Picador Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies: Longlisted for the Booker Prize

I loved reading this. Looking two ways, this is a coming of age tale for Lia whilst she simultaenously heads towards death. The key characters and relationships are so convincingly drawn, with moments of such wisdom that it is hard to believe the author is in her mid-20s. It is beautifully lyrical and experimental, too, in ways that reminded me of Zadie Smith's "NW". However, the creativity is never random, showy or for its own sake. Overall, it's certainly not always an easy read, but don't let that dissuade you. There is so much to admire here. In short, I've never read anything quite like it.

I am struggling to read this book because a) it's not formatted for my original Kindle, so I had to buy a new one; and b) it's not formatted to enable a change in font size on the new Kindle. Both of these issues are beyond irritating but sadly no fault of the author and I feel it's extremely unfair on her that I have an unfavourable impression of the book because it's caused so many issues. Amazon I think this is on you.

This unique, wise, tragic and insightful novel knocked my socks off. It is written in an unusual style that incorporates poetry, unique typesetting and text and a new slant on narrative.Lea is a young woman with metastatic breast cancer. She and her husband Harry have a teenaged daughter named Iris who is acting out in the usual way of thirteen year old girls. She is both trying to individuate but, at the same time, afraid that she will be losing her mother. School relationships are difficult for her and she has trouble fitting in.The narrative takes us back to Lea's childhood, a very religious background with a cold and distant mother. Her father is the town pastor and the church is the center of the town's social activity. Lea's father brings in an intern, Matthew, who becomes a great love of Lea's during her teenaged and young adult years.The narrative goes back and forth between present and past and, at times, is difficult to read because it is so painful. We accompany Lea to her chemotherapy treatments where she is on the last option, The Red Devil, a toxic and very strong treatment. Interestingly, her mother accompanies Lea for treatment and is trying her best to create some sort of relationship with her distant daughter.The narrative stung like a hornet. Not only was it written in first and third person, 'Cancer' had its own voice, a voice of power, decimation and death.As a two time survivor of breast cancer, I can vouch for the accuracy of treatment, the range of emotions and the heartless fear that cancer evokes.The author of this novel, Maddie Mortimer, was 26 years old at the time she wrote it. Such wisdom and beauty from someone so young is not usual. She is wise well beyond her years.As we are privileged to be witness to Lea's struggles, we watch her life unfold and her hopes rise a little only to be shattered. I highly recommend this novel.

“Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies”, by debut novelist Maddie Mortimer, has been long-listed for the Booker Prize, and I can see why. This is not your usual novel about how cancer affects a family, this novel has The Cancer as one of the main characters with a unique “insider” point of view. The prose is beautifully poetic, both to the ear and the eye (note: you would miss the visuals with an audio book.)This is the compelling and touching story of Lia, whose cancer has metastasized, her tween daughter, Iris, and her wonderful husband, Harry. The story is enriched with themes of fraught mother-daughter relationships, religion (and lack thereof), first loves, friendships, and of course the relationship we have with our bodies and our mortality.Mortimer writes, “Human example is everything” referring to storytelling, and that’s why she has given The Cancer its own narrative, its own plot, its own story.“Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies” is poignant, poetic, iconoclastic, but never gimmicky; Mortimer’s novel deserves the attention it’s getting.

Author tried to over simplify cancer but did not achieve it. Quit after reading 1/2 of book