If you like experimental novels, have the attention span of a lobotomised slug, but the memory of an elephant, then this is the book for you.
The book has 207 chapters. It has 247 pages. That is a lot of one-page chapters. With a lot of short sentences. (Sorry, the writing style is rubbing off.)
It starts off with the grandmother of the main narrator of this book. She had polio as a child and was left crippled by this sp badly she never left the house. When she was 26, her family abandoned her in the house, so that she was completely on her own. She happily got on with this, apparently without any help whatsoever and became a successful novelist. With the money she should have been able to pay for help, but apart from a gardener who turns up out of the blue, nobody is mentioned.
The writer herself is a statistician. She had problems with numbers until her tortoise got run over. Thereafter, she was fine. And became a statistician.
The chapters jump around from herself to her siblings back to her grandmother to her colleague, to her husband, to her parents and so on. Sometimes, three or four consecutive chapters deal with the same person; other times it jumps from one to the other.
I guess this book might be fine, if you can only snatch brief moments. I gave up halfway through, tired with the banality of it all.

Quite funny and unusual, I didn’t really see the point in it but I think I was probably looking for too much

It’s light and fluffy and good for the beach

This book caught me off guard. It was a little messy at first but once you get into it really is a treasure. The short chapters make it an easy read but even without that, this book is a page turner. It was so charming and sweet that I wanted to keep reading it.

It's quirky and one you are going to want to finish!

The Map of Us was not what I was expecting. It was funny and refreshing, and I fell in love with all of the characters.
The writing in this book is so unique. You are given bits and pieces of many peoples stories, but it's not given in a way that would make you overwhelmed by the many characters. All the little chapters intertwine, and the writing is also sweet and nostalgic.
It's hard to write a synopsis for this book, because there are so many small stories (that end up being one big story). I would say that the story begins with Tilly, a statistical genius who's marriage falls apart at 10:37 in the morning, but it also begins with Violet, a woman who suffers from the aftereffects of childhood polio who's only companion is her borrowed blue typewriter.
The Map of Us is a charming book about love, happiness, family, and life. This may sound cliche but this book is anything but, and it is well worth the read.

A perfectly wonderful read that turned a very long flight into something quite enjoyable. Witty , heartfelt and likeable characters which i find so important. Thank you , this book made me smile , what more can I ask but that .

What a wonderful quirky read, beautiful characters a charming story, felt like I was part of their story, lovely just lovely

A magical, charming story of three generations of quirky characters, and a Dog. Although the timescale jumps about and the chapters are sometimes annoyingly short, I loved it. I really wanted to know what happened to everyone, and raced through it, hoping for happy endings all round.
Highly recommended.
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC.

I'm a sucker for a book with short chapters. I love how they draw you in and keep you reading, way longer than you intended. The Map of Us does this beautifully. The characters unfold slowly, giving you just enough information to keep you interested but little enough to leave you wanting more. Like many of my favourite books, the story is told from the viewpoint of several different characters and I love the different perspectives this gives you.

The Map of Us is a beautifully told story about relationships and families, with all their flaws and foibles. There are poignant moments in here as well as humour and all the characters are wonderfully human, not perfect, just human. I love the full circle feel to the story too, even if the ending was a little predictable, there was still plenty of extra details to keep it interesting right to the end.
#NetGalley #TheMapOfUs

An original and creative read which interlinks a cast of characters in a sweet heart warming story. Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for letting me review this book.

This was such an amazing, unique and charming read. I think it may be my favourite book of 2018. I simple didnt want this delightful book to end.
This book follows the story of Tilly and her family, including her grandmother and grandad, parents and her two siblings. Each and every character is unique and quirky but also relatable. I could really imagine knowing some of the characters, particularly Tilly's ex husband Matt. Each character was likeable dispite their flaws (a bit like in real life really).
This story was essentially about love; finding, losing it and holding on to it. It explored not only romantic relationships but also those between mother and daughter and siblings. I devoured this book in a day and a half, laughing and crying as I did so. 5/5 stars. Huge thanks to Netgalley for allowing me to read an e-copy in return for an honest review.

This is a beautifully written wonderful book. It tells a number of stories in short chapters that are all interlinked. The writing style and the characters made this book a pleasure to read. I want to read it again. It was brilliant escapism. I hope Jules will continue to write.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

What a peculiar little book! Written in very short chapters, sometimes even in a kind of staccato style. Streams of consciousness. Three generations of a family, stories about finding love against the odds and stories of falling out of love against an unusually high “compatability index”. Can “love” be quantified, measured and statistically portrayed? Matilda Eastleigh with her analytical brain thinks so at first. And the story ripples out from her perspective to cover her failed marriage to Matt, her brother Jack, world authority in the colour blue, her handbag-addicted sister, her father constantly entering sand-building contests and a score of further characters, but most importantly her grandmother Violet North. Violet’s love story with Owen is most touchingly told, that’s when I loved the book most. Her turquoise typewriter on which she writes imaginary travel guides. She cannot walk far, but her life is full. Matilda finally fnds her place in the family. Favourite character: nonagenerian family friend Sidney Juniper.
Eccentric, quirky, philosophical, thought-provoking.

The book loosely follows the history of the North family through several generations and from the POV of quite a lot of people. It’s a story of kindness, extreme violence, hope and grief. It’s a story of charts, numbers and indexes, of a turquoise blue Royal Quiet Deluxe typewriter, handbags, health bars that look like squirrel poo, and perhaps most importantly about the extraordinary capacity of the human spirit, of overcoming physical constraints and of boundless imagination. It’s a story of getting lost and being found.

So, I absolutely adored this book. But, I only started adoring it after I was about half way through. The only problem I have with this book is the fragmentary writing style. It makes it (at least it did for me) very hard to get into and it took a while before I realised who everyone was and how they related to each other. The chapters from the different POVs are also not written in the same time. And while it’s clear that Violet’s story happens before Tilly’s, given that she’s Tilly’s grandmother, it’s not clear when everything else is going on unless it’s specifically stated.

Of course this is a conscious choice of literary style from the author, and it is consistent and does make for a different/unusual reading experience – it just didn’t work that well for this particular story IMO.

There’s all the characters and timelines to wrap your head around, and additionally there’s some pretty heavy subjects here and there that are just sort of casually dropped into the usually 1-1,5 page chapters, which doesn’t give me enough room to deal with them.

Nevertheless I loved the book, and it would have gotten 5 stars if it weren’t for the fact that I felt this fragmentary style didn’t give me the opportunity to connect with the characters and the story on a slightly deeper level. Others may have no issue with it.

And while the structure wasn’t to my liking I did enjoy the writing itself. Once in a while the repetition of certain phrases (“Matt didn’t like the tie […]” comes to mind) got a bit jarring, but generally the writing was accessible and funny and had a good flow.

I also loved the relationship Violet had with the story she was writing and with Arthur Galbraith – her protagonist. And the idea of a gardener who listens to the garden and asks and encourages, of the garden as a living whole with its own hopes and wishes. I love the idea of all the different “wonderfuls” that Tilly’s dad used, and how he had a special one for Sidney that had quite a lot of joy in it.

So, I would like to propose a toast, to the Norths (except David…), and to Arthur Galbraith – may he never hang up his walking boots. And may there always be dogs in wheelbarrows, and cake, and a sweet old man humming under the apple tree.

Thank you Jules Preston for this utterly charming experience.

I actually loved this book, it was unexpectedly different and a refreshing change. Quirky but an easy read despite being told from various viewpoints but with only one in the first person. It is made up of many short chapters which are not bogged down with lots of unnecessary detail, some chapters are only a paragraph long but all the stories gradually come together to a cohesive end. A lovely and charming little book which is a delight to read and original. I shall be looking for more works from this author.

Well written and exactly the type of book I would normally enjoy, this book promised a lot but was a little meandering in places for my tastes. Thanks NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book!

A quirky collection of characters which realistically portarys the many personalities of modern family. We see each character personal struggles, laughs and loves and you really get a sense of “togetherness” no matter what happens. The way Jules Preston uses words and phrases to connect to each character is done well and cleverly written. A moving novel which personally uplifted my own spirit!

Thank you NetGalley for a digital ARC. Oh this was such a charmer and incredibly witty. This is heart warmer but not in a light, average sweet way. Original and creative. Loved this. You will finish with a smile.

I fought off sleep to finish this beauty. It was such a pleasant surprise! While it took a few chapters to get into, this quirky story is so full of heart. I loved the narrative style of going between characters and time periods. Most of the characters grow on you and you end up rooting for them. It has elements of sadness that runs through but ultimately is an uplifting story about family, love and second-chances.

Loved this book. I really like stories told from multiple points of view. The quirkiness of the main character was endearing. I read this in a matter of hours; the flow of the story made it an easy fun read.

I started this quirky book not sure what I was getting into, as I downloaded via NetGalley and didn’t remember much of the book’s description. Jetlagged, I kept reading, trying to keep the story straight with its many tangents and different characters. I knew they must all intertwine eventually, and didn’t give up when the lyrical prose kept drawing me in.

Ultimately, delightful.