The Bird King by G. Willow Wilson, 403 pagesA concubine in the last Muslim emirate in Iberia, Fatima has never stepped foot outside the palace. The farthest she's ever walked is to the other side of the compound to visit her friend Hassan, the palace mapmaker with a special talent for drawing places he's never been. But when Christian Inquisitors appear at the palace gates, Fatima and Hassan must flee the compound in search of freedom and a place where Hassan's gift is seen as miraculous rather than demonic. Soon, the pair must deal with challenges they have never experienced, both mundane and fantastic, as they race to escape their pursuers.
Wilson's story is like nothing I've ever read. It seamlessly mixes religious faith, self-esteem, mythology, poetry, cartography, feminism, and forgiveness in a spell-binding manner — and that doesn't even touch on the jinn that are sprinkled throughout! I loved the characters and the story so much. A wonderful book for those who like Naomi Novik's Spinning Silver and the works of Neil Gaiman.
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