Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies by Maddie Mortimer is a poignant and astute novel about a family coming to terms with a diagnosis of cancer.

an exploration of the human psyche in the face of adversity. As Lia confronts the inevitability of her mortality, she is forced to reckon with the choices that have shaped her life and what she will leave behind. The prose are lyrical and evocative, painting a vivid portrait of Lia's inner turmoil and the landscapes of her mind. At its core this is a meditation on resilience and the quest for meaning in the face of life's most unfair mysteries. It challenges us to confront their own fears and uncertainties, prompting reflection on what it truly means to live and die with grace, however as a contribution to "cancel novels" it falls short in tropes and a few too many lofty metaphors.

i absolutely loved the idea of having a POV from cancer, as a nerdy medic this really fascinated me!
the writing wasn’t something that drew me in, but i can fully see why other people rave about this book. it definitely made be consider a different perspective that will stick with me in my professional career.

This book caught me by surprise, the beautiful twisting poetic writing intermixed with a tale of love, loss, acceptance and death absolutely touched my heart. I didn't know what to expect when I started this book but having just finished it I can say I was drawn into the eclectic style of writing and the narrative that intertwined with Lia's life.

An incredible debut and one of my all-time favourite books.

The highly emotional journey of a woman and her family's journey through cancer, offset by snippets from the viewpoint of the cancer itself.

Highly original with beautifully written and presented prose. Visceral and heartbreaking; poignant and life affirming.

Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies is a character based exploration of Lia, who has recently discovered that she has cancer for the second time. The narrative moves between current day, back through Lia's life as she considers the choices and decisions that have lead to her present day.

I wanted to love this book, I really did. Parts of the narrative are told from the perspective of the cancer itself, which is incredibly original and really quite sinister as you have the impression that it has always been there, lying dormant in her body but asserting its presence at various points and trying to influence Lia's decisions. I got a chill each time the narration referred to 'us' or 'we', as if the cancer was just a part of who Lia is rather than an interloper who is causing carnage. However, it felt a little too clever at times, and I found my attention waning at times, and skim reading to the next part with a different perspective. At 448 pages it felt a little too long and meandering, and I found myself putting it down twice and reading two other books between chapters.

I loved the relationship between Lia and her daughter, Iris, and felt this was depicted sensitively and honestly, showing the struggles that Iris has with her mother's illness, with resentment and anger alongside the clear love that they had for each other. i also liked the relationship with Anne, her own mother, with the difficult teenage years leading to a division between the pair, brought back together again for the death of her father.

The majority of where I struggled with this book was the relationship with Matthew, her first love. This was spread throughout the book, in flashbacks, and permeates everything that Lia does and appears to have formed her entire relationship. I really disliked the grooming aspect of this relationship, and how obsessive and all encompassing it was. Matthew was abusive and clearly controlling and unwell, with his religious mania, and it was such an unhealthy relationship. It felt at times that 'cancer' was punishing Lia for the abuse she had suffered as a child, which may not have been the intention, but is certainly how it came across to me, and made me feel incredibly uncomfortable, especially the fact that the cancer was linked to pregnancy, putting the blame both on Lia's sexual activity and the guilt onto Iris when she makes the connection. There is also a guilt factor towards Iris when she contracts flu towards the end of the book.

I felt like the women in the book were blamed for many things while the men escaped their responsibilities - Anne was (rightly) blamed for ignoring the relationship between Matthew and Lia, whereas her father, Peter, was far too important in his duties to be at blame and could never be expected to have the 'mother's initiative' to intervene. Lia is blamed for her sexual activities, whereas her abuser just continues doing what he wants in life. Her husband - I can't even remember his name he made so little impact on me, Harry?? - is fairly inconsequential throughout, and is left to his own devices to try and form a new relationship while Lia is very ill (another inappropriate relationship due to the age gap and the power imbalance). Iris - who is portrayed as an independent, clever, forthright young woman - is ultimately unable to face up to her bully until 'Solero boy' comes to her rescue with a locker combination.

The majority of the writing is clever and almost poetic, and I can see why it has achieved such accolades and prize nominations, but it just wasn't for me and I struggled to stay engaged at times.

A little experimental in parts, which isn't what I would normally go for, but I could appreciate the skill of the writing. Challenging but worth it.

First things first: please take this review with a pinch of salt! This is universally loved by pretty much everyone except me.

This is a truly accomplished debut - other reviewers have mentioned it reminded them of Ali Smith at times, and I'd totally agree - but for whatever reason it didn't quite work for me. I thought the chemotherapy sections were very well done, however whilst Lia's teenage romance clearly impacted on her later life experiences I found these sections boring, and these sections took up a good wedge of the first half of the book.

Unfortunately this was another case of right book, wrong reader.

This book has a lyrical style that I quickly lost patience with. For example:

'Lia remembered the way he looked at the door as if he were a snake and the rain had just washed off a layer of his skin. Unwrapped and remade, there he was."

Or: 'Walking down their street, the pain rattled in Lia's toes noisily."

Apart from the irritation I feel due to this dangling modifier, I don't like authors that make me work this hard to understand them.

There is a story in there, lost in all these words. The style becomes even more overblown as the novel progresses.

Some readers might love this, find it lyrical and experimental and moving and heart-rending. I find it too clever by half.

A tough book to read with an unusual viewpoint given from the illness that is gradually ripping this family of 3 apart. Definitely gives you a different aspect of a terminal illness however I found it too sad and emotional a read.

Thanks to Netgalley the author and publishers Picador for an ARC in exchange for an honest review

This was a strange novel and an uncomfortable read. I was unable to finish as the story did not engage me. Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for the arc.

I received this book as an eARC from the publisher, Picador via the NetGalley. I was really looking forward to reading this book, but it left me feeling disappointed.

The story follows Lia, who receives news that her cancer has returned. She is married to Harry, and they have a twelve year old daughter, Iris.

The plot goes back and forth between Lia’s past and her present, where we learn of her difficult relationship with her mother. Lia grew up in a vicarage, her parents were pious, especially the mother. Now that her cancer is back, Lia’s mother insists on coming to every chemotherapy session.

The reader also learns of Matthew, Lia’s first love. He came to live at the vicarage when Lia was twelve and he was sixteen, but their relationship didn’t start until she was fifteen and he was nineteen.

Weaved in between the narrative of Lia’s story is the voice of her illness, the cancer. I found some parts of this quite confusing to be honest, as I didn’t really understand what it meant, and I found myself re-reading some bits. The language, at times, was pretentious and hard to follow, but at other times it was lyrical and almost beautiful.

This book wasn’t really for me, it left me quite flat, but it might appeal to others.

Thanks to Picador for accepting my NetGalley request to read and review this book.

What a tough but beautiful read this is. It deals with love and loss, coming of age, motherhood and illness. It felt desolate and hopeless but portrays a raw truth - at times I had to stop reading to process it, as it felt so overwhelming. It’s devastating but beautifully written and clever. The characters are real and their relationships, complex. I liked the dual narration and the script dancing up and down the pages, roaming at will, had great impact.
It’s bleak but euphoric, profound and heartbreaking: just life as it is.
I cried and I loved it.
Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC. All views are my own.

I was not sure I was going to be able to get through this heart-breaking book. There can be few of us who have not been touched by the death or illness of a loved one from cancer. But Maddie Mortimer’s debut novel is bold and original and above all, the quality of her writing holds you in its grasp as you read about the experiences of living with a terminal diagnosis.

It’s partly a coming of age story and partly a look back over the life of the Lia, the woman with the terminal diagnosis. It’s about how she and her family come to terms with knowing they will lose a loving mother.

We begin with the news that Lia’s cancer has returned and from there the novel moves between her past and her present as we learn about Lia’s life and family and we hear from the very cancer that is killing her.

This is a book that touches all the emotions and plays with moods. Sometimes it is witty and achingly funny. At others it is heart-breaking and deeply meaningful. We understand Lia’s innermost fears, borne from a difficult relationship with her mother and making her determined not to make the same mistakes with her own daughter, Iris. The joys and heartaches of motherhood is a central theme is this book as Lia explores her own maternal relationships and we come to know her daughter Iris, now beginning a new phase of her life at her new secondary school. Lia wants to shield Iris from what is to come, but she knows that is just not possible.

As Lia looks back on a happy marriage to Harry, a University lecturer and remembers her first love who had a profound effect on her, her gentle nature is contrasted with the brutal, malevolent voice that is her cancer, battling with ‘Red’, the poisonous chemotherapy treatment that is also coursing through her body. Her brain recalls her childhood while her heart remembers her first, problematic, lover. Each of her organs recalls memories… of her childhood, of Iris’s birth of her own relationship with her mother and her love for her husband.

Maddie Mortimer writes exceptionally well. Her story is told compellingly and her characters, seen through the prism of Lia’s life and choices, breathe life and fire. The narrative arc is incredibly well plotted and the changes in pace and setting are perfectly achieved. As Lia’s illness progresses, so her own narrative becomes more disjointed and the prose becomes more lyrical, sometimes poetic, and her cancer’s voice intrudes more strongly.

There is so much to marvel at in this beautifully written book. It’s honest and sometimes brutal, reflective and remarkable. It captures Lia’s moods so well, and everyone will recognise the strategies that she adopts as her illness impacts on her and her family.

Verdict: You know the ending….that’s been clear from the start, but the journey is spectacular. A brilliant debut by an accomplished writer that is human and profound. Written with style, wit and without a hint of mawkishness, this is a brilliantly written work of art. It will make you weep, though.

I can't say much about this book. I didn't like it and could not finish it. I will edit my review if I do manage to pick it up and fi ish it.

I'm very conflicted by this book. There's some quite beautiful almost allegorical language in there. There's some bits that I felt were too clever and pretentious. Indeed I lost track at times of who was talking or sometimes what was talking. Was it death? Was it the cancer? Was it despair? But then there were a few pages which punched the air out of me and and left me heaving. Ultimately I didn't enjoy it, but it has powerful moments.

I'm not even sure how to talk about this quite remarkable book. It's certainly unlike anything I've read before.

It takes the reader on a journey with Lia, whose cancer has returned and spread. As she goes through chemo and has time to reflect, she thinks back to her childhood, and the event that shaped her life - meeting Matthew. A visceral connection, but one that became deeply unhealthy.

Her partner now is quietly remarkable as is her daughter, Iris, herself attempting to navigate life as a 12 year old with a sick Mum.

The unusual part comes with the voice of cancer that describes it's movements and influence, it's battle against the chemo drugs.

This book is lyrical, and thought-provoking. It is moving and original. It's complex and philosophical.

I started reading this on my phone via NetGalley and it it so exquisitely written I just want to underline every other sentence so going to wait and buy the book to continue reading but so far completely blown away!

I'm not quite sure what to say about this strange read. Lia is married to Harry and has a daughter, Iris.
The writing style takes a bit of getting used to, not only does it flick between the present and Lia's past, but also between her, Harry and Iris's daily goings on, but also the cancer invading her body.
It's quite hard to explain it, but although it is not a quick read as I found the style difficult, I was surprised how much I did enjoy it.

Maps of our spectacular bodies review

Oh yes that’s right a two post day today it is! Just had to come on here and write my review of one of the best books of this year for sure. One that will stick with me for a very long time and one that moved me in a way that many books can’t!

Maps of our spectacular bodies is a book that will have you feeling every emotion under the sun. It’s Beautiful, heartbreaking and wrenching, a quiet tender novel that as you read just gradually in this powerful way grabs you and shakes all the emotions out of you! It was like a crescendo when it reached its peak at the end and the tears I just couldn’t hold back and was sitting there after I had finished the book, thinking about this book, life and just being like WOW.

Maddie Mortimer has such a poetic and gorgeous way with words, writing and telling a story! There really is No wonder why this book is one of the big super lead debuts of 2022!
Even saying this is a debut is pretty crazy to me (not that I’m saying on your debuts you don’t/can’t hit the nail on the head straight the way and create a gorgeous first book) it’s just there no words for how gorgeous this book is.

I’m so so happy to have read this book! Before going into would just make sure your in the right headspace going into this one.
I did need to put on all the hype songs and Happy shows (which is always good) to get me out of the sad vibes ! But of course I don’t mind, it’s
Maddie Mortimer!!! if I had to go through sad boi hours there’s no one better to face it for 😅

Of course I recommend this book highly (if your couldn’t tell) make sure you get yourself a copy when Maps releases March 31st 2022
Thank you so much to the always incredible picador for the copy.