Maps

Against the shifting political landscape of the Ogaden plateau, between the Ethiopian Highlands and the Somali border, Askar is born in the midst of turmoil. After his freedom fighter father is killed and his mother dies in childbirth, Askar is raised by Misra, a loving older woman who develops a mysterious, protective bond with the boy. As he struggles to understand where he comes from, and where his loyalties lie, threads of family, nation, and the self become impossible to untangle.

First published in 1986 and dubbed Nuruddin Farah’s masterpiece, Maps is both an intimate coming-of-age tale and a profound meditation on the borders that shape us.