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skelleycat's review against another edition
4.0
The first time I heard about this book was in Renae's review, and it definitely piqued my curiosity. Shortly thereafter, I learned that Ronlyn Domingue would be visiting my favorite local bookshop, so I attended the event. I was even more intrigued, even though the event had a certain air of... haught? -- which sort of turned me off. However, since then, I have wanted to read the book (and I regret not buying it then and there), so after months of this little beauty sitting on my shelf (and even after reading a sample of it aloud to my husband), I finally sat down to read it!
Wow.
Okay, it's clear that I enjoy books written in experimental styles. I've always been a fan of artists who are willing to break norms and do what they think might be interesting and/or different. This book is written in second person, which some people probably find quit off-putting, but I very much enjoyed. It reminded me a lot of Snow Flower and the Secret Fan in some ways, but ultimately it was wholly its own, beautiful beast.
The narrative is beautiful, haunting, and eloquent. It's such a treat (for me, at least) to watch a story unfold and unravel from a future viewpoint looking back. Looking back on one's life, talking to yourself -- making you face yourself and be honest (I can't count how many times Aoife told herself: "Tell the truth." or "Admit it." in this book) -- is something I just find utterfly fascinating.
Aside from that, the overall story is full of map-making, magical/mystical elements, intrigue, tragedy, social issues (especially in regards to women), family and relationship issues (I could relate so much to Aoife and her lack of desire for children), idealistic and utopian societies, mistakes, love, travels... I could go on and on. This book might look short, but it is so FULL and RICH and vibrant and heartbreaking that it is enough. I loved every last word.
So why did I only rate it 4 stars?
There are no maps to be found in this book. That highly disappointed me, especially since so much of it revolved around mapmaking and Aoife's connection to it. Perhaps it was a specific choice not to include any maps -- perhaps they wanted the readers to imagine their own maps for Aoife's travels -- but that was a disappointing decision as far as I'm concerned. Alas! At least the words made up for it!
Wow.
Okay, it's clear that I enjoy books written in experimental styles. I've always been a fan of artists who are willing to break norms and do what they think might be interesting and/or different. This book is written in second person, which some people probably find quit off-putting, but I very much enjoyed. It reminded me a lot of Snow Flower and the Secret Fan in some ways, but ultimately it was wholly its own, beautiful beast.
The narrative is beautiful, haunting, and eloquent. It's such a treat (for me, at least) to watch a story unfold and unravel from a future viewpoint looking back. Looking back on one's life, talking to yourself -- making you face yourself and be honest (I can't count how many times Aoife told herself: "Tell the truth." or "Admit it." in this book) -- is something I just find utterfly fascinating.
Aside from that, the overall story is full of map-making, magical/mystical elements, intrigue, tragedy, social issues (especially in regards to women), family and relationship issues (I could relate so much to Aoife and her lack of desire for children), idealistic and utopian societies, mistakes, love, travels... I could go on and on. This book might look short, but it is so FULL and RICH and vibrant and heartbreaking that it is enough. I loved every last word.
So why did I only rate it 4 stars?
There are no maps to be found in this book. That highly disappointed me, especially since so much of it revolved around mapmaking and Aoife's connection to it. Perhaps it was a specific choice not to include any maps -- perhaps they wanted the readers to imagine their own maps for Aoife's travels -- but that was a disappointing decision as far as I'm concerned. Alas! At least the words made up for it!
kjulie's review against another edition
4.0
I have never read a novel written in second person before. I found it to be initially distancing and cold, but once it became familiar, it was enchanting. Domingue has given the world a delicate and genuine fairy tale. This is a novel that would be wonderful to be read aloud, as a poetical story time. Beautiful.
maddiebusick's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Rape, Violence, Child death, Child abuse, War, Xenophobia, Pregnancy, Murder, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, Colonisation, Blood, Animal death, Abandonment, and Confinement
delz's review against another edition
5.0
This was an amazing read. Sometimes it felt like poetry, the words flowed so beautifully. It's set as a fantasy in indeterminate world or time. The protagonist of the story Aoife starts as a small child fascinated with creating maps, first within her home, later the woods near her home. She befriends the prince, Wyl, since her father is his trusted advisor. When the two are adolescents Aoife influences Wyl to go to his father to convince him to allow her to have proper instruction in map making. Because her talent is known the king agrees and so begins the life of Aoife the kingdoms map maker. Aoife's life takes different turns some good some bad, but she learns and grows and because the story is told in second person you feel as if you're there living her adventures. I loved this book and would highly recommend it to everyone.
gnomescottage's review against another edition
2.0
This book was a literary fantasy with a bit of the Fable about it. It wasn't a bad read, but it was a bit too pretentious for me to really enjoy it. (I can't abide a book without quotation marks.) If you don't mind a hipster sort of fantasy, then this might be the book for you. Otherwise, it's probably better to stick with actual fairy tales.
emmylee04's review against another edition
4.0
This book is somewhat difficult for me to review. The book is shaped as a memoir of the narrator, Aoife, who was a mapmaker for her kingdom. Because of this, she has freedoms and opportunities that other women of the time do not have. She travels the world creating these maps, and in these travels uncovers an unknown civilization. The people she discovers have an indescribable peacefulness and seemingly incredible wealth. Two others from her ship follow her as she disembarks and also discover these people. One of these others reports back to the royal family and eventually the wealth of the civilization is discover and a war begins. Aoife, racked with guilt at her part in this, goes to warn the people and is eventually exiled, despite by this time having a very important husband and two children. She is eventually taken in by the other civilization, even as much of it is being torn apart by the war she feels responsible for. She starts her life over, remarries and has another child, who goes on to be a catalyst herself.
The writing style and construction of the book stands out most - being written in second person, wherein the narrator addresses herself as "you." There are elements of magical realism throughout the novel, particularly relating to the discovered civilization. The characters are not always complexly drawn, but since it is written as a memoir from one persons point of view this didn't bother me overmuch. I have seen other reviews complaining about the writing style, but I loved it. My guess is you will be able to tell in the first 50 pages or so if it is something you can get past.
Aoife herself was an interesting character - never really doing anything, but in some ways being a catalyst for all of the action. She primarily reports the happenings of the world through other people's eyes, and so it is more a tale of her growth rather than truly the war she created. I was swept away in her story. At only 212 pages it is a quick read, and I was definitely left wanting more. Recommended.
The writing style and construction of the book stands out most - being written in second person, wherein the narrator addresses herself as "you." There are elements of magical realism throughout the novel, particularly relating to the discovered civilization. The characters are not always complexly drawn, but since it is written as a memoir from one persons point of view this didn't bother me overmuch. I have seen other reviews complaining about the writing style, but I loved it. My guess is you will be able to tell in the first 50 pages or so if it is something you can get past.
Aoife herself was an interesting character - never really doing anything, but in some ways being a catalyst for all of the action. She primarily reports the happenings of the world through other people's eyes, and so it is more a tale of her growth rather than truly the war she created. I was swept away in her story. At only 212 pages it is a quick read, and I was definitely left wanting more. Recommended.
hessionsreadingworld's review against another edition
1.0
I couldn't handle the lack of quotation marks and the second person point of view!
bookwormbecks's review against another edition
4.0
Magical. I look forward to the next book in the trilogy.
jaxreadshere_21's review
3.0
It's not often that I come across a book written in second person, let alone one that does it well! The Map Maker's War was a wonderfully whimsical, fantastical, and sometimes melancholic tale following the life of a mapmaker named Aoife. At times a magical journey that felt almost dreamlike, at other times a contemplation of the brutality of humanity, this story takes its time delving into the myriad emotions and struggles that come along with war, parenthood, societal expectations, love, and finding your place in the world.
abookishaffair's review
3.0
"The Mapmaker's War" was a very interesting story to me. I liked the story itself. There is a little bit of fantasy and a little bit in this book that really drew me in and kept me reading until the last page. This story is definitely very inventive and will be perfect for readers who want their fantasy reading to be unique.
The main character, Aoife (which I strangely learned to pronounce by watching E!'s reality tv show, Chasing the Saturdays, about the British girl band - hah), is fascinating. She becomes a mapmaker's apprentice, which is pretty much unheard of for a woman in her kingdom. I love stories about people who overcome the odds and circumstances of their life to do something really awesome. This is most definitely what Aoife does in this book.
While I enjoyed the story, I was jarred by the entire book being written in second person point of view. I found it very distracting and very difficult to get used to. This book was a slow read for me because of the writing style. I think it takes away a lot from the book. I had to keep re-reading various sections to make sure that I was following what was going on. There are also no quotation marks used, which made it a little hard to follow who was speaking to whom and if there was any internal monologues involved. This aspect also slowed my reading a little bit.
Overall, I really liked the story but I am not sure that the writing was my cup of tea.
The main character, Aoife (which I strangely learned to pronounce by watching E!'s reality tv show, Chasing the Saturdays, about the British girl band - hah), is fascinating. She becomes a mapmaker's apprentice, which is pretty much unheard of for a woman in her kingdom. I love stories about people who overcome the odds and circumstances of their life to do something really awesome. This is most definitely what Aoife does in this book.
While I enjoyed the story, I was jarred by the entire book being written in second person point of view. I found it very distracting and very difficult to get used to. This book was a slow read for me because of the writing style. I think it takes away a lot from the book. I had to keep re-reading various sections to make sure that I was following what was going on. There are also no quotation marks used, which made it a little hard to follow who was speaking to whom and if there was any internal monologues involved. This aspect also slowed my reading a little bit.
Overall, I really liked the story but I am not sure that the writing was my cup of tea.