This is a very weird book, for better and for worse. The concept of the Unmapping is fascinating and deeply unsettling. The book has a dreamlike quality throughout that works really well with the strangeness of the story. I loved seeing how the various different threads that initially felt like entirely separate vignettes came together and intertwined.

I would have enjoyed this more without Arjun's POV - I found him so unlikeable that I hated reading his chapters. I'm not sure what we're supposed to make of him. He's obviously some flavour of neurodivergent but that didn't give me any particular insight that would help me understand or relate to him more. His obsession with Esme had me worried we were going to go to a very dark place with it. Without getting into spoiler territory, there's a romance plotline that's (fortunately) a pretty small part of the book, that I really wasn't into.

The ending ultimately didn't feel satisfying to me. I don't think this is the type of story where we necessarily need everything to be explained in absolute terms and resolved neatly, but it felt like we were moving towards some sort of understanding, and then that just fell flat. I was really invested in all the creepy, culty small-town Gleamwood stuff, so I would have liked to have that go somewhere more meaningful.

All that said, this was an intriguing read. Despite the lack of clear resolution, it doesn't feel nihilistic or hopeless - it was really lovely to see represented how people come together and adapt to start building a new world in the face of disaster.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy

The Unmapping by Denise S. Robbins is a third person multi-POV literary speculative exploring the idea of ‘what if cities started moving around at four in the morning?’ Esme and Arjun are put in charge of emergency services when their town starts ‘unmapping.’ To make matters worse, Esme’s fiancee Marcus goes missing and no one can find him.

Arjun and Esme have a complex relationship. Arjun is in love with Esme, or thinks he is, while Esme is devoted to Marcus and their relationship. Arjun also desires to be the hero and solve what is happening while Esme is happier to be behind the scenes. Because the two are separated for the first chunk of the book, we don’t see more of the messiness until later. This is definitely not a romance and I would classify their arc as ‘it’s complicated’ because I’m not even sure if I would call it a love story but it’s also not purely a story of friendship.

There are a lot of POVs and the narrative structure is a bit more disjointed in order to match the idea of a city moving and shifting. One of the overarching storylines is about Antony, a young boy who is trapped behind a building and nobody can seem to find exactly where he is. Social media in the city blows up with the hashtag #FreeAntony as the citizens demand that he be found. Another storyline involves the mayor trying to navigate waking up to her city changing every day. A lot of this is a reflection of today’s society as we use social media for a lot of things, including trying to find missing persons and for social movements and it does feel like everything moves faster and faster these days.

I would recommend this to fans of speculative fiction with strong allegories for what is happening in the modern world and those looking for a book exploring a complicated relationship arc instead of a romance

THE UNMAPPING imagines an unexplainable ongoing disaster that sees to the displacement of people’s homes, and the people’s efforts to study and predict the disaster’s patterns while speculating on the cause. Some say it’s climate change, the earth like a living thing and responding irrationally because it knows it’s in danger. Some say it’s because a city is so full of identical and interchangeable discrete units that swapping their places shouldn’t matter. What arise in response to this disaster are cults and people seeking meaning in a state where meaning and reason evades their grasp; and community as resistance, as a way of coping with disaster together.

There is so much to unpack in this novel: of ecodisaster and capitalism spurring individualism; the loss of uniqueness in the face of corporate uniformity; the power of community and the people’s resilience in adapting to the changes in the world around them, making do with living with the unexplainable unpredictability of a phenomenon they can’t quite figure out—but the point is, they try. I liked reading this book a lot, and following its characters’ growth over the course of it, but the ending especially was the best part for me.

The Unmapping by Denise S. Robbins
Genre: General Fiction/Literary Fiction
Length: 408 pages
Pub Date: June 3, 2025
My Rating: 2.5 stars (rounded up)

Thank you to NetGalley and Bindery Books for the e-ARC of this novel. The opinions stated here are solely my own.

Summary (copied from Amazon):
There is no flash of light, no crumbling, no quaking. Each person in New York wakes up on an unfamiliar block when the buildings all switch locations overnight. The power grid has snapped, thousands of residents are missing, and the Empire State Building is on Coney Island—for now. The next night, it happens again.

Esme Green and Arjun Varma work for the City of New York’s Emergency Management team and are tasked with disaster response for the Unmapping. As Esme tries to wade through the bureaucratic nightmare of an endlessly shuffling city, she’s distracted by the ongoing search for her missing fiancé. Meanwhile, Arjun focuses on the ground-level rescue of disoriented New Yorkers, hoping to become the hero the city needs.

While scientists scramble to find a solution—or at least a means to cope—and mysterious “red cloak” cults crop up in the disaster’s wake, New York begins to reckon with a new reality no one recognizes. For Esme and Arjun, the fight to hold the city together will mean tackling questions about themselves that they were too afraid to ask—and facing answers they never expected.

Opinion:
I had high hopes for this one after reading the summary. It seemed to have sci-fi vibes and I was very excited to see the ‘why’ of this book. Unfortunately, this one was not really my thing. I felt like there were too many stories of different New Yorkers and though they did (kind of) come together, I think the book was longer than it needed to be. I kept looking for a more science fiction-esque reason for the unmapping of the city, but in the end it was kind of unclear why it happened (climate change? Aluminum Christmas trees? A hurricane?) This book did not really hold my attention and I felt my mind wandering a lot, which is unusual for me when I’m reading. I almost DNFd it, but I just thought I’d give it a chance and see if things improved for me. I do think it would appeal to a certain audience, but it just wasn’t for me.

Original Review posted on Goodreads. April 21 - May 5, 2025. I got about 11% of the way through and I wasn't hating it, but I realized I just didn't care that much about the characters, and more kept being added and we skipped back and forth. I enjoyed the concept of the Unmapping, but I wasn't connecting with something about the story itself. Maybe it's my mindset, maybe it's the book.

I found myself, like, speed-reading through the sentences because of the way they were structured -- it was a run-on sentence, stream of consciousness kind of style that wasn't BAD necessarily, but it felt very frenetic with no "down time" for my eyes and brain to breathe.

I tried to skip to the end to see if something about it made me want to keep going and it did not. I am bummed, as I've heard such great things and I love Marines' channel, but this wasn't for me.

I didn't really know what to expect going into this book, but I really enjoyed. This book reminded me of the old school disaster movies that would play on the Syfy Network. The way the authors captures various narratives that add the human element in the midst of chaos. At times you feel yourself in these characters. You feel their confusion, fear, acceptance and determination. The Unmapping to me follows the mindset of how things happen when man plays God; whether that is via Climate Control, Global Warming, or destroying our natural resources, This story gives you several points of view to consider. As with any global anomaly or doomsday panic you always find those who find comfort amongst varied ideologies. We see in this book how the rise of rebels and cults also play a role in the chaos when our government fails to inform us or gives us straight answers.

This was definitely something different from my norm but because of the nostalgic Syfy feels I couldn't put it down.

This one was actually a little bit heartbreaking to finish. I needed some time to process the story because it refused to let me go when I finished. I wanted more, but knew there wasn’t more to read. It was beautiful and I felt the characters emotions. I absolutely loved this story. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the arc.

The Unmapping by Denise S. Robbins
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I honestly want to like this book more than I did. I think it was the core concept of moving buildings, always at 4 am, hopping from one location to another in the NYC (and other places), just causing a shoehorned chaos every day.

Sure, it doesn't make any sense, but that's the SURREAL for you.

So, I kinda went in thinking about having such a thing just LEAN into the surreal, think about The City and the City, or Invisible Cities, or even a bit of Borges. It could have been deep and weird and impressionistic and sometimes even a little wild--but instead we got something that went hard on the Literary SF angle, about personal lives rather going down the toilet, or just being uprooted and always just teetering on the edge of dissolution.

I frankly didn't really like any of the characters. They were either too cringey or dissolute EVEN IF I actually like long stream of consciousness writing in general. Especially when it goes deep into the woods. But, unfortunately, the novel kept trying to go in different directions.

It even attempted to nudge us toward a SF reason, and then to a mystical reason, before going the Literary Fiction direction--and all the while, all these pieces just felt SHOEHORNED in. I mean... sure, such an event would definitely call for a serious renewable energy push, would absolutely necessitate grass-roots real-people aid, but to reverse cause and effect, saying ECOLOGICAL DAMAGE would have caused the unmapping of buildings, popping up all over the place like a dream, just felt like an enormous stretch. And no, it wasn't ever confirmed in the novel, thank god, but it coming up multiple times was multiple times too many. I would have bought it if we were to just read the novel as an ALLEGORY... but the allegory stuff, if it was there, was all lost in a morass of anxiety meds and loss of selfhood.

So, great potential idea, but everything else just felt too... shoehorned, try-hard. Alas.

During moments of crisis the advice is to look for the helpers. This novel reminds you that the helpers are people too. Some stumbling along trying their best while others might have more self interests. It leaves you questioning what your role is and how that may change when the rules of society start to readjust.

this book was good! I love supporting bindery and their upcoming releases! the writing was quite beautiful but for me it jumped around too much and left me wanting to dnf at a few times. I would recommend as this may just not be for me and the right audience would love this, it just was a bit too much for myself.
thank you to NetGalley and Bindery for an e-arc!

This book had such a fun and interesting premise. The vibe was giving Emily St. John Mandel. Unfortunately the story felt too dragged down my so many POV’s and unnamed side characters. It was difficult to stay connected with the story. I’d love to see this story a little more concise and I think it’d be a banger!

Pub date: June 3, 2025

Thank you to Bindery Books and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately, this book did not meet my expectations. I had high hopes because the premise sounded intriguing. However, the execution fell short.

My primary issue is that the chapters follow the main characters, but we also get a point of view from someone else experiencing the unmapping. I felt disconnected from these alternate perspectives and having them in the middle of the chapters made the story feel so disjointed.

Another significant critique is the body shaming. I encountered this twice in the first 15% of the book. In one instance, a character’s skin was described as hanging out and bunching near his collar. In the other, people in a specific profession were noted to be fat. Both instances were connected to discussions of incompetence, which is a trope I dislike. Just because someone is larger in size doesn’t mean they’re incompetent. I kindly request authors to avoid writing stories in this manner. I don’t believe the author intended to be malicious, but it didn’t come across as a positive writing element.

I also felt that the representation of a female protagonist and a character with mental health issues was not positive. They felt tropey and undercooked.

I’m disappointed because many of my critiques were related to representation, which I didn’t anticipate. I follow Mari (the imprints tastemaker), and she frequently discusses representation in books.

Overall, the book had a promising concept, but its execution was disappointing.

The Unmapping is a very strong debut novel that I enjoyed immensely.
I was very quickly drawn into the story, and felt grounded in the narrative almost right away. This feels funny to me because of the nature of the story -- in a setting where the ground is literally moving and characters are getting lost, I felt extremely well-oriented.
On that note, I loved the premise of this book from the moment I first heard about it, and it did not dissapoint.

3.5/4 stars

Thank you to the author and NetGalley for providing an early ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Quick Take: Fascinating sci-fi / climate fiction premise and interesting insight into the human response to a crazy event like this, but ultimately I wanted more of the logistics (the how and why of the Unmapping).

Blurb: Every morning at 4am, the city of New York rearranges itself. Buildings swap locations and jumble and people never know where they will end up. It's with this climate fiction / sci fi premise, that Denise Robbins delves primarily into the human experience of this. There are two emergency management officials that anchor the events, Esme and Arjun, but the book weaves off in many directions with a multitude of other characters and points of interest.

Mood Reader Guide: Emily St. John Mandel like / speculative fiction / cli-fi / literary fiction / New York City / disasters / sociology and psychology / character-driven / introspection /

Other Thoughts:
- This is the kind of book that I really wish I was reading as part of a college course, or as a seminar with the author. Because I think I got a lot out of it, and also I feel certain I missed things and may have missed the larger point in the end :)
- If you're expecting this to be like The Day After Tomorrow or some super action-driven natural disaster science fiction movie, you are going to be disappointed. The blurb and advertising for the book do not hide that it is literary fiction and focused on the human condition, so meter your expectations.
- My favorite parts were talking about the emergency management logistics and day to day existence of how the city dealt with the Unmapping. I also really liked the Wisconsin setting for some parts of the book, location of the first small town to experience this phenomenon.
- The writing style is somewhat chatty and fragmented. It reads like a narrator really telling a story, with pieces of thoughts and incomplete sentences that are in our heads - not beautifully written extensive prose. I thought it matched well with the story.
- I also really liked the mixing of social issues, climate change, political unrest, and how an event like this spreads out its tentacles in lots of unpredictable ways.
- Definitely an author to watch, and I hope lots of readers pick this up and give it a try because I want to chat about it with others!

The Unmapping is a very interesting story that most strongly reminded me of Station Eleven and other works by Emily St. John Mandel. For a first time author this is a great start, and I’m looking forward to reading more from this author.

My only real criticism is that I think the novel tries to do a little too much with the shifting narratives. It ends up feeling a little under explored despite how wide its scope is. I also found it to be a strong choice (although not one that I totally agree with) to jump from the building about to fall into the sea, to months later while skipping the action that would have taken place in between. There was an opportunity for a tense situation and the book instead jumps ahead. I think that choice makes sense, but at the same time it ended up feeling a tad anticlimactic.

With that said, I think the focus on the cultish aspect of this as well as the emphasis on the unpredictability of human nature and our ability to cope with Mother Nature was intelligently done. Four stars from me.

really well written sci-fi (?) story with some intriguing ideas and strong characters. 5 stars. tysm for the arc. would recommend.

THE UNMAPPING by Denise S. Robbins takes place in a New York City where every day at 4:00AM, the buildings magically rearrange themselves on the existing grid. This imaginative storyline explores how to survive when you never know where you'll next wake up, and how life in a bustling city can go on when everything is chaos.

Our two main characters are Esme and Arjun, friends who both work at the Emergency Management Department. Esme is data-driven and logical, quickly jumping in to save a stranger who gets injured in an explosion when the unmapping first begins. Yet her fiancé Marcus won't return her phone calls, and she is worried he has become one of the missing. Arjun, on the other hand, is an anxious young man who just wants to be a hero. Originally from New Delhi, he now lives with his father, and just so happens to be in love with Esme. While THE UNMAPPING primarily focuses on telling their stories, we also oscillate among a variety of other side characters who begin as unnamed examples of how people in the city are experiencing the event, yet eventually become tied together as the book continues. Robbins does a good job of balancing the character development with Esme and Arjun, while using the minor character as case studies of the unmapping.

When it comes to the unmapping itself, I was a bit confused. What, exactly, where the rules? Yes, the buildings moved while the roads and natural elements, like trees and bodies of water, stayed the same. Okay, but why did everything underground stay fixed? The book makes multiple "we don't know" statements in what appears to be an excuse for not having a solidified and fully built sci-world. Unfortunately, that detracted from my enjoyment of the book, as I was often focused on trying to understand what was moving and what was not rather than being focused on the storyline.

Similarly, this book introduced a lot of elements that were very interesting, but not fully explored. For example, we know that the unmapping began in Gleamwood City, a private community where artificial Christmas trees are manufactured. We know this city is home to a unique character who also may be involved in starting a cult. But how does this connect to the main plot? While we get some vague answers at the end, I was left feeling underwhelmed. It felt like there was too much happening in some of these smaller side plots, and the novel would be stronger with a more central goal.

That being said, THE UNMAPPING read to me as a commentary on the COVID-19 pandemic. The city is affected by an unforeseen event that alters all aspects of daily life, resulting in deaths, shortages, and confusion. How can the city return to normal, if ever? How can the government provide for its citizens effectively, if at all? I kept thinking about how the life we had before the pandemic is likely gone for good, as even today, five years later, we still live with the virus circulating and the changes, such as hybrid work schedules and outdoor seating, that didn't previously exist. While there are suggestions within the text that the unmapping was caused by climate change, I can see how the book shows us how humanity reacts to a crisis in general.

All in all, THE UNMAPPING is reminiscent of other debut sci-fi books written in recent years, specifically THE MINISTRY OF TIME by Kaliane Bradley and THE CENTRE by Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi. These books are bursting with unique ideas, yet the execution could use some improvement. I look forward to what Denise S. Robbins writes next, because I'm sure it will be another exciting concept that will make me think, with even stronger writing than this debut.

This book did not end up being for me. I appreciate how ambitious it is. But I never really felt like I got a grasp on what was going on. Not that it was confusing, but that it never made me fully invested in what was happening. The writing didn’t create the right kind of tension to make me want to continue reading, so it ended up feeling more like work to read it. It’s a great premise; but I did not love the execution.

There were so many great things about this novel from its quiet, character focused plot, to the various perspectives that painted a picture of humanity in such a vulnerable state. I really enjoyed the novel overall, but I really had to push myself to sit down with it. The story felt a little too slow at times, not fueling me to turn the pages like I wanted to, and although the characters were solid, I didn’t find myself caring much for them.

This is such a unique story that definitely deserves to be told, and I’m sure it will find its audience of devoted followers.

An intriguing debut novel that mostly works.

The premise is simple and fresh: what would happen if buildings started moving about, repositioning each morning? How would society - and individuals - cope with such a change? The Unmapping by Denise S. Robbins explores both the micro and the macro effects of this strange phenomenon.

First the positives - the prose is clear, easy to read without being simplistic. Robbins can write and the story draws you forward without the need for an action-filled plot. In terms of mood and tone, the clearest comp I can think of is Famous Men Who Never Lived by K Chess, which is another literary-ish spec fic novel based on an out-there premise.

The story covers a lot of thematic ground: belief and self-delusion, how we respond to our environment, climate change and consumerism, and. These topics are handled adeptly - Robbins has a nice way of being thought-provoking without dictating to you.

The characters feel ... distinct and interesting. Could I imagine those people, in that situation doing the rather odd things they did? I think so. They do, however, feel really unusual. Could it be that the three or four characters the story really focuses on (and, maybe, the author) are all just different to me? It's possible. But, while the key characters are generally rather engaging, they also feel .... un-real. Kind of odd, kind of off. Compared to say, Emily St John Mandel or David Mitchell, the characterisation doesn't quite have that magical air of believability that can really lift a work.

Some readers may find the plot a little unsatisfying, too - once certain aspects are surplus to the requirements of the themes and characters, they're dropped. Those who like linearity, structure and clear answers are likely to be disappointed.

In short, The Unmapping was enjoyable and thought-provoking, without fully blowing me away. I'd recommend it for those looking for a slightly unusual, thought-provoking literary spec-fic title. Those who want a strong, clear plot or fully leaping-off-the-page characters might want to steer clear.

Finally, a big thank you to Denise Robbins, Bindery Books and Netgalley for an ARC in return for an honest review.