The Exile and the Mapmaker

An important novel that is as compassionate as it is eye-opening The Exile and the Mapmaker is a testament to the triumph of the human spirit. Theo an aging Parisian cartographer is desperately searching for the woman he once loved before Alzheimer’s takes his memories of her. Elise his estranged daughter moves in to take care of him. She still blames him for the tragic loss of her mother and is struggling with this new forced intimacy. Nebay an Eritrean refugee becomes Theo’s carer and friend. Unbeknownst to Elise Nebay does not have a visa for France and is working illegally in order to support his sister. Each one is living a life of questions and secrets in a world where Nebay’s very presence in the France of Theo’s maps is steeped in uncertainty.