CL Pauwels at Large

Who knew maps could be so intriguing – especially with a bit of fantasy thrown in? Peng Shepherd’s The Cartographers is a wonderful twist on the rigid world of libraries and academia, weaving a decades-long mystery into a satisfying – and for me, wistful – conclusion.

The main character, Nell Young, starts as lonely and isolated as I often feel because of a career-ending betrayal by her father nearly ten years earlier. But her dogged pursuit of the true cause of his death leads not only to hidden history and a beautifully fanciful take on the power of place, but also to a new set of devoted friends who fill the void in her life. Family doesn’t always mean blood.

This book caught my eye because maps are fascinating on their own, bringing far away places to life and creating new worlds when authors like Tolkien – and Shepherd – allow their imagination free rein. And Shepherd did not disappoint, taking readers to a place that exists only in dreams…or not. Her approach reminds me of how Dirk Gently slipped between the atoms into Vallhalla in Douglas Adams’ The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul.

Here at home, we have a stylized “ancient” map of Ireland on the living room wall in a beautiful handmade frame from Hubby’s woodworking shop. I may never have the opportunity to visit Ireland in person, but the map allows me to visualize the hills and coastlines, and to dream.

A second, soon-to-be-hung map is an Art Deco jigsaw puzzle of downtown Chicago, with each neighborhood identified in a different color. On it, I can trace our son’s hop-scotching through the city he now calls home.

Maybe that’s why I’m drawn to maps. Like a good book, they can take me so far without leaving home.