This was my first time reading a book from the author but I am delighted to say I thoroughly enjoyed the story and I look forward to reading more books from the writer in the future!

This is a well written, emotional and beautiful story about lost love, regret, estranged family, memory loss, and displacement. The book was a slow burning start. Well-developed and likeable characters that I connected with. Overall a heartfelt story that was a pleasure to read and will stay with me for a while. Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to the author, NetGalley, and Legend Press for an e-ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

Although well written I really struggled to remain engaged in the story. It has many of the elements I enjoy in a story but moved at a pace that made it difficult to stay invested. I would still recommend others read this book as it seems like a pretty solid read, it just wasn’t for me.

This is quite good and well-written. I balk at any description that uses "important novel" in its description, and I'm not sure that criteria was met. But the book is memorable and engaging. I think some readers will get emotional at times which is a sign of good writing. Recommended.

I really appreciate the review copy!!

A touching story about love, love lost, freedom, regret, and the slow burn of age. Theo, the cartographer, lives at the whim of the light switch that is Alzheimer’s. In moving through it he’s reunited with his now adult daughter, Elise, and becomes acquainted by fortunate chance with an Eritrean refugee, Nebay. It was difficult to follow the author’s prose in the beginning, I suspect by design in showing the fluttering of our natural thought process. Once I understood this it was easier to follow through with the read, and I’m glad I did.

This is a beautifully written character based novel about Theo, a man suffering from Alzheimer’s, Elise, his estranged daughter who moves in to take care of him, and Nebay, a refugee in France illegally who becomes Theo’s carer.

The story is more of a slow burn as each character works to heal the heartbreaks of their pasts while learning to rely on one another. I felt that Nebay and Theo’s characters came across stronger through their storylines while Elise’s storyline remained weak. Her back story didn’t parallel as nicely as Theo and Nebay’s did.

The writing did connect me emotionally to the characters. While I felt like the ending did provide closure, I could have used an epilogue to tie the loose ends of Nebay’s story. Overall 3.5 stars for this one!

I love historical fiction. This book presents the question of how France could be the birthplace of enlightenment ideals while still collaborating with Nazi Germany, colonizing Algeria, and discriminating against anyone who isn't "French."

Theo is a retired cartographer with Alzheimer's who is trying to find a long lost love from his youth. His daughter, Elise, has moved in to help take care of him. Nebay, an Eritrean refugee living and working illegally in France, becomes Theo's carer. Nebay encourages Theo to look for Marianne, his old lover.

What really drew me in was the fate of Theo and Marianne and Nebay. I wanted to know if they would eventually find what they were looking for. If they all end up alright in the end. I liked that the book questioned long held beliefs about France. It really opens a window into the refugee/immigrant experience. I liked the story and the plot, but I had some problems imagining what the characters looked like. Up until the end they existed as ideas to me. It also made the beginning a little confusing. I didn't know who the characters were because they kept melting together. This could be to reflect the experience of having Alzheimers? I'm not sure. For me, though, I think that the storyline made up for the lack of character development.