The Tattooed Map

The readers who were disappointed in this book because the ending was not definitive (Jeeykim, Ms. Gaucher) clearly missed Ms Hodgson's (no relation) intentions. More clearly than any other author I have read, she imbued me with what it is like to BE in Morocco, to try to live a nice logical white-woman American life in this alienating yet seductive, poor and yet rich, land of mystery. And then Livia's own body becomes the mystery. The definitive ending which the readers were looking for would defeat Ms Hodgson's well-rounded taste not only for what it is like to travel in Morocco but what it is like to try to make North American sense of this very alien experience. You can't. So the book didn't. The lesson is to discard your North American cultural maps and learn to construct a new one you will use when you immerse yourself, lose yourself, as Livia was lost to those of us who don't have the map. Livia developed the map -- and developed the ability to be part of the mystery, not the mystified.This is one of my favorite books, part mystery and part travelogue and part work of art: it is beautifully constructed. It is a book to be savored, like fine foreign chocolate, or a savory foreign dish which you know you could never divine what the herbs and spices, let alone the meat, in it are. I never wanted to go to Morocco before I read The Tattooed Map, but it's been near the top of my list ever since I did.

If you are interested in journal keeping, travel, art, photography, languages, people watching, collecting, or Nick Bantock, then this book is for you. Do yourself a favor, mark out a quiet time to sit down with this book and don't get up until you have finished it. It's wonderful, I loved it!!

...as someone who lives in Morocco, I found this little mystery a wonderful snapshot into this deep and sometimes closed culture. If you plan on visiting this special part of the African continent then I'd suggest you add it to your list of pre-arrival reading materials.

I heard of The Tattooed Map on CBC radio here in Canada, where it was recommended as a "best new book". While it is surprisingly small, the attention to detail and the deceptive "travel journal" style are realistic enough to draw you into the story, into the relationship between the lead characters and into the marketplaces and back streets of N. Africa. It combines a sense of the excitement of travel with verisimilitude, and when you put it down at the end, you are dying to read the sequel.

I chose this book at random in the library; one of my favorite habits. This time, I was delighted with my find. Lydia's account of their travels through mysterious Northern Africa soon suck you in. As Christopher and Lydia are characterized, you identify with the traveler that you are; overplanned, with schedules coming out your ears, or laid-back, assuming that the plans will turn out all right. I'm not going to bore you with a synopsis of the book; you can find that on the flap. What I do want to tell you about is the feeling of this book. It's an amazing adventure; you follow Lydia until she disappears, not fully understanding what's happening to her. In the second half of the journal, as Christopher tries to find out where Lydia went, the reader too is making discoveries with him. The last few pages will leave you breathless (how cliched, I know) with the parallels between Christopher and Lydia, despite their differences. This is a thoroughly creative book, reminiscent of Griffin and Sabine, but with an exotic, Mediterranean flavor.