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The Map of Salt and Stars

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The Map of Salt and Stars

Written by: Zeyn Joukhadar
Narrated by: Lara Sawalha
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About this listen

 This powerful and lyrical debut novel is to Syria what The Kite Runner was to Afghanistan; the story of two girls living eight hundred years apart—a modern-day Syrian refugee seeking safety and an adventurous mapmaker’s apprentice—“perfectly aligns with the cultural moment” (The Providence Journal) and “shows how interconnected two supposedly opposing worlds can be” (The New York Times Book Review).

This “beguiling” (Seattle Times) and stunning novel begins in the summer of 2011. Nour has just lost her father to cancer, and her mother moves Nour and her sisters from New York City back to Syria to be closer to their family. In order to keep her father’s spirit alive as she adjusts to her new home, Nour tells herself their favorite story—the tale of Rawiya, a twelfth-century girl who disguised herself as a boy in order to apprentice herself to a famous mapmaker.

But the Syria Nour’s parents knew is changing, and it isn’t long before the war reaches their quiet Homs neighborhood. When a shell destroys Nour’s house and almost takes her life, she and her family are forced to choose: stay and risk more violence or flee across seven countries of the Middle East and North Africa in search of safety—along the very route Rawiya and her mapmaker took eight hundred years before in their quest to chart the world. As Nour’s family decides to take the risk, their journey becomes more and more dangerous, until they face a choice that could mean the family will be separated forever.

Following alternating timelines and a pair of unforgettable heroines coming of age in perilous times, The Map of Salt and Stars is the “magical and heart-wrenching” (Christian Science Monitor) story of one girl telling herself the legend of another and learning that, if you listen to your own voice, some things can never be lost. Coming of Age Fantasy Fiction Genre Fiction Islamic Heritage Literary Fiction Magic Africa Middle East Refugee New York

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This book gave me such a good understanding of the challenges for refugees. The reading was beautiful - accent, pronunciations, intonation. I'm so glad that I listened to this book instead of reading it!

Refugee life

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I wasn’t sure what to expect with the Map of Salt and Stars, especially as my first audiobook experience.

I was engaged from start to finish with this story. Joukhadar’s writing is powerful and gripping, seamlessly tying two stories together and making the reader feel like they’re on the aid ship, in the water or wandering the desert.

Sawalha’s narration was perfectly matched to the story, the characters and the overall feel of the book.

5 stars - I highly recommend this read, in whatever form you read it in.

Powerful, gripping story

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the writing is poetic and beautiful however the political undertones are somewhat reactionary. A story within a story presents a feudal era king as a beacon of progress - somewhat disturbing given that the main story is about people fleeing the violence of a tyrant who is painted by reactionaries (in real life, not in the novel) as a beacon of progress. This coupled with some disparaging comments about the young men who protest that same regime leaves us wondering if the author is truly for the people. there is no neutral or centre position when tyrannical leaders massacre their own people. we must support refugees but also the protestors and freedom fighters standing up against the regime.

beautifully written story

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