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A Map Of Home (2008)

by Randa Jarrar(Favorite Author)

3.69 of 5 Votes: 1

ISBN

1590512723 (ISBN13: 9781590512722)

languge

English

genre

Historical Fiction

publisher

Other Press

review 1: It's not often (never) that I've read a lighthearted book that takes place in the Middle East so this was a nice change of pace. Nidali has a mother who's Greek & Egyptian and a Palestinian father. She's born in Boston but then grows up in Kuwait moves to Egypt and eventually moves to Texas. She's an entire melting pot all by herself. But for all the exoticness of the main character this story is your basic coming of age story. It feels a little like a memoir as well as the author shares a similar background. But this is fiction.It's a quick easy book to read peppered with lots of humorous anecdotes. Nidali's parents are very colorful characters who engage in frequent bickering laced with a lot of affection. Her father is a poet at heart but an architect by profe... moression & practicality while her mother is artistic and loves to play the piano. Her father is an interesting mixture because he has huge ambitions for Nidali not wanting her to be just someone's wife & wanting her to go to college, but he's also very old fashioned & spends a lot of time trying to stop her from being a 'whore.' Some of this was funny & some felt a little forced. For example the fact Nidali's father beats her regularly is treated very lightly. At one point in the story , she writes that her younger brother Gamal was getting beaten every day and they looked & compared their bruises. The way it's presented is almost like its just one of those humorous things that eccentric fathers do & mothers ignore. At those times I felt humor was used as a distancing tool and we're not seeing Nidali's true feelings. Some of it also seemed made for effect like the letter Nidali writes to Saddam Hussein after her family is fleeing from Kuwait after it was invaded by Iraq. It's funny in an 'aren't you a too cute precocious child' way. Nidali is like that sometimes as well. She's a smart girl but sometimes incredibly disrespectful & rude when talking to her parents. It was surprising as I usually expect that more from American teens. She's probably more restricted than most but certainly defiant. It makes her character interesting but also sometimes unlikable & annoying. There are many positives to this book. For a debut book it shows the author has lots of talent & promise. I do think after the move to Texas towards the end of the book, it lost a bit of the charm of the earlier parts in Kuwait and Egypt but it's still a satisfying read. I'd recommend to people who enjoy coming of age stories. I also think young adult readers would get a kick out of this one.
review 2: A coming of age story written from the vantage point of a teenager who, born in Boston, moves to Kuwait , Egypt and finally at 14 to the United States. She explores her sexuality , her relationship with her volatile parents and her acculturation to the United States and refugee status with intelligence and humor. There is much to grip one in this story. Her name means "struggle" Her father, a Palestinian, is a man without a home as is she thus the title that keeps getting reconfigured thru out the story. This is an wonderful read with many themes. It is informative, revealing and well written. less

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