Book Summary and Reviews of The Atlas of Forgotten Places by Jenny D. Williams

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Diane S.

Atlas of forgotten places
Sabine had been an aid worker in various parts of Africa for over fourteen years, but now in her forties she is working in her native Germany. Her niece Lily, following in her footsteps has been working in Uganda, at a center that helps victims that had been taken by Joseph Kony, trying to help them reintegrate into life out of captivity. When she goes missing in Uganda, Sabine returns to try to retrace her nieces footsteps, and bring her home.

With two people she meets in Uganda we follow Sabine from Uganda to the Congo, Garamba National Park and into the heart of one of Kony's camps. This is an intense look at a country being torn apart by various factions, and a story that had me in it's grip almost from the beginning. I kept telling myself, it is only a story, but in fact it is and it isn't. Although the characters are the authors invention, many of the situations and danger they find themselves in are fact. The kidnappings, the killings, the gold mine and the ivory poaching are also all fact. I am a big lover of elephants and there are some sad moments , and astonishing ones concerning these great but empathic animals.

The characters were well done, as was the writing. An authors nite is included which provided additional information and suggestion for further reading. The greed of man knows no bounds.

lani

A stunner
Every once in a while, along comes a novel that won't leave you, that keeps you up at night contemplating important questions.Williams has constructed a novel that fits beautifully into this category. Based on real and imagined events set in the DNC and Uganda, this novel follows Sabine, a burned out aid worker who currently works in an animal shelter in Germany, Rose, a one armed Ugandan woman who was formerly abducted by the Lord's Resistance Army, and Lily, a young girl doing volunteer work in Uganda, and Sabine's niece. When Lily does not return home as scheduled, Sabine races to Africa to see if she can find her, fearing the worst. What follows is a tromp through LRA battlegrounds, fighting through bureaucratic minefields with Rose and her boss.Both Rose and Sabine are looking for someone lost in their lives that they care deeply about. Williams has achingly sketched the principal characters with such a fine point pen, that they leap off the page, making us invested in their futures.There is so much to discuss and learn in this book that it is perfect for book groups. My only gripe is the open ended conclusion to the book, which left me angry as I needed more closure. However, it is a small price to pay for a book of such depth..

ccyingl12

The Atlas of Forgotten Places
The Atlas of Forgotten places is an account of two women, Sabine and Rose, who led completely separate lives and had nothing to do with each other, or so they thought. They were completely unaware of each other’s existent but had something in common – they both had a loved one whom they have lost contact with. Sabine lost contact with her niece who left for another country to do volunteer work. Rose lost contact with her husband who ran away after they had a very bad fight. Both women came to realise that they had disappeared together, and on their search for their missing loved ones, they landed up in dangerous territory. This search also led them to meet Joseph Kony, the leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA). This book follows the journey of these two women in search of their loved ones, and also highlighted the unique stories of each individual character. Many hidden leadership issues can be identified within the stories, from inequality to government issues and even the leadership of the LRA. The book opens up many ideas that are not talked about every day.