The Map of Salt and Stars

by Zeyn Joukhadar

Nour es una niña de once años cuyo padre acaba de morir. Su madre, cartógrafa que dibuja los mapas a mano, decide mudarse de Nueva York a Siria, su tierra natal, junto a sus hijas, pero la ciudad de Homs deja de ser su hogar cuando comienzan los bombardeos, y a la familia no le queda más salida que huir de ese lugar donde la vida se extingue. La búsqueda de un lugar seguro se convierte en un viaje que los lleva a atravesar siete países. Encontrar un hogar es cada día un sueño más lejano pero también una esperanza a la que aferrarse.

Novecientos años atrás, Rawiya, otra joven de dieciséis años, emprende también un viaje en busca de fortuna que la lleva a través del mundo junto a un cartógrafo decidido a crear un mapamundi.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Fantasy, Book Club, Historical, Contemporary, Audiobook

360 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2018

About the author

Zeyn Joukhadar is the author of The Thirty Names of Night, which won the Lambda Literary Award and the Stonewall Book Award, and The Map of Salt and Stars, which won the Middle East Book Award and was a Goodreads Choice Awards and Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Prize finalist. His work has appeared in the Kink anthology, Salon, The Paris Review, [PANK], and elsewhere, and has been twice nominated for the Pushcart Prize. Joukhadar guest edited Mizna's 2020 Queer + Trans Voices issue, serves on the board of the Radius of Arab American Writers (RAWI), and mentors emerging writers of color with the Periplus Collective.

Reviews

[jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

there are some books you want to read, and then there are books you need to read. this is one of those books.

after finishing this, its obvious i have been lacking some perspective recently. its so easy for me to get caught up in my own little bubble, so i need stories like this to remind me of my privilege and that my struggles arent really struggles.

i loved all of the beautiful themes, poetic writing, unwavering hope, and magical strength that i found in this book. for me, its so important to show that goodness can be found in even the most horrific of circumstances, so i appreciate what both nour and rawaiya have taught me throughout their journeys.

this is easily recommendable to anyone who also is needing a glimpse outside of their own bubble.

↠ 4.5 stars

[Angela M · Rating 4 out of 5]

There have been quite a few novels written over the last several years about the refugee experience, mostly how they are trying to manage their new lives in the US. This book was somewhat different with a family moving back to Syria in 2011 after the father dies. This proved to be the worst possible time with a civil war looming and it tells of their harrowing and heartbreaking struggle to find safety. We follow 12 year old Nour and her mother and sisters from New York to Syria to Jordan to Libya to Morocco. This is yet another story with dual times alternating Nour’s present day journey with another young girl, Rawiya, 800 years earlier. The second narrative is a story within the story and it represents the beautiful bond that Nour had with her father who told her stories ever night. As with many books with dual story lines, I usually am drawn to one more than the other. I was much more interested in knowing what would happen to Nour and her family than in Rawiya’s adventures. Maybe because of the fantasy elements of the latter story. I was, however, taken with the connections between the stories - the maps, the places, that home is not necessarily defined by a place but by where your family is.

There are vivid descriptions of places, things, feelings accentuated by a form of synesthesia that causes Nour to experience these thing by colors. The author provides a view a people, their culture by providing an intimate look at this fictional family. They put more than a face on the images that we see on tv of the plight of Syrian refugees. I don’t pretend to understand what it’s all about or to know what we should do about, but I know that we can’t ignore it . I couldn’t quite give this 5 stars because I wasn’t sure how realistic the ending was. Still, highly recommended.


I received an advanced copy of this book from Touchstone/Simon & Schuster through Edelweiss.

[Jennifer ~ TarHeelReader · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 colorful and descriptive stars to The Map of Salt and Stars! ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

The Syrian civil war and refugee crisis stay in the forefront of my mind most days. I am heartbroken. I am deeply worried. I am listening.

The Map of Salt and Stars had me intrigued since I first learned about it. I inhaled this book. Joukhadar’s writing is some of the most lyrical I’ve read. The main character, Nour, has synesthesia and sees colors, and you, the reader, will as well, as a landscape and story are artistically painted with the most elegant and heartrending brushstrokes.

In 2011, Nour’s father passes away, and her mother decides to move Nour and her sisters from New York City back to Syria to be closer to family. Unfortunately, Nour’s mother could not have predicted the unraveling of her once beloved country and the dire predicament that would await the family once the house is destroyed by a shell. Nour and her family flee to safety, crossing seven countries in the Middle East and Africa.

The second narrative takes place over 800 years prior and is about Rawiya, a girl who disguises herself as a boy in order to become an apprentice to a mapmaker. Her journey is epic in proportions and in ways echos that of Nour and her family.

Both narratives are about journeys, adventure, heartache, war, darkness, light, and ultimately, family and the search for home. I could read books written in this style of writing all day. Joukhadar had me at the first paragraph when she began describing the “salt” and its symbolism that would feature throughout this stunningly written novel.

Jennifer Zeynab Joukhadar is an author to watch, and I am hugging my Kindle.

Thank you to Jennifer Zeynab Joukhadar, Touchstone, and Edelweiss for the ARC. The Map of Salt and Stars is available now!

For this and other reviews, please visit my blog: www.jennifertarheelreader.com

[Hannah Greendale (Hello, Bookworm) · Rating 3 out of 5]

For the first time in years, I think of something Mama told me when I was little: that when you make a map, you don’t just paint the world the way it is. You paint your own.

Joukhadar alternates between the legendary tale of a girl battling mythological beasts across windswept dunes on her quest to “map the lands of Anatolia, Bilad Ash-Sham, and the eastern Maghreb” and the story of a young Syrian refugee who makes a harrowing journey, alongside her family, in search of a new place to call home. Though their stories take place 800 years apart, their emotional trials and geographical triumphs overlap, albeit in unsurprising ways.

The mythological elements of The Map of Salt and Stars take inspiration from The Thousand and One Nights and are further enhanced by Joukhadar’s inclusion of the real-life scholar and mapmaker, Muhammad Al-Idrisi. The most glorious moments emerge from Nour, the Syrian refugee who experiences the world in colors: the yellow and black bursts of oil and fat sizzling in a pan, the purple taste of tree roots and loam, the ultramarine of flesh chilled to the bone.

There’s much to love here, but satisfaction would have been gleaned from a more meaningful connection between the two alternating stories. And while Joukhadar succeeds in conveying the plight of Syrian refugees, Nour is easily forgotten. Perhaps she’s difficult to identify with because of her synesthesia, or maybe it’s that her story starts in New York (her birthplace) then sees her moving to Syria. Since Nour spends only a short time in Syria before leaving, she lacks a deep connection to the place she’s forced to flee, thereby diminishing the sense of loss.

With blooms of dazzling prose and its entertaining blend of worlds real and imagined, The Map of Salt and Stars proves a moderately enjoyable debut from a promising new talent.

“Stones don’t have to be whole to be lovely,” he says. “Even cracked ones can be polished and set. Small diamonds, if they are clear and well cut, can be more valuable than big ones with impurities. Listen,” he says. “Sometimes the smallest stars shine brightest, no?”

[☘Misericordia☘ ⚡ϟ⚡⛈⚡☁ ❇️❤❣ · Rating 5 out of 5]

What kind of magic is this?

Q:
God smiles through the cracks in broken things. (c)
Q:
Stories are powerful, but gather too many of the words of others in your heart and they will drown out your own. Remember that... (c)
Q:
Stones don't have to be whole to be lovely," he says. "Even cracked ones can be polished and set. Small diamonds, if they are clear and well cut, can be more valuable than big ones with impurities. Listen," he says. Sometimes the brightest stars shine brightest, no? (c)
Q:
I am a woman and a warrior. If you think I can't be both, you've been lied to. (c)
Q:
“New York?" Itto looks down at me. "You may be American, but you are still Syrian."
I rub the camel's coarse hair with my palms. "How?"
"A person ca be two things at the same time," Itto says. "The land where your parents were born will always be in you. Words survive. Borders are nothing to words and blood.” (c)
Q:
... once you’ve heard too many voices, you start to forget which one is your own ... (c)
Q:
Every place you go becomes a part of you (c)
Q:
The elegant figures of the constellations spun above them, driven by the wheel of the heavens. (c)

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 heartwarming stars

Full Disclosure, I chose this book based on its stunning cover, its eye-catching title, and the fact that the synopsis drops in the comparison to The Kite Runner . Set against the backdrop of the unrest in Syria and coupled with a 12th century romance adventure tale, The Map of Salt and Stars certainly sheds light on one family's story as they travel from America after their father's death to Syria, only to find themselves refugees fleeing across Jordan, Egypt, Algeria, Libya and Morocco.

I appreciated the author's source list and information at the back of the book, the writing and characters were absolutely beautiful BUT I didn't find the "story" within the story that interesting. Nour and her family were much more captivating. As well, my mind began to wander around the 60% mark(this really isn't the author's fault, I am having one of those chaotic weeks at work and I think my mind is on other things), I may just re-read this again at some point to compare it to my first impressions.


Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced ebook in exchange for an honest review.


Goodreads review published 03/05/18

[Marialyce · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am going to admit I had a hard time staying with this book. It was one of the cases where I would read a chapter put the book down to return later. It was not that the writing was poor. Point in fact the writing was amazing, but the story line just could not seem to pull me into that place were time just drifted away as you became enthralled with the book. Perhaps it was because of the two stoy lines that were told or even the fact that as much as I seemed to gain knowledge of the characters, I just could not seem to care about them as much as I should.

The Syrian War was a terrifying look into what conflict always does. It set people, as war always does, adrift in the miasma of conflict, fleeing to a place where life might return to normal although knowing it never would. The other story took place about a thousand years before this conflict and dealt with a young girl once again trying to find a better life by disguising herself as a boy and joining a cartographer as they try to map the world of their time.

As always when a story does not work as one desires there is disappointment. I know there must have been an immense amount of research and time that this author put into writing this historical novel. I only wish I had been able to enjoy her efforts more.

Thanks once again goes to my local library and its staff always providing current novels for one to read and borrow.

[Maxwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful and heartbreaking story that follows a refugee family in 2011 and an explorer in the 1200s, showing how their lives parallel one another and intertwine across time and space. The motif of the maps and colors were a lovely touch. This was a pretty impressive debut novel, with some amazing quotes in it. I think I'll just leave the rest of the review with some of my favorites.

"He said one day I'd tell our story back to him. But my words are wild country, and I don't have a map."

"Every place you go becomes a part of you. But none more so than home."

"God smiles through the cracks in broken things."

"Stories are powerful, but gather too many of the words of others in your heart, and they will drown out your own. Remember that."

"'Don't forget,' he says, and Abu Sayeed looks up while he translates, holding the words back a little, 'stories ease the pain of living, not dying. People always think dying is going to hurt. But it does not. It's living that hurts us.'"

[Faith · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book didn't work for me, but the things I disliked about it probably wouldn't bother a lot of people. I usually have a problem with dual timeline stories because one is generally more compelling than the other. That leaves me liking only half, at most, of a book. In this case, I just couldn't get interested in the fairy tale set 800 years in the past. The author switched between stories in the middle of chapters, which completely destroyed the flow of the story set in the present. The problem was compounded when listening to the audiobook because the narrator never altered her voice or gave any indication when the book had shifted to the other timeline. I gave up on the book after reading 42% of it. I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

[Nadine in NY Jones · Rating 2 out of 5]

Don’t forget ... stories ease the pain of living, not dying. People always think dying is going to hurt, but it doesn’t. It’s living that hurts us.

This book is not for me. This is one of those books that you love for its lyrical language and the aching beauty and sorrow of the story. I’m not that reader. I had no patience with (or love for) all the intricate detail described in every scene.

”Mama?!”

The booming is thunder in my bones. The room gets real still, only the beetles twitching at the cracks in the windows. My pulse pops in my wrist. On the table, my knife shakes against my napkin. The lines in Abusayid’s forehead are thick and deep as tree roots.

“It must be coming from another neighborhood,” mama says.

But she stops eating. She holds her fork in the air, a bite of cucumber salad dripping yogurt sauce. The light falls across the triangle of her nose, as straight as baba’s T-square

And that excerpt doesn’t even include the endless synesthesia descriptions. I really don’t need to constantly read about what color sounds and smells are for Nour. It was interesting, but it was just too much.

The tall lady’s voice is thick as water, ruby-purple as pomegranate seeds. Sweat darkens the gauzy linen of her hijab where it meets her forehead and her temples, and it glistens in the spaces between her fingers when she talks.

There are a lot of repeated themes here, which is generally something I appreciate, but it never coalesced:
- rocks/gemstones/geology
- jewelry
- fatherless daughters disguising themselves as boys and fighting adversity
- stars and constellations
- the purpose of stories
- traveling to new/unknown places
- maps (obviously)
- sweat (sweat is described A LOT)

There are so many metaphors and meaningful Images, some repeated within the same paragraph. I suffocated beneath this mountain of metaphor. The story struggled to break free, but it was weighed down too heavily, and couldn’t get off its knees.

Zahra pushes my hands, ringing her wrist with her own fingers like a cuff.

“Do you know what would’ve happened to us if they hadn’t opened that truck??” she whispers. “Do you have any idea?”

I lock my knuckles against Zahra’s, the damp salt of her sweat oiling my hands. The humid morning strokes the red and white blisters on my legs, the cold’s fingerprints. Zahra stares me down, slipping my hands off her wrists like invisible bracelets. Her scar ripples her jaw like a bruise on the skin of an olive, the same way these blisters will leave pale opals of scar tissue on my shins. I think to myself, ‘life draws blood, and leaves its jewelry in our skin.’

Everything is told with the same emphasis, so that big events and small events have the same impact, which really dampens the emotional response that this story could have elicited.

And some of the story doesn’t even make sense. Why was Nour's mother so cryptic about her map? It would have saved a lot of trouble if she had just told Nour & Zahra how to read it. And why was Nour’s mother painting with acrylics while they were fleeing the city? I mean, when was she going to find water to wash her brushes? You have to wash them thoroughly, right away, or the acrylic hardens the bristles and they are useless.

I can see why this book would have immense appeal for a lot of readers. It’s just not the book for me.

The audiobook read by Lara Sawalha was very well done, and the cover art is gorgeous and perfect.

[Lauren Lanz · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Even painful things are often veined with blessings we can't yet see."

The Map of Salt and Stars was an objectively great story. The characters were touching and the writing was gorgeous, especially for a debut novel.

~★~ What is this book about? ~★~

After the death of their father, twelve year old Nour (along with her mother and sisters) leave New York to live in Syria, closer to family. When bombs begin hitting their town, Nour’s family is forced to flee, making the perilous journey across several countries.
A dual timeline nearly 800 years prior follows Rawiya, a poor girl dressed up as a man in order to become a mapmakers apprentice.
As Nour’s family fights for their lives, their path can be identified as the exact route Rawiya and her master took to create what was at the time the largest map ever.

~★~

One of the greatest things about this book was the portrayal of Syria and its culture. Joukhadar skillfully articulates scenery and feeling with each place visited, making for an easy time moving through this story. The character bonds were also developed well as the story progressed.

My main complaint was the protagonists disconnect from the country she was fleeing. Nour was born in New York, having lived there most of her life. There wasn’t a very big sense of loss with her, as she had no fond childhood memories attached to Syria. The potential for this story could have been so much greater if only Nour had a history in the country.

While both perspectives and timelines were enjoyable and written well, I wished they connected more. Going in, I had expected Nour and Rawiya’s story’s to intertwine quite a bit, but besides the obvious parallels in their lives, that didn’t happen.

Overall, this is definitely an impactful and even informational story. Besides my subjective complaints, I think many readers will find this a really great book!

[♛ may · Rating 4 out of 5]

i finished this book last night in a sobbing mess and i dont know if i'll ever recover

this book was incredible. it follows two point of views, the first, a young syrian girl (12 years old i think) with synesthesia as she and her family have to escape the awful syrian crisis right after they moved back from america so they would be closer to their family and their culture.

the second story takes place hundreds of years ago, following a young girl as she becomes an apprentice to a renowned mapmaker. they are set to travel the east, mapping out the routes and countries

both stories are compelling and powerful. joukhadar writes with SO MUCH description and imagery, i've never seen anything like it. the author created an entire world out of words and i am just amazed.

my only issues with the book was that i found it a liiiiitle over descript. there were continuous paragraphs dedicated to just setting the scene, everytime they traveled, and i found it took away from the movement of the story (mainly during the very intense scenes)

also, i was WAYYYYYY more invested in nour's storyline. there were a couple times when i was so deep and emotionally invested in her story and then we switched over to rawiya and it was kind of jarring

but honestly these are mild complaints bc the essence of this story is so important and i want so many people to read it.

this book felt like i was witnessing a documentary with my own eyes. nour, her mother, her sisters, and abu sayeed genuinely felt like real, live, breathing people.

this is the story of so many faultless syrian citizens who have suffered in silence these past years. this is the story of those who are too small for news headlines to give notice of. this is the story of a single family amidst the millions that were displaced.

this is the story of a modern-day tragedy.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

“E. M. Forster taught us that ‘fiction is truer than history than history because it goes beyond the evidence.’ Jennifer Zeynab Maccani’s magic first novel is a testimony to that maxim. We’ve all been aware of the plight of Syrian refugees, but in this richly imaginative story we see one small family – both haunted by history and saved by myth – work their west. It’s beautiful and lovely and eye-opening.”

[Kat]

This debut takes us through twelve-year-old Noor’s journey as her family moves from New York to Syria in 2011, then is almost immediately forced to flee Syria once the war begins and her home is destroyed. This book is written in two timelines, present day, and a “fable” timeline from many centuries ago, connected by a love of map-making.

The author writes lovely descriptions, especially of the colors, foods and settings. You can taste and see and smell your surroundings beautifully.


Trigger warnings: violence, sexual assault, attempted rape

Please excuse typos/name misspellings. Entered on screen reader.

[Touchstone Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

It would be impossible to overstate how proud we are to be publishing this gorgeous and important novel. Nour's voice will capture your heart and linger in your mind long after you read the final page. Jennifer Zeynab Joukhadar is not only immensely talented, but has a story that needs to be told.

[Selena · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a free hardback copy of The Map of Salt and Stars by Jennifer Zeynab Joukhadar from Goodreads for my honest review.

This is a beautifully rich and moving novel. It is a story of two girls that are living eight hundred years apart. A Syrian refugee seeking safety and a adventurer apprenticed to a famous mapmaker

It's the summer of 2011, and Nour's father just passed away from cancer. Her mother, a cartographer who creates maps, decides to move Nour and her sisters from New York City back to Syria to be closer to their family. But the country Nour's mother knew is not the same anymore. That country is changing, and it isn't long before their home and neighborhood is threatened with war. Nour and her family need to decide if they want to stay and risk possibly getting killed or flee as refugees across several countries to get to safety.

More than eight hundred years earlier, Rawiya who is sixteen years old and a widow's daughter, knows she must do something to help her penniless mother. Rawiya disguising herself as a boy named Rami leaves home to find her fortune. She becomes an apprentice to Al-Idrisi, who has been commissioned by King Roger II of Sicily to create a map of the world. Rawiya embarks on an epic journey across the Middle East and North of Africa where she encounters mythical beasts, and many other things.

The Map of Salt and Stars follows the journeys of Nour and Rawiya as they travel identical paths across the region but eight hundred years apart.

This book is truly a work of art.

[Stephanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thanks to Touchstone for sending me a copy to review!

This novel follows the story lines of two girls, Nour and Rawiya. Nour grew up in present day New York, but after the death of her father her family returned to Syria. Before long, they must flee their home as refugees. Eight hundred years earlier, Rawiya pretends to be a boy so she can be a prominent mapmaker's apprentice. Both girls set off on journeys, each mirroring the other to draw out themes of home, family, and identity.

Much of this novel didn't work for me in ways that reminded me of Girls Burn Brighter. Although the characters suffer, the plot mechanisms seemed too simple. The writing felt too saturated, too overbearing: the characters constantly lapsed into profound metaphors that felt forced. In books like these I want to explore the characters' emotions, not be told how to feel. The double narrative also weakened the story for me and Nour's synesthesia just seemed gratuitous.

However - you should know that I hemmed and hawed over this review because I don't want to scare anyone away from this book, but I also want to follow my personal reviewing rule of being honest and kind. I've seen some great reviews already that appreciate the rich setting and emotional notes. Sometimes a low rating from me reflects a book's quality, but other times (like now) it's a perfectly fine book that just didn't work for me. So, if this sounds like something that's right up your alley, go for it!

[Mel (Epic Reading) · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are some books where words will never be able to adequately express the power and feelings within it's pages. The Map of Salt and Stars is one of these books. There feels like so much to say about how incredibly emotional this book is; and yet I struggle to find the words.

The Set-up
Split into two stories, Jennifer Zeynab Joukhadar tells us the story of a girl in the past who overcomes prejudice and hardships to become a great warrior. This story is mythical in that it includes the magical Roc and giant snakes(from One Thousand and One Nights stories). At it's core this story is about the journey to map the world and our three travellers who are trying to do so (including our warrior girl).
The second story is the one that will break your heart more-so than anything. It is the story of a Syrian family, who lost their husband/father the previous year and so have limited means to survive to begin with. Then their home is bombed to nothing and they fight to cross the borders of four different countries, in perious ways, in order to find some sort of sanctuary.

Our Lead Girl
There is always something poignant about hearing a story of destruction and death from the words of a child. Our lead gal is a pre-teen whom has to find her both her inner and outer strength to survive what is to come. This is the plight of a refugee. And one that everyone in a first world country should read. It is a story that will break your heart and also give you hope. Of all the things it will do however is make you feel like you are this little girl. I connected with her in a way I have trouble expressing outloud.

Syrian Refugee Crisis
The obvious point of Joukhadar writing The Map of Salt and Stars is to bring awareness of the Syrian people's dire situation. For those of us who live in places where our homes are not at risk of being bombed, where our government (mostly) protects us, and where no one carries machine guns around just because; this may be a hard thing to come to terms with it. One day any one of us could be in a situation where we have nothing and our only hope is aid in a different country. I hope that doesn't happen, but if it does we'd want the support and help from others. So why is it that so many people today (who have means to help) begrudge these destitute people?
I believe it to be a lack of understanding. This book definitely gives a better understanding of what it means to lose everything, to have nothing and nowhere to go.

Overall
It's always unfortunate that our world has these types of stories. However it is reality. Pretending it doesn't exist or isn't 'our problem' is the wrong attitude; because if the tables were flipped I know each of us would expect aid from those that could.
I recommend everyone read this book to gain some perspective and find some new-found compassion within themselves to better understand the circumstances of people. At the end of the day we are all the same; we are all just people trying to survive.

For this and more of my reviews please visit my blog at: Epic Reading

Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.

[Katie.dorny · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a top read of 2018 for me 100%.

Rafiwya and Nour are two young women who embark on life changing circumstances.

Rafiwya embarks on an adventure to earn her fortune and provide for her family as an apprentice mapmaker whilst disgusting herself as a boy.

Nour moves from Manhattan to Syria after her father dies. Her mother makes and sells beautiful maps.

The story interweaves both their lives as they reflect one another in modern and historical circumstances.
It’s beautifully written, it’s heart wrenching, I loved absolutely everything about it.

This is one book I cannot recommend enough.
I have loved this immensely.

[Libby · Rating 4 out of 5]

In 'The Map of Salt and Stars' Nour’s father has died. Baba, buried in a hole in Manhatten, feels so lost to Nour that she loses her voice; her words go a journey in the earth trying to find her father. There are tears everywhere, thus the salt. As Zeyn Joukhadar writes about the grief of Nour’s family, salt is the code word for a palpable grief that permeates the air, showing up at every turn. Baba, a bridge builder, and Mama, a mapmaker, had built a secure and loving home for Nour and her two sisters, Huda and Zahra, in New York. Without Baba at its helm, however, Mama wants to return to her homeland in Syria.

Nour is a synesthete, a person who translates sounds and smells, and other sensory inputs into colors. This makes for a vibrant sensorial reading experience. Twelve years old, Nour is a perfect narrator. Her innocence and her search for the meaning of life, tragedy, and suffering, all of which seem to be bombarding her family in 2011, create a memorable coming of age tale. Her lack of guile makes Nour a transparent prism, through which Joukhadar focuses the plight of the refugee. A child who hopes for a safe home and the love of family.

Baba made sense of the world through the stories he told his daughters. Nour’s favorite story was the one of Rawiya, who leaves home to become the famous cartographer, Al-Idrisi’s apprentice. Disguising herself as a boy, she is able to answer three riddles that Al-Idrisi puts to her, proving her capable intelligence. Commissioned by the Norman King Roger II to provide an accurate map of the known world, Al-Idrisi symbolizes the scientific knowledge lost or unacknowledged by the western world. Rawiya has also lost her father, just like Nour. In Nour’s life, an old friend of her father, Abu-Sayeed will appear as a friend, a father figure, a mentor. In Rawiya’s story come to life, Al-Idrisi will fill this same function.

Rawiya’s legendary story will add many levels of meaning to Nour’s story, opening it up in a deeply reflective way. Zeyn Joukhadar parallels the two stories beautifully. For example, Joukhadar follows the account of Nour’s sister Huda in the hospital undergoing surgery with the account of Nour seeing her father’s dead body in the morgue, paralleled with the account of Rawiya saying that she (he) will be able to kill the roc (a monstrous legendary bird capable of carrying an elephant). In linking these accounts, Joukhadar coalesces meanings, creating rich starbursts of relationship and firework epiphanies. The hospital has the smell of sickness, and sometimes, of death, like a morgue. Also, when the roc, or destiny, or fate strikes, we hope someone or something will be able to strike back. In Rawiya’s story, she’s good with a slingshot and aims for the roc’s eyes. What is Joukhadar trying to say? How can we fight destiny, fate, the roc? With a slingshot? Is there a part of us that has good aim, that knows instinctively what to do in these situations? This novel is full of these relationships, that kind of hit us upside the head by getting us to think in a different, non-linear way. I particularly like the visual image of the roc descending on its prey. It doesn’t require complex critical thinking skills to want to protect yourself from a creature like this.

Maps and stories are constant themes in ‘The Map of Salt and Stars.’ Nour’s mother paints her map with acrylics. Nour thinks this is stupid because

“things change too much. We’ve always got to fix the maps, repaint the borders of ourselves.”

It makes me think just how quickly our human landscape changes. Our identities, goals, and personalities fluctuate. Our loves shift, our friends gather or disperse, our borders expand or recede. At times our lives will seem like a dream with whitewashed contours; all the while we are looking for a steadfast map, a certain special stone, a place to sit with a friend, or a story with richly layered meanings that will allow us to sit in the skin of another. This is a story like that.

[CanadianReader · Rating 1 out of 5]

So badly overwritten I was unable to persist beyond a few pages. In those pages, salt stains are said to be everywhere because the narrator’s father has just died—enough tears, basically, to drown any interest I may have had in this book. An overabundance of entirely unnecessary similes and metaphors mar this work from the start. Just too much. Why didn’t an editor take this young author in hand?

[Inderjit Sanghera · Rating 5 out of 5]

The narrator’s synesthesia suffuses the narrative with a harlequin array of colours; from the purple-hued breath of individuals she comes across to the glittering reflections of sunlight on cerulean sea, ‘The Map of Salt and Stars’ is a novel whose colouration reflects the world-view of Nour, her sense of despondence over the death of her father, her sense of isolation following her family’s re-migration to Syria and the chaos which ensues but, most importantly, her sense of humanity based on the people she meets and loves, from her mother and sister to Abu Sayeed, ‘The Map of Salt and Stars’ is a testament to human fortitude in times of turmoil, simple acts of kindness which redeem the torrents of injustice and cruelty which Nour experiences, the sense of wonder at the beauty of the world, from the stars in the desert sky to the cartography books in the palace of King Roger-‘The Map of Salt and Stars’ is a celebration of human perseverance, just like the diamond which Abu Sayeed bequeaths Nour which she at first views as being a nondescript rock.

The story follows the journey of Nour and her family as they return to Syria after living in New York. The timing of their return is, however, unpropitious as they are caught up the Syrian Civil War and what follows is a nightmare journey through the Middle-East and North Africa as the family struggle to find safety. Running parallel to this-often geographically, but always spiritually and thematically, is the story of the young girl Rawiya, who embarks on a quest to explore the world. Both Nour and Rawiya resemble one another; both are disguised as-and mistaken for-boys, both have a drive and determination and sense of bravery which they were hitherto unaware of and both of their lives are, despite the tragedies they experience, enriched by their adventures. The thing which, however, gives meaning to their lives and journeys is the people they meet; as Nour’s mother tells her, the destination is irrelevant, what matters in life is the impact you have on the people you meet and the need to live by your own sense of truth.

Joukhadar’s poetic style resonates with the deeply humanistic theme of the book, with the narrator’s synesthesia imbuing the atmosphere with a sense of beauty and uniqueness;

“From my chair, I can just see out the kitchen window between the curtains. An oily mist hangs over the alley, and I can’t tell if it’s twilight or dust. It’s gotten too dark to tell colour. I breathe in through my nose again, desperately wishing for the scene of rain.”

Sounds vibrate vicariously in the mind of the narrator and are translated into colours of limitless hues, often colours coalesce, whether it be the green-blue crepuscular sky or the yellow-hued desert. More than this, however, the central theme of the book is Joukhadar’s humanistic message about those seeking political asylum after the horrors they experience; in an age where those desperate enough to make this journey are often villified, ‘The Map of Salt and Stars’ demonstrates that they are just people seeking to re-gain a sense of humanity and security where circumstances out of their control have led to their lives being put at risk. Perhaps this should be an obvious message, but it is one which is all too often missed.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

3. 5 Stars

There is a lot to love in Joukhadar's debut novel.

Each part begins with an exquisite country-shaped poem, keeping up with the recurrent map theme that this novel centers around.
Joukhadar artfully interweaves the story of Nour's family and their journey from war-torn Syria with the tale her father used to tell her of a young woman adventurer from the 11th century. The two stories mirror each other and overlap in places
The story is filled with poignant themes including handling grief and the search for home.
The writing is beautifully descriptive.
Joukhadar convincingly depicts the anxiety and stress of Nour's family as they become refugees. This family could be mine, and I can imagine myself thrust into this dangerous and unpredictable existence.
Joukhadar's enthusiasm for the ancient tale is palpable. For me this evokes a lovely memory of reading The Tales of the Arabian Nights with our 2 daughters. Her research of the 11th century Middle East is impeccable; she gets it right even to the food and the use of the astrolabe. How do I know this aside from the author's notes? One of my interests is the history of food. One of my husband's hobbies is celestial navigation, and he has an astrolabe as well as several sextants and octants.

So why isn't this a 4 star read?
There is no explanation of the modern day fighting in Syria. The reader is told “I’ve heard lots of rumors — crowds turning on each other, friends taking sides and picking up guns, people accusing each other of making trouble.” and that's it. Then their city and their home is shelled.
The descriptions of the bombing and destruction are told at a remove, and I do not feel any emotion.
There are a few facets of the modern story that I do not find plausible. While I can suspend disbelief for Babba's tale, I cannot for the contemporary narrative.
The ending is too pat.

Despite it's shortcomings this is a worthwhile read. Joukhadar convincingly tells me that all of our stories are part of the same larger story, the same larger map.

When they've gotten as far as Libya (also fighting a Civil War) Nour's older sister tells her, 'We might never come this way again . . .'
"So we walk. Shop awnings and laundry lines block the sun. Satellite dishes crowd the tops of buildings. Taxis dot the streets. On the balcony of an apartment building, I spot a woman with an easel, delicately stroking watercolors across a canvas. She's painting a cityscape. And I think to myself how many people have created beautiful things here, how many people go on creating beautiful things even when life is full of pain."

Publication 2018

[Ingrid · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars

Very atmospheric, lovely writing style.
The story is about Nour who has to flee Syria with her family. It's also the legend of Rawiya, who has many similarities with Nour. Fantastic debut.

[warhawke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Genre: Historical/Literary Fiction
Type: Standalone
POV: First & third person POV
Rating:




After a tragedy befell her family, Nour’s mother moved her children from New York back to her mother’s homeland in Syria. But the move that’s supposed to unite her family, threw them into chaos when civil unrest escalated. Thus began their perilous journey across countries in search of safety, mirroring the one taken by Rawiya, the heroine of her favorite story who taken the paths 800 years earlier.

There’s a moment I remember you can never build things the same way twice, and I wonder if I’ve got things figured out after all, if anything in the world can stay the same.

The beauty of this book came from the parallelism of the dual storylines. Nour (12) and Rawiya (16) started their journey out of desperation but along the way, discovered strength within themselves that made them a hero in their own way. One achieved it in reality, the other one did it in fantasy and neither of them realized how much their lives would change.

“I would have given mine up,” I say. “I wouldn’t mind having more scars, if you could’ve had less.”

I liked Nour’s story with the characters and their plight as a refugee but I was drawn more to Rawiya and her adventures. In both storylines, the author managed to conjure up the locations with vivid imageries.

The Map of Salt and Stars is a tale of finding oneself and overcoming adversity. It would appeal to readers who enjoy a story of humanity infused with history and elements of fantasy.





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[Emily Coffee and Commentary · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolutely amazing story of journeys, what is lost, and what is found. We see through the eyes of a child the nuances of war, immigration, grief, and faith. We see the power of self acceptance, of family ties, and cultural identity. Through parallel storylines, a vivid and unforgettable portrait of maps, both physical ones and the ones we hold within our hearts, is painted with beautiful detail. The style is rich and engaging, with descriptions and characters that make the story feel as if you’re a part of it. Heartbreaking and hopeful, an incredibly relevant coming of age story.

[Petra · Rating 5 out of 5]

“The Syria I knew is in me somewhere. And I guess it’s in you too, in its own way.”

This book is really beautifully written and I found myself getting emotional a few times while reading. I really appreciate that the writer didn't go into the politics of the situation in Syria and chose to focus instead on the humanitarian aspect. I also liked that some of the historical figures and the places they visit are real.

[Janelle Janson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Many thanks to Touchstone Books for my free copy of MAP OF SALT AND STARS by Jennifer Zeynab Joukhadar - all opinions are my own.

This is a gorgeously written, heartbreaking, and inspiring story. It’s written with a unique perspective, not of a refugee figuring out life in America, but of a family who has to move back to Syria because of a tragic loss. Twelve-year-old Nour was born and raised in New York by two immigrant parents, but after her father dies of cancer, her mother moves her and her sisters to Homs, Syria where family can help out. The Syrian civil war is underway and bombs go off in Homs causing the family to flee to safety. Nour copes with the trauma by comforting herself with a story her father used to tell her. We begin to read alternating timelines between Nour and sixteen-year-old Rawiya from 800 years ago. Joukhadar flawlessly weaves the story of Rawiya into the narrative and it’s quite impressive. It’s such a beautiful way to showcase Nour’s bond with her father. This is an exceptional, imaginative, and emotive debut and I loved every part of it.

Nour and her family endure harrowing, dangerous circumstances as they seek refuge in Jordan, Egypt, Libya, and Algeria, while Rawiya’s journey is more enchanting. But both of their stories overlap in geographical conquests, emotional anguish, coming of age, and that home isn’t necessarily a place, but is where your family is. The amount of detail in this story is incredible from the book within a book, to the maps, to the synesthesia, to being submersed in the world of a refugee! All so good!! MAP OF SALT AND STARS is extraordinary, intense, and incandescent.

[Tara · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gorgeous, smart novel that follows 12-year-old Nour through a harrowing journey to find safety after her city is bombed during the Syrian Civil War. I flagged many amazing passages and insightful sentences. Too many to mention. I encourage everyone to read this book to understand the plight of the refugee. Challenge yourself with this important work.

[Joy D · Rating 4 out of 5]

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 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.