When one of the main characters of the novel is cancer, you know you are in for an emotional roller coaster. A hugely inventive novel. I was sad when I finished and thoroughly moved throughout the novel.

DNF @ 30%

This book sounded so intriguing, but I couldn't connect with the overall story. The way the story was written felt like a long and dragged-out poem. I think the only positive was the stunning cover art.

The story follows Lia, a woman living with cancer, and was inspired by the author’s mother. It shows a mix of Lia’s present life and flashbacks to her teenage years.

Some parts are told from the POV of illness, a powerful choice I’ve never seen before. Many lines in this book made me pause and think about our relationships with our bodies and death.

Mortimer also uses an unconventional narrative style. At times it is more like poetry than prose. Plus there’s creative visual formatting, like transforming the text into shapes.

The only thing that didn’t work for me was that it felt scattered and hard to follow. I simultaneously applaud the experimentation and wish it were just slightly scaled back to help the flow. But whenever I was in the groove of the story, I was wholly invested.

You should know before going in that there’s a lot of heavy content including cancer, alcoholism, and abuse.

I can imagine mixed reviews for this one. Very curious to see if it will make The Booker Prize shortlist!

Probably would give 3.5 stars if I could.

An ambitious debut, Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies follows Lia - a daughter, a mother, and a wife - as she battles the return of cancer. This time it’s terminal. Though this is essentially a story of Lia, it’s also a story of her circle of friends and family, a harsh reminder that illness does not stop at destroying its host - it ravages the lives of those held close.

As a whole, this novel has unique form and structure and walks the line between poetry and prose. What took me out of the novel at times was the second voice (presumably the illness). This voice weaves through the narrative as it deconstructs Lia’s body, accessing experiences and buried memories, exposing her innermost thoughts and fears. It was poetic, but disjointed and experimental in a way that felt too confusing and just didn’t work for me. I did like being able to access Lia’s core memories through this second perspective and in other parts I found Mortimer’s writing to be lyrical and profound. Though I didn’t particularly enjoy the second voice I think it will speak to others.

What I enjoyed most was observing the development of all of Lia’s relationships as the cancer progressed. Mortimer offers us short, sometimes scathing glimpses of Lia’s past, whose core experiences take root within her religious upbringing. This was a heartbreaking read, but somehow felt uplifting - I don’t know how Mortimer did it. A wonderful debut, huge thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

I am blown away by the originality and stellar writing of this book. The choice of narration reminds me of Markus Zusak's The Book Thief, narrated by Death. The way in which the author create's the narrators voice really blew me out of the water and is a masterclass on developing voice and characters.

I think this book belongs in my AP Literature course and should be considered for Women's Literature courses. I'm excited to recommend this book to my students and colleagues when it is released this summer, and I hope to incorporate it into my class next school year.