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4.04 AVERAGE
4.04 AVERAGE
He told Rawiya to be careful of 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.' (ch 1)
'You have to weave two stories together to tell them both right.' (ch 3)
He said, 'People don't get lost on the outside. They get lost on the inside. Why are there no maps of that?' (ch 12)
They say the desert is barren and blank as a person's palm,' Rawiya said. 'But the desert, like a difficult year, is alive with blessings. She kissed her mother's fingers. 'I found more there than I was looking for. I found myself.' (ch 22)
He fits the pieces back together, tucking the metal back between the wood, until the pocketknife is a pocketknife again. He opens his palm, feeling the heft of the mended knife as though being broken isn't something that destroys you. (ch 22)
I think about how the water, like the earth, touches everything. (ch 23)
'I wonder if all maps are stories.' 'Or all stories are maps,' Huda says. I finger the half-stone in my pocket. 'Maybe we're maps, too, our whole bodies.' Zahra leans back and stretches out her arms on the pier. 'To what?' I lean over the water, and my face appears. Ripples stretch my eyes and nose. By a trick of the light, I see Baba's face instead. 'Ourselves?' (ch 23)
'You have to weave two stories together to tell them both right.' (ch 3)
He said, 'People don't get lost on the outside. They get lost on the inside. Why are there no maps of that?' (ch 12)
They say the desert is barren and blank as a person's palm,' Rawiya said. 'But the desert, like a difficult year, is alive with blessings. She kissed her mother's fingers. 'I found more there than I was looking for. I found myself.' (ch 22)
He fits the pieces back together, tucking the metal back between the wood, until the pocketknife is a pocketknife again. He opens his palm, feeling the heft of the mended knife as though being broken isn't something that destroys you. (ch 22)
I think about how the water, like the earth, touches everything. (ch 23)
'I wonder if all maps are stories.' 'Or all stories are maps,' Huda says. I finger the half-stone in my pocket. 'Maybe we're maps, too, our whole bodies.' Zahra leans back and stretches out her arms on the pier. 'To what?' I lean over the water, and my face appears. Ripples stretch my eyes and nose. By a trick of the light, I see Baba's face instead. 'Ourselves?' (ch 23)
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
challenging
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Moderate: War
Minor: Rape, Medical trauma
3.5
Beautiful writing but the novel did not engage me as much as it could have.
Beautiful writing but the novel did not engage me as much as it could have.
The language in this book is so breathtakingly delicate yet robust. It's honest to itself. Many of the books you read imagining the "refugee experience" steal all of the imagination and humanity from those stories, crafting survival narratives (powerful! But not whole). This book doesn't do that - instead leans into magic, and storytelling, and an achingly simple message about how we connect to others, to lovers, and to all of the People Like Us throughout history.
Honestly, I’m thinking of abandoning this one which I do pretty rarely. I have read much bigger books in much less time but I’m just never compelled to read this one, despite the beautiful writing. I enjoyed the story of Nour and her family, but the constant and abrupt switching to the other story from 800 years ago just stopped the flow. Everytime I would get to these parts of the book I found myself scanning through the pages trying to hurry through it: never a good sign. I really wanted to like it, and parts of it I did, but don’t think I’ll be able to get through it:/
adventurous
challenging
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced