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A review by emmylee04
The Mapmaker's War by Ronlyn Domingue
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.