Press for The Thirty Names of Night
“The Thirty Names of Night” is a multifaceted jewel of a novel and each facet is brilliant in its own way… This incredibly courageous novel, full of suspense and discoveries, reminds us of the dignity we all deserve and the pain suffered by those who still feel the need to hide themselves.” – The Washington Post
“Lyric, poetic and deeply wise, THE THIRTY NAMES OF NIGHT is a radiant work of fiction that feels like an outright act of healing. Joukhadar weaves an intimate story across generations, and he ties them together in a way that’s both viscerally satisfying and openly enchanting…. Powerful, poignant and deliberately hopeful, its far-reaching impact makes THE THIRTY NAMES OF NIGHT a modern classic that is sure to dazzle readers for a long time.” – Maya Gittelman, Book Reporter
“Joukhadar’s beautiful lyricism throughout the novel will be familiar to fans of “The Map of Salt and Stars” … “The Thirty Names of Night” reminds us that the stories of queer people are stories of survival that span generations.” – USA Today
“The Thirty Names of Night stands out for its lyrical quality [and] its filmic peek into the early-20th-century Syro-Lebanese communities.” – The New York Times
“Ultimately, both Nadir and Laila Z learn how to make space for themselves in a world that tries to reject them, and that space allows their worlds to open up to even further possibilities. This clarifying and moving tale has far-reaching significance and appeal.” – Biz Hyzy, Booklist, starred review
“Gorgeous and alive.” – ⭐️ Starred Review, Kirkus Reviews
“Quietly lyrical and richly imaginative, Joukhadar’s tale shows how Laila and Nadir live and love and work past the shame in their lives through their art. This is a stirring portrait of an artist as a young man.” – Publisher’s Weekly
Indie Next Book Pick, December 2020. “An affecting, multigenerational coming-of-age story about a young Syrian American artist’s discovery of self and the truth behind his mother’s mysterious passing. Featuring alternating perspectives that weave the past into the present, this novel embodies the epistolary not just in form and address, but in the way it reads like a love letter to New York City, especially the immigrant, working-class, and LGBTQ underground of New York. A book with a heartbeat, despite all its ghosts.” — Serena Morales, Books Are Magic, Brooklyn, NY
“Make everyone you know read this!” – Randa Jarrar, author of Love Is An Ex-Country
“Zeyn Joukhadar’s new book is a vivid exploration of loss, art, queer and trans communities, and the persistence of history. Often tender, always engrossing, The Thirty Names of Night is a feat.” – R.O. Kwon, author of The Incendiaries
“Evocative and beautifully written, reading this is like opening a treasure trove of memories and images that shimmer both with light and the darkness of our times. It addresses important issues of migration, belonging, sexuality and love.” – Christy Lefteri, author of The Beekeeper of Aleppo
“Long after the story ended, I remain haunted by Zeyn Joukhadar’s novel, The Thirty Names of Night: part ghost story, part history, part art, all magic. Using gorgeous prose, Joukhadar deftly takes the reader on a journey of migration and belonging, explores the price of silence and of secrets, and tells an exquisite tale of family and love.” – Devi S. Laskar, author of The Atlas of Reds and Blues
“With his second novel, Joukhadar cements his place as one of Arab America’s boldest and most stirring voices.” – Susan Muaddi Darraj, author of The Inheritance of Exile
“History and memory, art and literature, queer and immigrant identities, … self-discovery and exploration all blend together toward a crescendo of heartbreaking brilliance we’ve come to expect from this incredibly talented writer.” — BrocheAroe Fabian, River Dog Book Company
“Enormous in scope and theme, this book is a force.” — Miranda Sanchez, Epilogue Books
Press for The Map of Salt and Stars
“Joukhadar is excellent at interweaving the short sections of [his] storytelling, always holding taut the narrative thread. . . What Joukhadar does beautifully is to connect, in a vivid and urgent way, Syria and the United States. . . The Map of Salt and Stars is important and timely because it shows how interconnected two supposedly opposing worlds can be. Our many stories are part of the same larger tale, part of the same larger map.” – Suzanne Joinson, The New York Times
“Joukhadar brings an intimacy to what is one of the stories of our age. . . Joukhadar’s prose is like a dream, which is fitting for this pair of stories, one drawn from fantastical legend, the other from nightmarish current events from which Syria has yet to awaken.” – Tyrone Beason, The Seattle Times
Starred Review: “The story of a contemporary girl’s flight into exile from the Syrian civil war is deepened by the parallel tale of a 12th-century girl whose journey of discovery covers the same geography in Syrian-American writer Joukhadar’s ambitious debut… Joukhadar plunges the Western reader full force into the refugee world with sensual imagery that is immediate, intense, and at times overwhelming.”
Starred Review: “Joukhadar’s absorbing narrative offers a vividly particular glimpse into the refugee crisis and two unforgettable heroines united by their bravery and hope.” – Katie Noah Gibson, Shelf Awareness
“In [his] debut novel, Joukhadar’s jeweled prose sparkles with fanciful images–hills jostle the travelers over their crests, stacks of textiles wave their hems, bullet casings are iron confetti–and Nour’s keen perceptions add intensity to the writing: “The walls breathe sumac and sigh out the tang of olives… the brick-red ping of a kitchen timer, the green bite of baking yeast.” The result is magic mixed with tragedy as Rawiya seeks fortune and adventure, and Nour seeks safety and home. They may end their quests in Ceuta, but there is still more life to map.… The Map of Salt and Stars is, in sum, a hero’s odyssey, a spellbinding geography of family and hope.” – Marilyn Dahl, Shelf Awareness
Starred Review: “Nour’s family constantly endures hardship… but her young, honest voice adds a softer, coming-of-age perspective to this story of loss, hope, and survival… This imaginative yet very real look into war-torn Syria is a must.“
“In Joukhadar’s intoxicating debut, the past and present are brought to life, illuminating how, in exile, neither can exist without the other. With clear, exquisite prose, Joukhadar unspools a brightly imagined tale of family and grief, mapmaking and migration. This important book is a love letter to the vanished–and to what remains.” – Hala Alyan, author of Salt Houses
“E. M. Forster taught us that ‘fiction is truer than history because it goes beyond the evidence.’ Joukhadar’s magic first novel is a testimony to that maxim. We’ve all been aware of the plight of Syrian refugees, but in this richly imaginative story we see one small family – both haunted by history and saved by myth – work their way west. It’s beautiful and lovely and eye-opening.” – Chris Bohjalian, author of The Flight Attendant and The Guest Room
“The Map of Salt and Stars is the sweeping, thrillingly ambitious tale of Nour, Rawiya, and their parallel searches for home. In twin narratives that unfold eight hundred years apart, Joukhadar captures the unrelenting courage of those who persist amid the trials of exile. A truly remarkable debut.” – Kirstin Chen, author of Bury What We Cannot Take and Soy Sauce for Beginners
“Syrian-American writer Joukhadar has crafted an audacious debut, ambitious and sprawling in both time and space… The Map of Salt and Stars presents an Arab world in full possession of its immense historical and cultural biography, marred by its modern tragedies but not exclusively defined by them.” – Omar El Akkad, author of American War, BookPage
Starred Review: “Joukhadar’s language choices lilt with melancholy, elegy, and images so distinct that the reader can smell, taste and touch the world of [his] creation. . . The major message of The Map of Salt and Stars is that the destruction of a homeland threatens to destroy history, but that history can never die as long as people, like Nour, choose to remember.” – Rebecca Renner, BookBrowse
“The Map of Salt and Stars is a harrowing adventure that treasures storytelling and emphasizes the importance of knowing one’s origin and discovering one’s destiny… this beautifully executed and moving story is unforgettable.” – Mandy Nevius, Seattle Book Review
Staff Pick: “A twin narrative of travel through the Middle East and North Africa… The language is gorgeous, full of color, light, and music. This is a heroine’s journey, with resilient women surviving some of the hardest circumstances. It is also ultimately hopeful–the kind of book you want to read again as soon as you finish it.” – Melanie McNair, Malaprop’s Bookstore
“New book explores the Syrian Refugee crisis: We have all seen the heartbreaking photos of Syrian refugees, but few of us will ever know firsthand what it’s like to be one. THE MAP OF SALT AND STARS… offers an entryway into that experience through the breathtaking story of a family forced to flee their homeland’s violence, personalizing through compelling and lyrical prose a country and a struggle that to many readers exists only in news headlines.” – Ray Hanania, The Arab Daily News
“In [his] rich and often heartbreaking debut, Joukhadar tries to make whole the broken memory of a nation caused by the deadly conflict in Syria… Joukhadar’s vibrant prose brings to life the very real and devastating struggle that many refugees continue to face today.” Allison McNearney, The Best Summer Beach Reads of 2018, The Daily Beast
“A novel about the Syrian war and the refugee crisis, juxtaposing the life of a modern girl fleeing Homs across land and sea and her medieval counterpart, a girl who traversed the same territory while apprenticed to a renowned mapmaker. Simultaneously an homage to Arab intellectual history and a lament of modern chaos.” – Lydia Kiesling, The Millions
“[The Map of Salt and Stars] was a visceral, moving, and necessary glimpse of the crisis in Syria… The story is heartfelt, the prose is masterfully melodic, and the characters (particularly Nour and Huda) are the kind you continue to root for long after the book comes to an end.” – Lavina K., Editor, Audible
The 15 Best Fiction Books Coming Out In May 2018
32 New Fiction Books Coming Out This Summer That You’ll Definitely Want in Your Travel Bag
9 New Audiobooks For Road Trips to Keep You Entertained on the Long Drives of Summer
11 New Books To Read When It’s Way Too Hot To Go Outside
“The Map Of Salt And Stars is a breathtaking voyage through time… Anyone who’s interested in Middle Eastern history, the Syrian refugee crisis or who simply loves good writing and/or a great story should read The Map of Salt and Stars.” – Afoma Umesi
“Full of tension and love and danger… a beautifully told, magical novel about journeys and finding your way home.” – Sarah Shaffi, Stylist, May’s best new books
The Best Books of 2018 (So Far): “Joukhadar’s novel is an important glimpse into the devastating plight of Syrian refugees.” – Nora Horvath and Elizabeth Sile, RealSimple.com
“Joukhadar’s lyrical debut novel introduces readers to 12-year-old Nour and the dangers and grief that Syrian refugees face today.” – Melanie Reynolds, Book Reporter (The Map is also mentioned in BookReporter‘s Weekly Update from May 11 2018.
“The Debut Novel I Want to Read“ – Barbara Hoffert, Library Journal
“Books to Anticipate: Salt tears and our fateful stars: Syrian American author Joukhadar expansively portrays Nour, who arrives home in Syria from Manhattan with her cartographer mother just before civil war explodes, and Rawiya, a widow’s daughter in the medieval Middle East “who dreamed of seeing the world, but she and her mother could barely afford couscous.” Sharply contemporary Nour copies her storytelling father by relating Rawiya’s folkloric-dreamy tale until the two voices deftly blend.” – Barbara Hoffert, Library Journal
“Weaving together two timelines in two different periods of history, Joukhadar’s latest novel begins by following Nour, a Syrian refugee trying to escape the violent conditions of her homeland together with her family. Facing ever more challenging obstacles toward freedom, Nour must eventually make a choice that may separate her family forever.” – Asian American Writers Workshop, 20 New Books by Asian Writers
“Books like The Map Of Salt And Stars are vitally important to read in an increasingly divided, contentious, and difficult world that we live in today. They are also uplifting, encouraging, and a reminder that humanity is inherently good and worth fighting for.” – Hitha On the Go
“In spite of the immediacy and rawness of Syria’s plight in the 21st century, the skill of the author and the depth of [his] writing keep the novel and Nour from falling into despair. It’s a haunting, inspiring story, one which remains in this reviewer’s mind long after the final pages. Highly recommended.” – Historical Novel Society
“Joukhadar’s very original style doesn’t just mix mythology with reality, but bestows a profound poetic vision of reality. Indeed, Nour has a synesthetic imagination, that is, she sees everything in the form of color, even that which doesn’t normally have color, like sounds, smells, and emotions. And in this universe of hers, perhaps aware of being a part of everything, the girl speaks with the trees and with the rocks, with the earth, with the salt and with the stars, in a sharing of which the belligerents will never know, but which, probably, will be her salvation.” – L’Osservatore Romano (official Vatican newspaper)
“Nour brings to life the desperate images of the Syrian War and refugee crisis we see on television. Rawiya’s story reminds us that Nour’s story is not new: we’re all just trying to find our place in the world, to get home… read this now.” – Parnassus Books
“A modern masterpiece, The Map of Salt and Stars is one of the most enlightening and informative books you will read all summer.” – Brooklyn Digest
“Brilliantly composed, thrilling and devastating in equal measure, The Map of Salt and Stars reveals the unbreakable resilience of those rendered most vulnerable in our society and the power in mapping home through people and their stories.” — Zeena Yasmine Fuleihan, Sukoon Magazine
“A novel of exile and longing, homeland and belonging, The Map of Salt and Stars is more than a good companion to the headlines about Syria, reminding us that it was and is more than a theater of war.” — Michael Lee-Murphy, Connecticut Magazine
“Joukhadar’s writing is lyrical, music, a canvas that [he] paints in such vivid colors as you read.” – Jade Anna Hughes, From the Inside
“Focusing on the stories behind the crisis, these new books provide insight into the lives of people caught up in the political situation.” – Sarah Murdoch, Five new books about the refugee crisis in Syria, The Toronto Star
Podcast: Book Riot – Episode 156 – New Releases & More for May 1, 2018
Video: New Release Tuesday, May 1, 2018
Quirky Lady Bookworm Reviews – “Most Anticipated Spring & Summer Reads” – “The Map of Salt and Stars is the epic story of one girl telling herself the legend of another and learning that, if you listen to your own voice, some things can never be lost.”
A “tour-de-force… That it’s a new author’s debut renders it all the more impressive.” – Fran Wood, NJ.com
Authors Round the South – Read This Next List – “A must-read for teens and adults, this is an incredibly moving and lushly described story of family and friends, meaningful culture, changing landscapes, and universal hope.”
“The most gorgeous writing style you’ve ever seen… a superbly-written and moving novel that explores the hellish conditions that Syrian refugees experience at the hands of a cruel, unpredictable fate.” – Nina-Tala, Just Add a Word
“THE MAP OF SALT AND STARS is a must-read for everybody… fiction has the ability to open our hearts and minds and that’s exactly the case here.” – Jennie Shaw, Nails & Tales (with cover-inspired manicure!)
Roundups: The Thirty Names of Night
Roundups: The Map of Salt and Stars
16 of Your Favorite Powerful YA Books About Muslim Americans (Book Riot)
I Libri Più Belli di 2019 (Le Recensioni della Libraia)
NYPL Top 10 Books Checked Out in 2019 (PIX11)
Books By Or About Refugees (Book Riot)
Book Clubs: March 2019 (Bookpage)
100 Books to Read in a Lifetime (2019) (Edarabia)
Favorites of 2018: Exhibitions and books (The Day)
The Best Books to Give and Get: Fiction Picks of 2018 (MPR News)
The Best Fiction Reads of 2018 (Christian Science Monitor)
21 Best Books of 2018 to Buy for the Bookworm in Your Life (Self)
The 13 Most Anticipated Summer Reads of 2018 (Today)
The Ultimate Summer Books Preview (LitHub)
18 Diverse Books to Look for in 2018 (Hothouse Literary Journal)
21 Books You’ll Regret Not Reading in May 2018 (Women.com)
Something to Look Forward To (For the Love of Words)
10 Best Books of May (Christian Science Monitor)
May’s biggest new books (Professional Book Nerds, Episode #223)
New Adult Titles for Summer Reading (Mackin’s Books in Bloom)
The PEN Ten with Cinelle Barnes (PEN America)
The Summer Read Round-Up (The White Company)
Reading the Middle East (River Dog Book Co.)
Best Books from the 2018 POPSUGAR Reading Challenge (POPSUGAR)