Much has been written of the Syrian civil war and resulting refugee crisis—seven years’ worth of newspaper articles, television broadcasts, and radio dispatches so far. But Jennifer Zeynab Joukhadar ’14 PhD still felt something was missing from this steady stream of news coverage. 

“What bothered me was that it was so difficult to find first-hand accounts,” she explained. “Specifically, first-hand accounts where the narrative was open, rather than guided by this very popular refugee narrative of gratitude and assimilation. I wanted more open-ended stories.”

Joukhadar’s debut novel, The Map of Salt and Stars (Touchstone), endeavors to tell one such story. We meet 12-year-old Nour in 2011, still reeling from her father’s recent death, as her family moves back to Syria from New York City. When a stray bomb from the escalating conflict destroys their neighborhood in Homs, the family embarks on a cross-country journey to find refuge. This contemporary narrative is intercut with episodes from the centuries-old legend of Rawiya, a 12th-century heroine apprenticed to a famous mapmaker.

Joukhadar and Nour share certain biographical details. Both are Syrian American, grew up in Manhattan, and have synesthesia—a neurological phenomenon where certain sensory inputs such as sounds, letters, or tastes can provoke the sensation of color. For our young protagonist, oil sizzles in a pan in “yellow and black bursts,” pigeons coo “soft blue and purple,” and her beloved uncle speaks in “honey yellow” tones. “I wanted to give her a little bit of brightness in a situation that at times got really ugly,” the author said.