Fay knows just the right obstacles to put in Irene’s way. Jones was traveling to next.įor Irene, the journey will not be easy. I can see the map overlaid on the screen showing movie watchers exactly where Dr.

Irene cannot resist, especially when she reads the 1825 journal of an American preacher who was part of an expedition that first found the scrolls. He gives her a rare map that supposedly leads to a set of copper scrolls narrating the history of the ancient Khmer civilization of Cambodia. Simms offers Irene the adventure of a lifetime instead. She is passed over, though, in favor of a man, despite all she has done for the museum.

The institution has earned a prestigious reputation in art and archaeological circles, but only because of Irene’s hard work and fastidiousness in acquiring priceless artifacts, many of which were illegally obtained. Her father worked there as janitor until his recent death. The museum has been part of Irene for as long as she can remember. In 1925, Irene is devastated when she is passed over for a job she has dreamt of for a long time: that of curator at the Brooke Museum in Seattle.

After her death, it was just Irene, her father, and the mysterious Mr. Her mother, in fact, was kidnapped in Manila when she was pregnant with Irene. Like Fay, Irene Blum grew up on stories of Southeast Asia. This reviewer felt like she had been transported into the story herself. The lush, green vegetation of Cambodia and the rhythms, habits, and culture of the country come to life. Part adventure (think Indiana Jones, but with a female lead), part quest, part mystery, The Map of Lost Memories is passionate, fast-paced, absorbing, and full of plot twists. Just like that, Fay had an idea for a story. Later, she moved to Vietnam and learned of a French couple, Andre and Clara Malraux, who looted a Cambodian temple in the 1920s to raise funds for the Communists. Everything about the region heightened her senses and made her feel alive. Together, they would study photographs from that era Fay was entranced.Īfter graduating from college, Fay traveled to Asia for the first time and promptly fell in love. He was a sailor in the Orient in the 1930s and told Fay stories about his life. Her grandfather played a significant role in her growing obsession. When author and former bookseller Kim Fay was a little girl, she became fascinated with Southeast Asia. The Map of Lost Memories by Kim Fay (Ballantine Books 326 pages $26).