Maps by Nuruddin Farah

Maps by Nuruddin Farah
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Monalisa's 3-paragraph review of Maps by Nuruddin Farah

This is a coming of age story about a Somali boy (Askar) who is raised by a female Ethiopian servant (Misra) who is employed by his family. The story is set in the country of Somalia which is located in the "Horn of Africa." The political backdrop of the story is the 1970s Ogaden War between Ethiopia and the Western Somali Liberation Front. I knew little about this conflict before reading the book, but now I know that many ethnic Somalis live in the Ogaden, though it is part of Ethiopia.

What I like most about this book is the author's examination of the relationship between Askar and Misra. Askar's parents are both dead and he ends up living with his paternal uncle. It is there that he is placed in the care of Misra. Askar is a peculiar child. He struggles to come to terms with the circumstances of his birth as he searches to find his place within his uncle's household. He forms an almost unnatural bond with his caregiver Misra, which the author spends a lot of the book describing. Sometimes the author's prose is cryptic and I wasn't sure whether or not Askar was daydreaming. At first I found this annoying, but then I came to believe that this was the author's way of letting the reader into Askar's stream of consciousness.

Upon adolescence, Askar moves away from Misra into the home of his maternal uncle, located in the Somali capital, Mogadishu.  While living with his uncle he come to take on more of Somali identity and he sympathizes with the aims of the Western Somali Liberation Front.  When Askar hears that Misra has collaborated with the Ethiopian force that occupied his paternal uncle's village, he is determined to find out if these accusations are true.  And when Misra comes to visit, he has conflicting feeling about the woman who, for all intents and purposes, was his Mother.

Overall I enjoyed reading a story set in Somalia, although I found this particular one a bit slow-moving. I wanted to care more about the main character, but I never really made a connection with him or Misra. After reading this book I would definitely read another by this author. It also makes me want to read more about Somali history and culture. My rating for this book is 3.5 out of 5 stars.


View all my reviews