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A Map of Home

by Randa Jarrar (Goodreads Author)

3.67 of 5 stars 3.67 · rating details · 492 ratings · 127 reviews

Nidali, the rebellious daughter of an Egyptian-Greek mother and a Palestinian father, narrates the story of her childhood in Kuwait, her teenage years in Egypt (to where she and her family fled the 1990 Iraqi invasion), and her family's last flight to Texas. Nidali mixes humor with a sharp, loving portrait of an eccentric middle-class family, and this perspective keeps her...more

Hardcover, 304 pages

Published September 2nd 2008 by Other Press (first published January 1st 2008)

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Feb 05, 2012 Karima rated it 4 of 5 stars

I REALLY enjoyed this book. It is HONEST and RAW and RIPE. Love the expletives the characters use like:
"May the caves they live in be their eternal dwellings!"
"Sons of Whores!"
and some other good ones that I am too embarrassed to write.
The dialogue is like bullets flying:
When 12 year old Nidali (the narrator of this story)asks her mother for another glass of water, her mother replies,"Drink your spit."
When the family is forced to leave Kuwait(1990) because it has been invaded by Iraq, Nidali wr...more

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Nov 12, 2008 Becky rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: middle-east-and-south-asia, 2008, refugees-and-immigrants

This book tells the story of a girl, Nidali, growing up in Kuwait during the time before and during the Iraqi invasion, eventually fleeing to Egypt and the US. This book was just okay for me. I felt sometimes that the writing seemed a little forced. I've generally appreciated the perspective of coming of age stories, when stories are told from the point of view of a young person, however I didn't really enjoy it in this book. I think its because the narrator is so spunky and strong and independe...more

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Dec 24, 2008 Jason Pettus rated it 3 of 5 stars

(Reprinted from the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography [cclapcenter.com]. I am the original author of this essay, as well as the owner of CCLaP; it is not being reprinted here illegally.)

(UPDATE, DECEMBER 2008: I heard today from this book's author, Randa Jarrar, who wanted to make a clarification: that not all of her three college degrees are related to writing, but rather with one being in Middle Eastern Studies and a second in the general Liberal Arts. My apologies for the error.)

(...more

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Nov 20, 2008 Andrea rated it 5 of 5 stars

The figurative language and images in this novel are simply breathtaking. There are so many creative surprises and literary pleasure along the way--switching to a second person voice in one chapter, incorporating hilarious compositions in another, referring to Hemingway's story "Hills Like White Elephants" with the title of Chapter Eight, "Tanks Like Green Elephants." The turn of each page brought some other delightful twist.

The characters in "A Map of Home" are memorable, larger than life, and...more

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Sep 07, 2008 C(h)ristine rated it 5 of 5 stars

I love this book. It is a great example, along with Junot Diaz’s writing, of how the voice of a narrator can make you fall in love with a character and what she might have to say before the story really even begins. It is a bildungsroman, starring Nidali, a spunky charismatic firecracker of a girl, who is born in Chicago, grows up in Kuwait and then after war displaces her, moves to Egypt, and then after more difficulties moves to Texas.

I can’t tell you how many times this book had me laughing m...more

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Sep 12, 2008 Katherine rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: newer-fiction

After reading C(h)ristine's glowing review of this book, I feel like a grinch for having given it only two stars, but I am going to stand by my rating.

First, the good stuff: this book is a female coming-of-age novel (a genre I'm especially interested in, though maybe my special interest leads me to be unfairly extra-demanding of them), is definitely competently written, and it maintains a pretty standard tone throughout; that is, there aren't any wildly bad parts or ill-conceived characters or l...more After reading C(h)ristine's glowing review of this book, I feel like a grinch for having given it only two stars, but I am going to stand by my rating.

First, the good stuff: this book is a female coming-of-age novel (a genre I'm especially interested in, though maybe my special interest leads me to be unfairly extra-demanding of them), is definitely competently written, and it maintains a pretty standard tone throughout; that is, there aren't any wildly bad parts or ill-conceived characters or lame plot turns or anything like that. And it is funny. Occasionally the humor seems a little forced, as when 13-year-old Nidali writes in an open letter to Saddam Hussein, who has just invaded her country, "although I admire your sense of fashion, green is SO last season." But that's just one example; there were also real smiles and a few giggles in here for me.

Now, let me try to put my finger on the other stuff. I found the main character to be smart, spunky, sassy, and...hard to engage with. She has interesting daydreams, and notices interesting things about other people, but there's some kind of critical mass or energy that, for me, the book doesn't quite reach. Kuwait is taken over, but Nidali's family gets away pretty easily. Nidali's father has a violent temper, but the family never goes totally dysfunctional. This non-drama drama may be more like life than much fiction, but it didn't satisfy my readerly desire for excitement and direction.

I'm not sure, but I think that my unease may have something to do with the fact that the main character has so much in common, biographically, with the author. Randa Jarrar, like Nidali, was born in the US, raised in Kuwait and then Egypt, and moved with her family to the US in her teens. Could this have been a memoir? Certain things are different; for example, Nidali has only one sibling, while Jarrar has two. I know that biographical speculation about an author is unfashionable, and in some ways dangerous, but in a case like this (and in a literary climate where memoir is still huge), it's hard not to wonder how true to life the story is. I found myself imagining that I'd have been happier if Jarrar had taken one of two alternative routes: either given us a straight memoir, in which case I would have been impressed with her courage to reveal so much of herself, or fictionalized the book more, in which case there could have been more incident, some point at which I felt worried about Nidali or her family's physical safety or emotional fate.(less)

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Apr 30, 2012 Ron rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: nonfiction

This book is laugh-out-loud funny, while telling an entertaining and sometimes moving story of an Arab family's 17-year journey from America to Kuwait to Egypt and back to America again. During that time, its narrator Nidali grows from her arrival as a newborn at a hospital in Boston to her departure from home for college. Hers is a tightly-knit family, her father Palestinian and her mother Egyptian. From beginning to end there are stormy scenes between parents and between parents and children....more

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Feb 21, 2012 Sarah B. rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: didn-t-finish, given-away

Hmmm. I wanted to like this book, and it's about subjects I am drawn to (such as girls' lives, the Middle East, having crazy parents, living through political upheaval, emigrating to Texas, and being boy-crazy). However, I found it difficult to engage with this book, mostly because there is very little tension in Jarrar's writing. The only crisis in the book was that the main character, Nidali, is coming of age. Other than that, the story was simply a series of anecdotes, with no story arc, no c...more

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Jan 11, 2010 Mandie rated it 3 of 5 stars

The most significant thing about this book is that it made me miss Jordan. The character in the novel talked about how her favorite food was za'ater burgers. My favorite thing to eat was "za'ater pizza." All za'ater is is a mixture of thyme, oregano, marjoram, sesame seeds, and salt, but for some reason, that combination on a piece of flatbread with a little crumbly goat cheese is a delicious flavor. It's a comfort food I had forgotten.

Nidali is half Egyptian and half Palestinian, growing up in...more

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Oct 06, 2009 Kat Bryan added it

I read this thinking it was a true story – I don’t know why. And thinking it was real, I didn’t like how the author wrote about her life. Now that I’m done and realize that it IS a novel, I still don’t like the story very much but I did find it very interesting. The tone of the book was somewhat juvenile like a young girl really was telling the story. It does do a good job of portraying life in the Arabic countries, putting a fresh spin on the life of a young girl there.

The book is reviewed as ‘...more

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Apr 26, 2013 Yvonne rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: around-the-world, coming-of-age, family-drama, humor, young-adult, set-in-kuwait, set-in-egypt, library-book, historical-fiction

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 s...more 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 profession & 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. (less)

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Jul 02, 2010 Meaghan rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: childrens-young-adult-fiction, read-in-2010, adult-novels, around-the-world

This is a fairly typical coming-of-age story, beginning with the birth of the narrator, Nidali, and ending when she goes away to college. The most atypical thing about it is the unusual setting and the characters' unusual national/ethnic origin. Nidali was an Arab girl born in Boston, raised in Kuwait, where her younger brother was born. Her father was Palestinian and her mother Greek/Egyptian. After the 1991 invasion of Kuwait, the family fled to Egypt, then moved to America when they realized...more

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Aug 31, 2009 E. Anderson rated it 5 of 5 stars

Nidali has an American passport, since she was born in Boston. Her Mama is Egyptian and Greek, her father is Palestinian, making Nidali "half-and-half." Growing up in Kuwait, she never quite feels at home - she has her friends, but she is on a different wavelength. She is a smart girl, but it's never quite enough for her father, a man who expects her to become a famous professor. While the story of her parents' courtship is one she remembers, somehow, with fondness, Nidali now deals with the alm...more

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Apr 23, 2009 Nancy rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is Randa Jarrar's first novel and it left me wondering what her second would be like...because this one packed a WHOLE LOT of major themes into 190 pages. It was as if she just had SO MANY stories to tell that they all burst out at once. They are very good stories, very well told, but I think the book would have been better if she had tightened her focus.

The narrator is young Nidali (her name means "My Struggle" and the story of how she got it is the main reason I read the book - ver'ver' f...more

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Feb 18, 2009 Danika rated it 4 of 5 stars

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I'm sure everyone on the bus was wondering why I laughed out loud so much. It's a riotous story of a rebellious teenage girl- following her from Kuwait to Egypt to Texas. Yet another great coming of age story. The interactions between Nidali and her parents are priceless. I did get a little tired of the abusive dad, but still well worth a read. Look forward to more from this emerging author.

1 like · like · see review

Sep 13, 2009 Derek Emerson rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2009-books-read

The coming of age novel is a traditional and logical starting point for any aspiring novelist. In this time of many books and fewer readers, the challenge is to create a unique voice which can be heard above the din. In Randa Jarrar's debut, "A Map of Home," we find a voice which rises above the din to give us a modern and insightful look at how more young people come of age. Jarrar's own international upbringing lends support to her creation of Nidali, born in Boston to a Palestinian father and...more The coming of age novel is a traditional and logical starting point for any aspiring novelist. In this time of many books and fewer readers, the challenge is to create a unique voice which can be heard above the din. In Randa Jarrar's debut, "A Map of Home," we find a voice which rises above the din to give us a modern and insightful look at how more young people come of age. Jarrar's own international upbringing lends support to her creation of Nidali, born in Boston to a Palestinian father and Egyptian/Greek mother, raised in Kuwait, chased by the Iraqi invasion into Egypt and eventually landing in Texas all on her way to turning 16. While hardly the resume of most teenagers, Nidali's unusual journey reflects the growing international background of the United States. Children are no longer simply immigrants from one country, but instead a biological and geographical mix of many places.

Nidali is an honest narrator and the reader feels at times drawn and at times embarrassed by the decisions and actions of this young girl. Her father (her Baba) hits on her a regular basis, but Nidali sees this as normal for her culture and Jarrar withholds judgment. This is Jarrar's strongest trait as a writer -- her ability to trust her story and her narrator without creating explanations. A coming of age story in which we learn too many "lessons" will cease to be a coming of age story, instead resembling a how-to book for parents and their adolescents. Here we see things as Nidali sees them, and her view is wider than that of her family, in part because she is the sum of different parts. She is forced to examine herself in the context of different nationalities and cultures in order to understand herself and her family.

Much of her young life is spent in Kuwait where she excels at school, explores her sexuality, and deals with the drama of family life. Baba is a frustrated poet who works as an architect, and mother is a frustrated concert pianist who finally obtains a piano and spends her days playing Chopin and ignoring her "wifely" duties. A thinly sketched younger brother hovers in the background, but Jarrar never really fleshes him out so he tends to simply serve as a foil to others. When Iraq invades Kuwait they eventually flee to their summer home in Egypt. Along the way one car burns up, Nidali's first period arrives, and Baba bribes guards with whiskey or selections from his collection of silk ties.

After the war is over Baba is told he cannot return to Kuwait since he is Palestinian, and he eventually lands a job in Texas. When the family joins him they end up in a trailer home, Nidali finds her way through school, and her mother puts up with being asked if she speaks Spanish. Jarrar does an excellent job of pointing out how difficult this transition can be. Even Nidali, who is usually two steps ahead of her family in figuring out the cultural landscape, has to be dressed by some new found friends. We also find the familiar immigrant struggles of which language is to be spoken, the clash of old and new cultures, and the quicker acclamation of the culture by the youngest in the family. The story culminates in Nidali's need to decide between staying with her family or moving into yet another landscape for college.

The title, "A Map of Home," fits well for an understanding of the book. She realizes that her map, like that of Palestine, is constantly shifting and is at times of her own creation and at other times created by outside forces. But for such a constant traveler her map of home is something she carries within and redraws as she moves forward in life.

Jarrar pulls this off with a fast moving narrative style which does not shrink from the realities of growing up in what at times are life threatening circumstances. This book came out of Jarrar's work in her Master of Fine Arts program and at times it betrays the overwriting of a writer who may yet be seeking to trust her own voice. It is one which should be trusted since Jarrar has the potential to add a fresh voice to the literary landscape.(less)

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Aug 22, 2008 Karen rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: review-copy

"Rare is the book that makes one stay up to finish it; this is one of them, simultaneously circling in its family dramas and
spiralling outwards in its connections to history and place. Adult and teen readers alike would enjoy Nidali’s honest portrayal..." (Bookbrowse.com review).

Author interview.

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Jul 24, 2012 M rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Muna Al-Ali

A sharp, humorous and candid look at growing up in both the Middle East and the US, 'A Map of Home' is the story of Nidali, a half-Palestinian, half-Egyptian girl whose family must abandon its home in Kuwait following the rise of Saddam Hussein. The book is divided into three parts: Life in Kuwait before Saddam, life as refugees in Egypt, and finally life as immigrants in Texas. It is in the first two halves of the book that the story truly shines, presenting an honest and often painfully (liter...more

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Jul 13, 2012 Caitlinleah rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: kick-ass-muslim-girls

i'd have to go over my list to make sure, but probably the best book i've read all year. i gave it to lisa for her birthday, and she loved it and told me to read it because i would love it too and she was right. i want anyone who's ever said "all those arabs are the same" to be read this book. it's full of great nuances like how her dad's palestinian family loves her mother because she talks arabic like a movie star. Yet for all her drawing her own map of home, trying to figure out where she's f...more

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Mar 19, 2013 Amanda McG rated it 2 of 5 stars

A little random at times, not nearly as funny as it thinks it is, A Map of Home reads like a second draft an editor somewhere mistakenly sent to press. Nidali was cute as a very literal little girl, but the simple language Jarrar uses to narrate her young protagonist lacked charm. And then she grew into quite the asshole teenager who showed promised as a writer whose voice and prose had occasional poetic wit. Unfortunately, this wit is underdeveloped and inconsistent. I thought maybe Jarrar inte...more

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Oct 10, 2008 Sandy D. rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult, historical-fiction, middle-east, favorites, united-states, funny

I've read a lot of memoirs about the Middle East, but this one was unique. The author's humor, her incredible use of language (including bad language!), and her ambition and love for life really made reading it a joy. I hope she writes a lot more books.

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Jan 01, 2011 Eliza Loomis rated it 4 of 5 stars

A raw tale of transplantation and the development of identity. This book adds little new to the writings on immigrants (such as that by Jhumpa Lahiri) but is one of the first of these sorts of novels aimed at young adults. The emotional range of the book is vivid and cultivates emotions that strongly mimic adolescence. The protagonist is endearing and familiar and her journey from Kuwait to Egypt to America is riveting and mostly hilarious. Fair warning though, the tone can be shaky as intense a...more

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Oct 28, 2008 Heather rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: anyone

Now this was a good time. I'd read a bit about the author and the book at maudnewton.com, and it sounded like just the thing I needed--funny, vibrant, poignant, and otherwise just delicious. I loved Jarrar's style and wit.

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Sep 29, 2012 Nadia rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction-without-wizards

This is one of those books that's kind of hard to sell. Like you look at the summary and can easily think "do I really need to read another coming of age story about a kid whose background coincidentally matches the author's" cause honestly I sure as hell normally don't have much interest in reading those but in this case: yes, yes you do. Randa Jarrar is one of those writers that could read the phonebook to you and somehow make the whole thing riveting and funny and make you want to devour it c...more

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Jan 21, 2011 Pat rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Interesting and quick read about a girl, Nidali, born in Boston to a Egyptian-Greek mother and a Palestinian father. They move shortly thereafter to Kuwait and are driven out by the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait when Nidali is 13. They flee to the family's summer home in Egypt then move to America (Texas)when Nidali is 14. All this serves as a backdrop to the real story which is the childhood and coming-of-age perspective of Nidali herself---we hear of the quirky interactions amongst the family membe...more

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Sep 07, 2009 Alice Meloy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Growing up in Kuwait, Egypt and Texas, Nidali is never sure exactly where she belongs as a smart, female, Muslim, part Palestinian, Greek and Egyptian immigrant. Forced to flee Kuwait during the first Gulf War, 14-year old Nidali and her piano playing mother and poet/architect father seek to start a new life in Egypt. But the lack of employment opportunities drives them to immigrate to the United States. In a perfectly pitched voice, Nidali chronicles her family's odyssey with passion and a caus...more

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Jan 19, 2009 Nilay rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: advisory-books-08-09

This was a coming of age tale about a girl named Nidali who grows up in Kuwait, but has to move with her family to the United States after the Iraqi invasion. The metaphors and imagery of the setting used by the author were intriguing. The story starting with a young narrator in another country gave it a unique point of view. I was able to imagine how kids in another country (Kuwait) like to spend their free time and what kinds of games they play. Family relationships were also interesting to re...more

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Dec 11, 2010 Ari rated it 4 of 5 stars

This was quite an amusing tale although at times, I wondered how it was possible for such a young child to be so witty. I'm not a big fan of authors using children to make their points about life because it never seems convincing to me. But maybe I just didn't know many witty children growing up. Not only is Nidali witty but she's also very observant. She notices things about her parents and other relatives that I had a hard time believing she noticed. It don't bother me too much once I really g...more This was quite an amusing tale although at times, I wondered how it was possible for such a young child to be so witty. I'm not a big fan of authors using children to make their points about life because it never seems convincing to me. But maybe I just didn't know many witty children growing up. Not only is Nidali witty but she's also very observant. She notices things about her parents and other relatives that I had a hard time believing she noticed. It don't bother me too much once I really got into the book though because Nidali is a gratifying narrator. The way she tells the stories of her family's history and describes them constantly cracked me up. The material comes from somewhere though and I couldn't believe some of the antics her mother and father engaged in, at times it seemed childish. No less entertaining though. I also loved the more obscure facts about Kuwait and the Middle East and the way the history facts were stated. For example, "[h]e remembers the stories about Arabia, how disputes over property, family allegiances, gold, and women were all solved by two warring poets who stood on top of a big, sturdy boulder. The poets rhymed until one was defeated, solving the case. Gamal knows he's not black, but he comes from the home of the original rap battle." (pg. 245). Very cool outlook.

A Map of Home is an admirable debut in part because it so candidly discusses the confusion of sexuality. Nidali has relationships with a guy and a girl but there doesn't seem to be an obvious answer at the end as to who she prefers. Nidali's father seemed more often than not to be unreasonable and overbearing, but there are some tender family moments. The writing style was engaging. Smooth, laced with humor and details about daily life in Kuwait, mother-daughter relationships, father-daughter relationships, first like/love, etc. it covers a lot of topics but it's never heavy handed. There was a line that really resonated with me in the book, "[t]here's a moment when most children know their childhood are over." (pg. 124), I'm not sure I every had such a moment, and if I did, I never noticed it. The thought was intriguing nevertheless. There is a lot of struggling throughout Nadali's life, perhaps more than some, since she lives during the Iraq invasion of Kuwait. The backdrop of the Middle East and the strength and independence of Nidali's voice kept me turning the pages.

(less)

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Nov 14, 2009 Beth rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: literary_fiction

This is a beautifully written first novel. The first-person narration is carefully crafted--a convincing voice of a young woman growing up with a foot in (at least) two worlds. I appreciated, too, the chance to learn something about Kuwait, especially during the time of the first Gulf War, and get a glimpse of what ordinary Kuwaitis might have thought about the U.S. at that time. The complexity of the characters' views of America rang true for me--the U.S. was simultaneously savior and oppressor...more

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Apr 04, 2009 Alexis rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2009

I felt this book was uneven. The parts that were good, were really, really good, but there were parts that just weren't as interesting or convincing. I really enjoyed the main character's voice and reading about her life in Kuwait. Of particular interest to me was the section in which the family had to escape due to the Gulf War. I also liked the depiction of the narrator's sexual awakening and sexuality. Still, I felt somewhat dissatisfied with this book.

The cultural details were quite fascinat...more

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About Randa Jarrar

Randa Jarrar is the author of the critically acclaimed novel A Map of Home, which won a Hopwood Award, an Arab-American Book Award, and was named one of the best novels of 2008 by the Barnes and Noble Review. Her work has appeared in Ploughshares, Five Chapters, The Oxford American, Salon, The New York Times Magazine, Guernica, Utne, and the Progressive, and she was selected for Beirut39, which ce...more

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Books by Randa Jarrar

Dinarzad's Children: An Anthology of Contemporary Arab American Fiction

The Year of the Revolutionary New Bread-making Machine

Million Writers Award: The Best New Online Voices

Skive Magazine - Issue 10, December 2008

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