by Jennifer Zeynab Joukhadar
Touchstone, 2018. 360 pgs. Fiction
Nour was born in New York but after her father’s death, her mother moves her and her sisters back to her home country of Syria. But Syria has changed and the violence they encounter soon test their courage and connection to each other. To keep her father’s memory alive and to distract herself from the harsh realities of life as a refugee, Nour shares the stories her father taught her. Nour’s narrative then alternates between her own travels toward hoped for safety and the journey of a Rawlya, a heroine from the twelfth century who traveled the same lands with a legendary mapmaker determined to find both adventure and a way to secure a future for herself and her widowed mother.
This is a timely story of the plight of refugees throughout the world who find themselves without home or country, safety or hope. Nour’s story is heartbreaking but her dedication to storytelling and Rawlya’s parallel adventure lighten the mood and keep the reader from despairing to some degree. The writing here is beautiful as is the author’s description of the diverse scenery both girls travel. For those who enjoyed The Kite Runner or In the Shadow of the Banyan.
CG
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