Connecting Fiction with the Real World
Hi CS371!
In January of 2019, I told my parents that my older sister and I were taking a trip to Paris, France after my high school graduation. And like many parents of young girls who wanted to fly across the ocean alone, they objected almost immediately.
However, with a fairly detailed slideshow of our own personal expenses and my planning abilities, they conceded. They were, after all, the ones who gifted me with a copy of The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah for Christmas a month earlier. The Nightingale is a historical fiction novel that takes place in France during the Nazi occupation of World War II and follows two sisters as they navigate revolutions and family love. I finished the book in two nights, and after enduring the absolute heartbreaking ending, I immediately began to research where the characters were. What corners of Paris did the character, Isabelle, pass secret notes to the French Resistance? Where was the small Parisian apartment that she had to evacuate at the beginning of the novel, in 1939?
This was when I stumbled upon The Book Trail, a website that matches the destinations mentioned within a novel to where it would be in the real world. I used this website as an itinerary of sorts and upon arriving in Paris, was absolutely overwhelmed when I came across one of the most significant meeting spots within the novel; on the corner of Boulevard St. Germain and Rue de Saint Simon.
Website link: https://www.thebooktrail.com/
This is why I love the Internet, because you can literally find anything on it. Like I would have never thought of any resource to map out places novel, but this website's idea is sooo cool. I have seen some novels that feature a map in the end of it just to help reader visualize, but it's so convenient to have them all in one place (on the website).
ReplyDeleteYour blog post also reminded me of a couple of years ago, when I wanted to go on a trip to North Africa, and my dad also asked me to present to him my entire itinerary and plans LOL seeing your post made me chuckle a little, we all live the same lives ahaa
But thats what makes the internet so helpful, pre internet days, my parents would have never let me travel alone. But now I can be hours and hours away, and still connected to my family and updating them!
Hello Teja, thank you so much for sharing that incredible website. I remember visiting Edinburgh Scotland three years ago and trying to find locations mentioned in the series I was reading at the time for the majority of my trip. It would have been incredibly easier if I would have known this website. One of my favourite aspects of reading non-fiction novels or fictional novels based in real-world places is reading about cultures, locations and ways of living around the world. I could not even begin to imagine the history and emotions you felt while making your way around Paris with your sister having read such a powerful book. I feel very lucky as the book I’m currently reading, “Mortal Causes” by Ian Rankin has a published map on the website. I will most definitely be using this website for any new book I pick up. Thanks again for sharing!
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