Dark Spaces on the Map

by Anjali Sachdeva

A woman has her memories catalogued for the historical record, and must decide whether or not to divulge a painful and complicated moment from her past.

Genres: Short Stories, Science Fiction, Audiobook, Fiction

1 pages, Audiobook

First published January 1, 2020

Reviews

[Alma · Rating 5 out of 5]

LeVar Burton Reads

"Uau. What a story."

[Jen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dark Spaces on the Map by Anjali Sachdeva

Read by the honey voiced LeVar Burton.

This story did nothing for me. 2, I didn’t hate it and I love LeVar’s voice, stars.

[Chrysten Lofton · Rating 5 out of 5]

5.0⭐ “And they’ll pretend it’s definitive. As if history could ever be that clear.”

**spoilers**

♡ LBR 2021♡

It’s LeVar Burton Reads season 9, and we’re gifted with "Dark Spaces on the Map" by Anjali Sachdeva.

I love this story so much, because there’s so much about life that we get wrong, but it’s still right in a natural sense.

Sometimes, facts get in the way of the truth. Memory is incredibly fallible, but I think sometimes our perceptions and emotions are their own truth. I also think it’s something we’re still coming to terms with and understanding about our species, so this story is a great frame for exploring that.

The contrast of someone who is addicted to information and someone in criticism of information, is absolutely decadent to read and perceive. Great psychology.

The other part of this story that means a lot to me, is the vulnerability in making a serious, irrevocable mistake and being able to open that up to someone willing to listen. It changes the relationship completely and creates trust in real time.

Thanks for reading and If you wanna chat about the latest LBR episodes, hit me up in the comments and meet us at the LeVar Burton Reads: The Official Community on Facebook.

- 📚☕♥

Goodreads Official Star Representation

5 - It was amazing
4 - I really liked it
3 - I liked it
2 - It was okay
1 - Did not like it.

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one spent a lot of time circling around what it wanted to say, but it did get the point across pretty well. An intriguing setting.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading Sachdeva’s Dark Spaces on a Map. A short science fiction story I read via the LeVar Burton Reads podcast. I connected more with this story of Sachdeva’s than I did with the first book I read by her “Killer of Kings” which I reviewed earlier. This story was an interesting commentary on human memory, the details we choose to remember about our lives and what about our past we choose to share with others about our memories and our past. It also brought up some intriguing questions about how we filter our true selves with others and how reliable our memories are and who owns our memories and the potential ethical issues that may arise with preserving our memories and records of important events for future generations.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read by LeVar Burton, which was amazing as always. I found myself amused because I had literally just read an article about a woman who had applied to work for MI5, and was enjoying the process right up until someone approached her and she realized what life is like when you are the one being monitored instead of the one monitoring.

Are these two stories related? No not really, other than the whole 'information out in the world aspect'. I was just amused of the timing.

The story was interesting. It certainly left me with questions. Like... what happened to all the men? what was the event that happened to the world?

All in all it was an enjoyable listen.

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Prompt: A book connected to the phrase "Here (There) Be Dragons

For a short story, it was able to do clear world building and tackle two topics. Like LeVar, I find it intriguing to read about speculative fiction that is set so close to the current time, I either react with, "There but for the grace of God" or "There but for the folly of men." Unfortunately, I kept being reminded of better Black Mirror episodes on the same topic.

[Sandra Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story spoke to me as I am the family historian looking for the stories of my ancestors. I realize that some of their stories will never be told because they were told to someone in a safe place as a secret. It’s ok to have secrets if you have a safe place to tell it. We are all stories in the end, try to make it a good one!

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Levar Reads is my new favorite thing on Spotify! This short story was SO good and so well told by a silky voice I know as well as my own. The story is about what is known and what is unknown and how important it is to tell your own truth and be a witness to your own life.

[Ryan McGranaghan · Rating 4 out of 5]

a map must distort reality

knowing without telling and everything that can come from that

[Chris · Rating 2 out of 5]

LeVar Burton read this to me. Meh.

[Shayzie · Rating 2 out of 5]

For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Is there really such a thing as inaction?

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

An older woman is part of a study about an earlier era of the world