Book
Maps (1986) by Nuruddin Farah: a novel of the Ogaden war
Maps is a 1986 novel by Nuruddin Farah, the first of his Blood in the Sun trilogy. It follows Askar, an orphan born in the Ogaden and raised by a woman named Misra, against the background of the 1977 to 1978 war between Somalia and Ethiopia. It is told in the first, second and third person and is often called Farah's best-known novel.
Maps
- Author
- Nuruddin Farah
- Year
- 1986
- Language
- English
- Sources
- 7 sources
The book
Maps is a novel by Nuruddin Farah, published in 1986. It is the first part of his Blood in the Sun trilogy, followed by Gifts and Secrets (1998) (Encyclopedia.com, Nuruddin Farah; Kirkus Reviews). The Encyclopedia.com entry calls Maps his "most famous novel", the book that "cemented" his reputation (Encyclopedia.com).
The story
The main character, Askar, is an orphan born in the Ogaden, the region contested between Somalia and Ethiopia (The Modern Novel). His father died in prison months before his birth and his mother died giving birth alone; he was found and raised by Misra, a servant who becomes a mother to him and whose own national identity is a recurring question in the book (The Modern Novel). Askar sees the Ogaden war from Kelafo, then moves to Mogadishu to live with his uncle Hilaal and Hilaal's wife Salaado, where he studies maps of the region and Somali history. Refugees from the war reach Mogadishu, Misra among them, and her arrival drives the last part of the book. At the end Askar must choose between going to university and joining the liberation fighters (The Modern Novel). The war itself is on The Ogaden war, 1977.
How it is told
The narrative shifts between the first, second and third person, each voice telling part of Askar's story (Hilarie Kelly, Ufahamu, eScholarship). Kelly's study describes it as a novel that demands patience, with a strong psychological side (Ufahamu).
How it has been read
Critics read Maps as a novel about identity and belonging: who counts as Somali, how borders and maps define people, and how a person's body and history relate to a nation's claims (The Modern Novel; Cambridge, The Disorder of Things). It has been translated into German (Suhrkamp, German edition extract).
Where to read it
- In a library: WorldCat
Related pages
Sources
- Encyclopedia.com, Nuruddin Farah · encyclopedia.com
- Kirkus Reviews · kirkusreviews.com
- The Modern Novel · themodernnovel.org
- Hilarie Kelly, Ufahamu, eScholarship · journalpub.escholarship.org
- Cambridge, The Disorder of Things · cambridge.org
- Suhrkamp, German edition extract · res.cloudinary.com
- WorldCat · search.worldcat.org
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Where this matters
Same era
- Australia18,401 people of Somali ancestry and 8,101 born in Somalia lived in Australia at the 2021 Census, more than half in Victoria. History, work, issues.
- Birmingham (Somali diaspora)About 17,000 to 21,600 Somalis live in Birmingham (Census 2021), mostly in Nechells, Newtown, Small Heath and Alum Rock. History, work, health and ties home.
- Denmark (Somali diaspora)21,885 people of Somali origin lived in Denmark in 2026, half born there. Numbers, history, work, permit reviews, and ties home.
- DjiboutiAbout 13,900 refugees from Somalia live in Djibouti (Aug 2026): numbers since 1990, Ali Addeh, Holl-Holl, the 2017 refugee law, Arta 2000 and 2025 returns.
- Ethiopia (Somali refugees and the Somali Region)About 368,000 refugees from Somalia live in Ethiopia (Oct 2026): numbers since 1988, Dollo Ado, Jijiga, Addis Ababa's Bole Michael, the law and aid cuts.
- Finland (Somali diaspora)28,167 Somali speakers lived in Finland at the end of 2025, more than half in Helsinki. Numbers, history, work, leaders and ties home.
More by this author
- From a Crooked Rib (1970): Nuruddin Farah's first novelNuruddin Farah's From a Crooked Rib (1970): the story of Ebla, how it was written, the 1972 ban, how critics read it and its Somali translation Feedh Qalloocan.
- Sweet and Sour Milk (1979) by Nuruddin Farah: a novel of Mogadishu under dictatorshipNuruddin Farah's Sweet and Sour Milk (1979): its story of twin brothers in 1970s Mogadishu, its place in his dictatorship trilogy, its award and where to read it.
- Links (2003) by Nuruddin Farah: a return to Mogadishu in the years of conflictNuruddin Farah's Links (2003): its story of a return to Mogadishu in the 1990s, the Dante quotations that frame it, its trilogy, and how reviewers received it.
- Secrets (1998) by Nuruddin Farah: a family mystery on the eve of the civil warNuruddin Farah's Secrets (1998): its story of Kalaman, Sholoongo and his family on the eve of the war, its narrators, its trilogy and how reviewers read it.
- Gifts (1992) by Nuruddin Farah: a Mogadishu nurse, a foundling and the politics of aidNuruddin Farah's Gifts (1992): its story of Duniya and Bosaaso, the theme of foreign aid, its place in the Blood in the Sun trilogy, its awards and reviews.
- Yesterday, Tomorrow (2000) by Nuruddin Farah: voices from the Somali diasporaNuruddin Farah's Yesterday, Tomorrow (2000): his interviews with Somali refugees in Africa and Europe, the questions it asks about exile and identity, and how it was read.
Keep reading
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- The Orchard of Lost Souls (2013) by Nadifa Mohamed: three women in Hargeysa, 1987Nadifa Mohamed's The Orchard of Lost Souls (2013): Deqo, Kawsar and Filsan in Hargeysa in 1987 to 1988, its setting, and how reviewers received it.
- Madre piccola (2007) by Ubah Cristina Ali Farah: Little Mother, a novel of the Somali diaspora in ItalyUbah Cristina Ali Farah's Madre piccola (2007), in English Little Mother (2011): its three narrators, the cousins Domenica Axad and Barni, its themes of exile and identity, and how reviewers read it.
- Adua (2015) by Igiaba Scego: a father, a daughter and Italy's colonial pastIgiaba Scego's novel Adua (2015): its three voices, Adua's life in Rome since the 1970s, her father Zoppe's past under Italian fascism, and how reviewers read it.
- Aqoondarro Waa U Nacab Jacayl (1974) by Faarax M. J. Cawl: Ignorance is the Enemy of LoveFaarax M. J. Cawl's Aqoondarro Waa U Nacab Jacayl (1974): the love story of Calimaax and Cawrala, its place as an early Somali-language novel, its English translation and its author.