“Maps are love letters written to times and places their makers had explored.”
Author: Peng Shepherd
To us, maps may just be a means to an end, a way to navigate from point A to point B. But what are maps, actually? They are visual storytellers, magical doors that go beyond mere navigation to reveal the heart and beauty of a place, even its secrets.
This is how Nell Young felt her whole life, learning from her esteemed father, Dr. Daniel Young, who is a legend in the field of cartography and high-up in the map-lovers academic paradise, the New York Public Library. But when Nell finds a map as a young intern that she thinks will make her mark in the world of cartography, her hopes are permanently dashed. Her father excommunicates her and her then-boyfriend from the field. The two haven’t spoken since. The enmity is rife, and now that Dr. Young is dead, Nell is struggling with her feelings for him and with the secret he left her: the map that started it all. The map that, apparently, is the last of its kind. The simple, old gas station map that people are now killing to own.
The Cartographers is magical realism at its finest, interweaving the complexities and heartbreaks of found families, the betrayals of friends and lovers, and the actual, real magic of maps. Because, of course, the map Nell found is dangerous. Not because of what it reveals, or the secret places it lets you go, but because of its backstory and the person who is obsessed with it.
The story is told in two pieces. The first (less interesting) part involves Nell, coming to terms with her fall from grace, her father’s death, and the last piece of the puzzle he has left with her. As she investigates, strange things start to happen. The New York Public Library is robbed, a guard killed, but nothing taken. Every other copy of this little gas station map – and there were thousands – has been stolen or lost. Internet rumor has it that a group called The Cartographers will pay anything to have it. Internet gossip also claims that this group will kill for the map. Is this why Nell’s father was so brutal to her? Was he protecting her or himself? Why did he still have this map? As Nell puzzles deeper, she is torn between a chance to answer the mystery and a chance to return to the Library.
The second portion of the story, my favorite, is the map’s origination and the group that found out about its magical properties. This is where Nell’s father’s and mother’s history comes into play, where The Cartographers originate, and where the story packs the most punch. The young group that encompasses Nell’s parents and their friends start out, idealistic, happy. A found family. But the discovery, of course, changes them. Plus, there are other secrets. As the group degenerates, we find out why the map is dangerous, but there are so many other questions. Especially about the fire.
The story weaves together nicely. It’s hard to keep track of all the characters, but ultimately important and well worth it. We interweave a small amount of magic with a great deal of human fallibility and cruelty. It’s emotional and wrenching, and it’s impossible to fully guess where the story is going until the very end.
The ending fumbles the ball a little bit. If you look too closely, there are far too many questions, but if I mention them I’ll spoil everything, including the surprise. It’s still emotional and imaginative, but it doesn’t hold up to the light of pure logic and questioning. But I enjoyed the ride so much, I was willing to turn a blind eye to the finer points of “why did so-and-so need 20+ years to do such-and-such” and “why does villain so-and-so do blah-blah.” Yeah, that’s all I can give you. Come back and chat with me when you finish.
Overall, The Cartographers is dense, but worth the effort. It teaches us fascinating things about maps (I’d honestly never cared about them nor seen the beauty before) while creating and following very real, very emotive characters. It’s the perfect blend of real life and magical realism, just enough to keep us in that happy haze of fiction without us losing our feelings for the characters. This is my first encounter with author Peng Shephard, but it will most certainly not be my last. Highly recommended.
– Frances Carden
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