Book No 131 on My Worlding Reading Journey - Jordan.
Comprising two interwoven narratives, the novel follows Nour, the present-day protagonist whose flBook No 131 on My Worlding Reading Journey - Jordan.
Comprising two interwoven narratives, the novel follows Nour, the present-day protagonist whose flight from a war-torn Syria parallels the journey of her imaginary heroine—Rawiya, a medieval mapmaker’s apprentice. Guided by a map that her cartographer mother paints in acrylics, Nour also follows Rawiya’s journey—traveling from Syria, through Jordan, Egypt, Libya, Algeria, and Morocco, before arriving in Ceuta.
"The Map of Salt and Stars" takes place during the ongoing Syrian Civil War, focusing heavily on the experiences of refugees fleeing the violence and destruction caused by the conflict. The journey through the countries emphasizes the affect of the war on each country visited.
Jordan, especially, houses many Syrian refugees. Nour and her family stay there with relatives on their way to her father's brother in Ceuta.
The book is quite good as it immerses the reader in the experiences of Nour, her sisters and her mother.
The story starts in South Africa when Charlotte De Granville enlists the help of a detective to tail her hNo 128 on My World Reading Journey - Comoros
The story starts in South Africa when Charlotte De Granville enlists the help of a detective to tail her husband and identify his marital indiscretions.
That detective is Tony Moretti, our hero. His 'research' eventually takes him to Comoros, where he meets Lisa, daughter of Mr. De Granville. De Granville, whose real name is Colonel Bob Devereaux, stages a coup in the Comoros.
The genre of the book is described as noir. Noir - dark and with a hero who is cynical.
This book was not popular with lots of people. Notice the 3.14 rating. I liked it!! The author's similes and metaphors made me smile multiple times.
Examples
"It was time to separate the bull from the shit."
"a sausage cut in four with the pieces on opposite poles to make it a balanced meal."
The book was overly long and sometimes I did not know where the story was going. I DID like the ending. Things got tied up nicely.
The book covered the finding and amassing of the manuscripts, how Al Qaeda overran the country in ordMali - my 126th stop on my World Reading Journey.
The book covered the finding and amassing of the manuscripts, how Al Qaeda overran the country in order to reform the people of Mali and destroy their literature and music, and how France and the United States played a part in vanquishing Al Qaeda and getting the manuscripts moved out of harm's way.
This book is about Islamic Manuscripts. The creation of these manuscripts range from the 13th to the 20th century, with most of them being made during the Mali Empire (1230–1672).
Abdel Kader Haidara was a small boy when he first learned about the hidden treasures of Timbuktu. His father, Mamma, collected manuscripts. Abdel became enthused about manuscripts early in life.
He was approached by the director of the Ahmed Baba Institute. The purpose of the Institute was to find and save these Islamic manuscripts. The director had built up the archive from nothing—starting with the fifteen manuscripts borrowed from Mamma Haidara’s collection. A team of eight prospectors scouted for more. They embarked on one hundred separate missions in search of manuscripts. In a decade of driving through the bush in a convoy of four-wheel-drive vehicles, they had accumulated just 2,500 works. There were many thousands more out there. After decades of thievery by the French colonial army, the owners of the manuscripts had become fiercely protective of them and deeply distrustful of government institutions. At first reluctant to get involved, Haidara was finally convinced that it was his DUTY to find these documents and he did get involved.
Abdel was able to procure many more. The latest count was over 300,000 manuscripts. Then Al Qaeda invaded Mali with the intent of "purifying" the resident Muslims, and ridding the culture of literature and music. They were enforcing Shariah Law to the utmost, removing body parts from the people who did not comply. They also burned manuscripts and destroyed musician's instruments.
The French came in to help. The country had originally been named French West Sudan. The French still felt a protective involvement. They came to defeat the jihadists.
It was vital to get the manuscripts out of Timbuktu. The United States Ambassador, Vicki Huddleston got involved.
My eyes were opened by this book. I did not realize where Timbuktu was located and had hardly processed the Islamic influence in Northern Africa including the Al Qaeda terrorism.
I encourage you to read the publisher's description of the book. It gives you player names and clarifies the timeline.
The book is not an easy read but I was able to procure the audible and the flow made the understanding easier. I like to listen to audible to hear the pronunciations of places and name with which I am not familiar. There were many incidences of clarified word pronunciation provided.
I liked the book but know it is not for everybody.
"Cacao, “the food of the gods,” was once so valued that, in ancient tNo 120 in my Reading the World Quest
Country: Cote d'Ivoire
From the Author's Note:
"Cacao, “the food of the gods,” was once so valued that, in ancient times, its beans were used as money. Today, we have turned it into a cheap sweet we consume thoughtlessly, but cacao still comes at a terrible cost."
"Today, almost three-quarters of the world’s cocoa is grown in Africa, with 40 percent coming from the Ivory Coast alone."
The profit margins are slim in this industry of growing the bean. "Thus, many turn to free labor: modern-day slavery. Too often, that labor comes from children."
The story and characters:
Tara Sullivan’s young adult novel, The Bitter Side of Sweet, provides an account of modern-day child slavery in Ivory Coast, Africa. Although fictional, the story highlights the dark reality of the cacao industry as Sullivan chronicles the journey of three children to freedom.
Amadou - Fifteen-year-old Amadou is the novel’s protagonist and narrator. His main focus is keeping his brother safe.
Seydou - At just eight years old, Seydou is the youngest boy on the farm.
Both of the boys were stolen from Mali, the country north of Cote d'Ivoire. According to the map at the front of the book, the cacao is grown in the southern part of the country north of the coast. They ARE far from home.
Kahdija -Thirteen-year-old Khadija is the first and only girl to come to the cacao farm. She has her own story of how she got to the Cacao Farm.
The story chronicles the relationship of the three and how they finally get away from the farm.
This is one of the better Reading the World books I have read... notice the 5 stars.
Geography lesson is one of the reasonReading the World No 119 Laos
This is one of the better Reading the World books I have read... notice the 5 stars.
Geography lesson is one of the reasons why. I can picture the Mekong River dividing Laos and Thailand.
However, it is the character of Dr. Siri Paiboun that really intrigued me. He is a doctor, 72 years old, and has been conscripted as the National Coroner. And he thought he could retire; the Communists had a different idea.
He has two assistants. Mr. Geung has Down's Syndrome, but also a phenomenal memory for detail. He reminds Siri constantly of procedures that Siri has forgotten. Dtui is a nurse and begs to be trained as Siri's assistant, hoping to become the next Coroner. Siri is happy to oblige.
The joke between G and S is a daily question: "Do we have any customers today?" You know, did any dead people walk in?
Most of the time the answer is no. But then things get busy. Mrs Nitnoy dies suddenly. Her husband tries to speed up the coroner's report. Is it murder?
Then there are two boatmen who show up dead in the river. What is the story there?
Another thing that Siri becomes involved in is answering why politicians from the South are dying faster than flies. Maybe the Hmong have killed them with potions.
For the most part, I have been reading 1 book per country, but this series has me hooked, and it might get me to read more.
Does a great job of describing Namibian culture and geography.
The Country No 113 in My World Reading Quest
Namibia
EXCELLENT BOOK!! A real page turner.
Does a great job of describing Namibian culture and geography.
The characters are many in number but the secrets they keep are amazing and I believe all gets resolved in the end.
Here is what the author has to say:
During recent years, my family and I had the privilege of living in Windhoek, Namibia. We found Namibia to be a stunning country. The sheer expanse of the landscape renewed my hope for our planet, while the Namibians we met, as diverse as they are, were funny, fascinating, and welcoming.
As an expatriate in a nation where few Americans reside, I was also lucky enough to befriend several U.S. State Department employees and their families. These were delightful, smart, and brave men and women who had dedicated their lives to representing and defending our nation. I admired them greatly. Admiration, however, does not make for good comedy, which is why I took many satirical liberties in the name of a story. I hope the dear friends I made in Namibia will forgive me. Making stuff up is the whole job.
Except the part about our American president at the time bungling the name of the magnificent country of Namibia and calling the entire continent of Africa a shithole. That totally happened. It was nuts.
The Jaguar Smile is Salman Rushdie's first full-length non-fiction book, which he wrote in 1987No 110 in my Reading the World Journey
Country Nicaragua
The Jaguar Smile is Salman Rushdie's first full-length non-fiction book, which he wrote in 1987 after visiting Nicaragua. The book is subtitled A Nicaraguan Journey and relates his travel experiences, the people he met as well as views on the political situation then facing the country. The book was written during a break the author took from writing his controversial novel, The Satanic Verses.
After a period of political and economic turmoil under dictator Anastasio Somoza Debayle, the leftist Sandinista National Liberation Front (commonly known by the initial FSLN or as the Sandinistas) came to power in Nicaragua in 1979 supported by much of the populace and elements of the Catholic church. The government was initially backed by the U.S. under President Jimmy Carter, but the support evaporated under the presidency of Ronald Reagan in light of evidence that the Sandinistas were providing help to the FMLN rebels in El Salvador.
Rushdie's three-week trip to Nicaragua in the summer of 1986 was at the invitation of Sandinista Association of Cultural Workers which was billed as, "the umbrella organisation that brought writers, artists, musicians, craftspeople, dancers and so on, together under the same roof".
I appreciated both Rushdie's candid appraisal of the situation as well as his trips to both the Pacific and the Caribbean Coast.
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