The Atlas of Forgotten Places takes place in Uganda during the early 2000s. I knew very little about what had happened in Uganda and surrounding countries during this time and I was immediately drawn into this story and the lives of the two women that it followed. Sabine, a German woman searching for her missing niece and Rose, a Ugandan women searching for her lover were such real characters that pulled at your heartstrings. Their fears, anxieties and sufferings became so real during the book and I couldn't put it down. Jenny Williams did an excellent job explaining what was happening in Africa at that time while also diving deeply into the lives of these two women and the emotional development they went through during the book.
My only critique of this book was the ending. Rather than bringing some closure to the story I felt that Jenny left the ending very open ended and primarily up to the reader's opinion of what happened next. This frustrated me momentarily at the end but I do think it didn't take away much from how well the rest of the book was done. Definitely a good book club pick, there are lots of different aspects that could be discussed.

3.5 stars
Reading this novel through the courtesy of Net Gallery

This tale of oppression, grief, and loss has as its background the war that took place in northern Uganda. The fictional part of this novel portrays the loss felt by an aunt, a step father, and a young woman who had previously been captured by the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) in Uganda. This was has been going on since the 1980's.

The women of this story comes from two vastly different environments. Sabine, a former aid worker living in Germany, is forced to return to both the country of Uganda, and the bad memories, as she takes it upon herself to search for her missing niece Lily. Rose, the former member of the LRA, who escaped their brutality while being a part of this LRA, finds herself thrown back into the fray because the man she loves Ocen is missing. The two women link together because of loved ones missing and this link becomes the gist of the story. How these women with the help of some others eventually find their loved ones, and the resulting trauma they suffer provides a tale that is so telling of the strife many have experienced in various nations in Africa. It also is a tale of how many people can turn their lives into something where they forget where they came from as they get caught up in the battle for what they believe is a just cause, and ultimately lose themselves to the dark nature that man often shows.

The author relates in fine detail the experiences that Rose has both been a part of and witness to during her years with the LRA. Rose's life as well as those who were forced through being kidnapped from family, is a life of killing, of living a nomadic lifestyle, of suffering brutality and becoming immune to it.

Families torn apart because of war is always a tale of sadness and one that seems to be told too many times in the lives of all those who have been lost in conflicts across this planet. The author was able to capture the look and feel of Africa so well. She was also able to make us feel that sense of loss that her characters felt.

Great read! Looking forward to reading more by this author! Highly recommend!