a small layer of protection. Her other "secret weapon" is the folk tale she shared with her father of Rawiya, a young girl in ancient times who seeks adventure and knowledge and is brave beyond compare, posing as a young boy so she can become an apprentice mapmaker. Her odyssey takes her around the ancient world, encountering mythical creatures and evil empires, but she triumphs just like Nour must. While her family faces every possible obstacle refugees might (corrupt border crossings/coyotes, a boat that sinks, being shelled by enemy gunfire, illness and injury) Nour follows her mother's map to "home." The child narrator works here as does the weaving of past fable and present reality to fully represent a culture, history and current global issue. Show Less
LibraryThing member DrFuriosa
This is a slow burn of a novel where a tragic refugee story is interwoven with a mythical tale. It was hard to connect the two for a long time (I won't say more, to avoid spoilers). The story and characters are compelling, though the writing is a bit burdened by the prose--the protagonist has
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synesthesia, so the author relies heavily on description, and LOTS of it. This is worth the read, overall, especially when we're talking about the consequences of war on innocent people. Show Less
LibraryThing member viviennestrauss
What an amazing read. I wish everyone would read this and find compassion for refugees.
LibraryThing member jeanh12
A parallel story of Nour's family who moves from the U.S. back to Syria after her father dies, and Rawiya's tale which is a story from medieval times that Nour's father told her. Nour has synesthesia which means that she sees and hears the world in colors. I thought this resulted in prose that was
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overblown and bogged down the story. The two stories didn't really seem related except through Nour's memory. Very few in book club actually finished this book and even fewer liked it. Show Less
LibraryThing member Castlelass
In this beautifully written literary fiction, Nour, a girl of Syrian-American heritage, must relocate with her mother and two sisters to Syria after her father’s death. Upon settling into a new home in Syria, civil war breaks out. They begin a journey across the Middle East and North Africa in
The author vividly portrays the various cultures of the region. Small portions of the story slip into the realm of magical realism in a way that adds to rather than detracts from the narrative. This novel brings the Syrian refugee crisis into sharp focus, and vividly conveys the impact on families, especially women and children. While the pacing seemed uneven in a few places, I found it extremely imaginative, lyrically written, and well-crafted.
Filled with visions of home, courage, and hope, the ancient and contemporary stories converge in a meaningful way at the end. This is a debut novel and I look forward to reading future works from this author. Highly recommended to readers of historical or literary fiction, or those interested in narratives featuring strong women, diverse cultures, or Syrian heritage.
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search of safe-haven. Nour’s father had often repeated a story to her, an ancient fable of a heroic girl and a mapmaker. This mystical story is interwoven into the primary narrative in alternating segments. I very much enjoyed the two intertwined stories, set hundreds of years apart, especially the way they parallel each other in geographic location as well as action sequences. Both stories contain mapmakers and strong young female protagonists that masquerade as boys. Both contain journeys, villains, and danger. The older mythical story sets the historic context for the contemporary story.The author vividly portrays the various cultures of the region. Small portions of the story slip into the realm of magical realism in a way that adds to rather than detracts from the narrative. This novel brings the Syrian refugee crisis into sharp focus, and vividly conveys the impact on families, especially women and children. While the pacing seemed uneven in a few places, I found it extremely imaginative, lyrically written, and well-crafted.
Filled with visions of home, courage, and hope, the ancient and contemporary stories converge in a meaningful way at the end. This is a debut novel and I look forward to reading future works from this author. Highly recommended to readers of historical or literary fiction, or those interested in narratives featuring strong women, diverse cultures, or Syrian heritage.
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LibraryThing member Helenliz
You know what this book could really have done with? a MAP!
I'm not a fan of dual timeline books, but this one grew on me, slowly. It's two separate stories were connected by the route the characters followed, both ending in Ceuta.
The story set in the past concerns al-Idrisi and the map produced
The present day story concerns Nour, whos is born in Manhattan, but whose father dies and the family returns to Syria. Unfortunately into the middle of a war and their house in Homs is bombed. From here Nour and her family travel the same journey as that of al-Idrisi, but while one is exploring and evading armies, Nour and her family are evading war as refugees.
The parallel stories worked from a certain level, in that you knew at least where the story was going physically. The link between the two is presented that Nour has been told the Rawiya story by her father and that one way she holds on to his memory is to tell the stories he used to tell. This surmise quickly breaks down and the two stories are simply told in parallel.
The events that Nour & her family live through are horrific, but unlikely to be anything that refugees don't experience in their escapes from their circumstances.
I'm not a fan of the dual timeline stories when the author tries to tie them together by character. This doesn't have that failing, the two stories are joined by location. That makes the link between them feel less contrived and so more palatable.
Each individual story was interesting, if very different. I'm just not sure that the whole was greater than the sum of its parts.
I'm not a fan of dual timeline books, but this one grew on me, slowly. It's two separate stories were connected by the route the characters followed, both ending in Ceuta.
The story set in the past concerns al-Idrisi and the map produced
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by him at the court of King Roger II of Sicily, known now as The Book of Roger. It involves mapping the known world. To the bare bones of the facts concerning al-Idrisi are added a young girl, Rawiya, who leaves home and disguises herself as a boy to explore the world with al-Idrisi. They undertake many adventures, escape wars, a viscous Roc and a horde of giant snakes, all before tackling a revolt against King Roger's son. What happened to the precious metal map they make is unknown, but the book survived. The present day story concerns Nour, whos is born in Manhattan, but whose father dies and the family returns to Syria. Unfortunately into the middle of a war and their house in Homs is bombed. From here Nour and her family travel the same journey as that of al-Idrisi, but while one is exploring and evading armies, Nour and her family are evading war as refugees.
The parallel stories worked from a certain level, in that you knew at least where the story was going physically. The link between the two is presented that Nour has been told the Rawiya story by her father and that one way she holds on to his memory is to tell the stories he used to tell. This surmise quickly breaks down and the two stories are simply told in parallel.
The events that Nour & her family live through are horrific, but unlikely to be anything that refugees don't experience in their escapes from their circumstances.
I'm not a fan of the dual timeline stories when the author tries to tie them together by character. This doesn't have that failing, the two stories are joined by location. That makes the link between them feel less contrived and so more palatable.
Each individual story was interesting, if very different. I'm just not sure that the whole was greater than the sum of its parts.
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LibraryThing member debbie13410
Maybe not for me right now. I will try another time.
LibraryThing member m.belljackson
While well-at times beautifully-written, notably map and astronomy descriptions,
the opening premise of the mother deciding to leave New York City without throughly first
researching the safety of war-torn Syria for her family, doesn't ring true.
Moving past that, the interweaving of the fascinating
brings a deep understanding of the history and geography of Syria.
the opening premise of the mother deciding to leave New York City without throughly first
researching the safety of war-torn Syria for her family, doesn't ring true.
Moving past that, the interweaving of the fascinating
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myth of Rawiya with the brutal reality of Nour's new life brings a deep understanding of the history and geography of Syria.
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LibraryThing member OnniAdda
The writing was beautiful. The story had a lot of emotional depth to it. Most of the characters were somewhat interesting. But overall the story was meh. The story is told in two parts, each focusing on a different character. The main story is centered around Nour, a prepubescent girl trying to
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cope with the death of her father while adjusting to life in war-torn Syria with the rest of her family. The second half of this harrowing tale is set hundreds of years prior and focuses on the adventures of Rawiya, a teenage girl who traverses the globe with her teacher the intrepid, extraordinary map-maker al-Irisdi. Each story alternates every couple of pages, and that, unfortunately, is the worst part of this book because the emotional baggage of worrying about Nour's family is lost each time Rawiya's story is reintroduced. It just doesn't fit. In addition to that, the focus is on the wrong person, Nour. The use of synesthesia would have been much more interesting if it was employed more tactfully and sparingly throughout the story. If the story was written in a third person perspective and only focused on Nour's family and not her, maybe I would have finished reading the book. Show Less
Awards
Middle East Book Award (Winner — Youth Literature — 2018)
Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Prize (Shortlist — Shortlist — 2019)
Christian Science Monitor Best Book (Fiction — 2018)
Pages
368
ISBN
9781501169038