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mzzzmoe's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Death of parent and Cancer
Minor: Domestic abuse
moriahleigh's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Cancer, Terminal illness, Suicidal thoughts, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual violence, Death, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Rape, Medical content, Grief, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Pregnancy and Car accident
an_emily's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Grief, Death of parent, and Medical content
katieryn's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Death, and Cancer
Moderate: Pregnancy
Minor: Rape and Physical abuse
writtenontheflyleaves's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies by Maddie Mortimer πΊοΈ
πππππ
πΊοΈ The plot: When Lia receives an unexpected diagnosis, the news upends her life and those of her husband, teenage daughter, and elderly mother. Meanwhile, her body knows nothing of the word "cancer", just that Something is moving through it. Malevolent, yes. But also tricksy. Playful. It gambols through Lia's cells and the memories stored in her body, the loves and hurts she carries with her. These things are a part of her, bodily - what does it mean to let go? Will she or those she loves ever be ready for that?
When @mostardentlyalice was picking my TBR, perhaps it was a given that Maps would be on it. She has been championing this book since its release and I can totally see why - it is a triumph.
Written in playful, poetic style that takes a moment to acclimatise to then carries you along like a fairground ride, this book is both a tour through one woman's life, the ups and downs of desire and despair, and a portrait of a family struggling with anticipatory grief.
Half the story is narrated by Lia's cancer: a nymph that rummages through the mythic landscape of her body, describing organs and passages as fantastical landscapes peopled by dream-creatures from her life. It is the villain of the story, hungry to see and claim everything, determined it must survive. But these things also make it very human, very like Lia herself, not truly a villain. This is maybe the genius of the book, its ability to show that death is contained within life without simply saying it, of forcing the reader to even momentarily surrender to the acceptance of that fact. It's a grieving feeling, one of the good ones.
Naturally, to carry all this off, the writing is bonkers and beautiful and so brim-full of compassion for our past and future selves. What an absolute knockout of a debut!
πΊοΈ Read it if you like Ali Smith or Jessica Andrews (the vignette style of storytelling is similar here). Extra points for exploration of mother and daughter relationships and first love!
π« Avoid if cancer or anticipatory grief are too heavy for you to read about right now. Also if you hate experimental prose or poetry.
πππππ
πΊοΈ The plot: When Lia receives an unexpected diagnosis, the news upends her life and those of her husband, teenage daughter, and elderly mother. Meanwhile, her body knows nothing of the word "cancer", just that Something is moving through it. Malevolent, yes. But also tricksy. Playful. It gambols through Lia's cells and the memories stored in her body, the loves and hurts she carries with her. These things are a part of her, bodily - what does it mean to let go? Will she or those she loves ever be ready for that?
When @mostardentlyalice was picking my TBR, perhaps it was a given that Maps would be on it. She has been championing this book since its release and I can totally see why - it is a triumph.
Written in playful, poetic style that takes a moment to acclimatise to then carries you along like a fairground ride, this book is both a tour through one woman's life, the ups and downs of desire and despair, and a portrait of a family struggling with anticipatory grief.
Half the story is narrated by Lia's cancer: a nymph that rummages through the mythic landscape of her body, describing organs and passages as fantastical landscapes peopled by dream-creatures from her life. It is the villain of the story, hungry to see and claim everything, determined it must survive. But these things also make it very human, very like Lia herself, not truly a villain. This is maybe the genius of the book, its ability to show that death is contained within life without simply saying it, of forcing the reader to even momentarily surrender to the acceptance of that fact. It's a grieving feeling, one of the good ones.
Naturally, to carry all this off, the writing is bonkers and beautiful and so brim-full of compassion for our past and future selves. What an absolute knockout of a debut!
πΊοΈ Read it if you like Ali Smith or Jessica Andrews (the vignette style of storytelling is similar here). Extra points for exploration of mother and daughter relationships and first love!
π« Avoid if cancer or anticipatory grief are too heavy for you to read about right now. Also if you hate experimental prose or poetry.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief and Cancer
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Rape, Death, and Death of parent
sidekicksam's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.5
Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies follows Lia, as she is diagnosed with cancer again and her coming to terms with her diagnosis and, ultimately, her death sentence. Written in an experimental form of lyrical/poetic prose, this book is one you don't see often.
However, I think this is one of those 'good book wrong time' moments, or when I really notice (again) that my English just isn't good enough yet to really get it, but I think a lot of the book's contents went over my head. It didn't work for me - perhaps because I've never been good at interpreting poetry/poetic prose, or because I've been too preoccupied with other things in my life, but I continually felt most of it went over my head. I do hope to revisit it in the future and that the second time around, I'll be able to appreciate it better.
However, I think this is one of those 'good book wrong time' moments, or when I really notice (again) that my English just isn't good enough yet to really get it, but I think a lot of the book's contents went over my head. It didn't work for me - perhaps because I've never been good at interpreting poetry/poetic prose, or because I've been too preoccupied with other things in my life, but I continually felt most of it went over my head. I do hope to revisit it in the future and that the second time around, I'll be able to appreciate it better.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Incest, Terminal illness, Death, and Death of parent
hannahshort's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.5
An astonishing debut, and quite unlike anything I've ever read before. Parts of this novel blew me away, and I've found it hard to rate it. Would have given it 5 stars, had I not found the cancer narrative confusing and disorientating at times (although perhaps this is intentional?). May need to read again. I won't forget this book, and will look forward to reading more from the author.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Terminal illness, Cancer, Death of parent, and Sexual content
your_true_shelf's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, and Sexual content
Moderate: Self harm
marfa's review
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Death, Death of parent, Violence, and Terminal illness
fjcookie's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
if I could give this book 6 stars, I would. if I could inject this book into my bloodstream, I would. if I ever write anything a quarter as good as this book, I would be happy. unbelievable. the best of the best.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Cancer, Sexual content, and Adult/minor relationship