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4.03 AVERAGE
4.03 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
tense
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:
No
adventurous
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
My library loan expired before I finished. I know enough to understand the author's writing style. With a long list of books to sample, I won't check it out to finish, but I liked the bit that I read.
It's hard for me to give this 3 stars when there are some passages that are poetically beautiful and some lines that are quote worthy. But, I found it very difficult to jump from one story to a completely different story that had no connection for most of the book. I love books with dual story lines, but this one just didn't work for me.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
The description of sounds and smells as colors made the story hard to follow. I expected more description of the refugee experience but felt that large gaps of time were glossed over in a few sentences (waiting weeks for the smugglers to have enough people to transport but the only interaction with the other refugees is the boy). The alternate story of Rawiya also left too much to the imagination.
Switches perspectives and takes a long time to get into
book #18 of 2022: The Map of Salt and Stars (pub. 2018) by Syrian American writer, Jennifer Zeynab Joukhadar, now Zeyn Joukhadar. this author pulled off a miracle in the many things they were attempting and succeeded at. at the same time, this novel contains these, among various other, themes and motifs: the very pressing daily actions of a family immigrating US war on Syria; a coming of age story (a Bildungsroman); a parallel story of myth, recurrent threads of grief and loss; an exploration of identity, what is important, and finding oneself. the lush, lyrical writing, always musing briefly, while remaining firmly rooted in concrete descriptions and the of-the-moment action, creates a beautifully rendered picture of people learning what it takes to survive, through only too real experiences. spun in myth, poetry, and fiction, this tale captivates and reaches you, and offers it’s characters grace. on a related note, the last book I read in 2019 was a book about immigration from an unnamed Middle Eastern city devastated by wars (my words: of destruction and plunder by the West): Exit West (pub. 2017) by Mohsin Hamid. my brief review: a well executed, if kind, view of the immigrant journey and the many and various changes people on such a path must navigate. I recommend The Map of Salt and Stars over Exit West.
I just couldn't get into this one. I have heard it's really good though, so I will probably circle back to this one at some point!