The Map of Salt and Stars: A Novel
This powerful and lyrical debut novel is to Syria what The Kite Runner was to Afghanistan; the story of two girls living eight hundred years apart--a modern-day Syrian refugee seeking safety and an adventurous mapmaker's apprentice--"perfectly aligns with the cultural moment" (The Providence Journal) and "shows how interconnected two supposedly opposing worlds can be" (The New York Times Book Review). This "beguiling" (Seattle Times) and stunning novel begins in the summer of 2011. Nour has just lost her father to cancer, and 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 alive 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 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. As Nour's family decides to take the risk, their journey becomes more and more dangerous, until they face a choice that could mean the family will be separated forever. Following alternating timelines and a pair of unforgettable heroines coming of age in perilous times, The Map of Salt and Stars is the "magical and heart-wrenching" (Christian Science Monitor) story of one girl telling herself the legend of another and learning that, if you listen to your own voice, some things can never be lost.
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The Map of Salt and Stars by Jennifer Zeynab Joukhadar
352 pages
What’s it about?
In the summer of 2011 Nour, her mother, and her two sisters move back to Syria to be closer to family- but Syria is not the same country they left years before. Nour is desperately missing her father- who recently died of cancer. In her grief she begins to tell herself her father's favorite story. The story of Rawiya- a young girl that lived in the 12th century. Rawiya disguises herself as a boy so she can apprentice herself to a mapmaker and see the world. This book alternates between Rawiya’s story and Nour’s story. These are two tales of maps, journeys, and ultimately, how where we come from, and the stories we tell ourselves, shape who we become.
What did it make me think about?
What a timely selection. Syria and the refugee problem has been in the news and yet the plight of refugees can seem so far removed from us. These alternating stories are not only captivating, but they also teach you something about the beauty and history of the Syrian culture.
Should I read it?
If you read to learn something, to broaden your horizons, then this is a great choice. This book is so beautiful- the writing is almost poetic. Nour and Rawiya are characters you really care about. I would highly recommend this book.
Quote-
"He told Rawiya to be careful of her words. 'Stories are powerful,' he said, 'but gather too many of the words of others in your heart, and they will drown out your own. Remember that.'"
"But safety is not about never having bad things happen to you. It's about knowing that the bad things can't separate us from each other."
If you like this try-
And The Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini
The Buried Giant by Kazoo Ishiguro
Rooftops of Tehran by Mahbod Seraji
Exit West by Moshin Hamid
The Map of Salt and Stars by Jennifer Zeynab Joukhadar
352 pages
What’s it about?
In the summer of 2011 Nour, her mother, and her two sisters move back to Syria to be closer to family- but Syria is not the same country they left years before. Nour is desperately missing her father- who recently died of cancer. In her grief she begins to tell herself her father's favorite story. The story of Rawiya- a young girl that lived in the 12th century. Rawiya disguises herself as a boy so she can apprentice herself to a mapmaker and see the world. This book alternates between Rawiya’s story and Nour’s story. These are two tales of maps, journeys, and ultimately, how where we come from, and the stories we tell ourselves, shape who we become.
What did it make me think about?
What a timely selection. Syria and the refugee problem has been in the news and yet the plight of refugees can seem so far removed from us. These alternating stories are not only captivating, but they also teach you something about the beauty and history of the Syrian culture.
Should I read it?
If you read to learn something, to broaden your horizons, then this is a great choice. This book is so beautiful- the writing is almost poetic. Nour and Rawiya are characters you really care about. I would highly recommend this book.
Quote-
"He told Rawiya to be careful of her words. 'Stories are powerful,' he said, 'but gather too many of the words of others in your heart, and they will drown out your own. Remember that.'"
"But safety is not about never having bad things happen to you. It's about knowing that the bad things can't separate us from each other."
If you like this try-
And The Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini
The Buried Giant by Kazoo Ishiguro
Rooftops of Tehran by Mahbod Seraji
Exit West by Moshin Hamid
Joukhadar's debut novel does not disappoint. The author's writing style emulates an Arabic storytelling format - poetic, descriptive and visual. We meet the narrator of the story, Nour - a young girl trying to understand her unsettling life - losing her father, moving from New York City to Damascas, trying to understand her sisters and mother and then being plunged into the middle of the Syrian war and becoming a refugee. She is thrust into loss after loss and is expected to keep moving on. In tandem with this, is a story Nour's father told her about a young girl named Rawiya (it means "storyteller") and her adventures. This story gives Nour the courage to keep going and to keep hoping. Joukhadar brings the Syrian war and the plight of its inhabitants to light; yet, this is a story carried by so many immigrants - it resonates in so many people's hearts. The author does a fantastic job in immersing the reader in the Syrian heritage and language. I look forward to reading Joukhadar's next book.
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