Name: Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies
Rating: 4.75 (4 reviews)
ISBN: 9781529069365

Maddie Mortimer

Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies is about a family coming to terms with the unthinkable: the death of a mother. Playful and funny, profound and heart-breaking, this is a daring debut about motherhood, anatomy, language and the darkness within us all.

Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies

Bilge Ince

Try and survive for as long as you can try and survive for as long as you can.

I don’t know. Maybe a brown. Or a purple-grey. 

Iris looked up to the ceiling and laughed one of her wide-open golden laughs and said, No no no, you’re just saying that because you’re old. Old people can be bright too.

It is a shame, such a shame, Harry thought, that to be a human is to be one thing, to be contained, to have these walls of skin and a singular sense of self that sloshes and slaps around the inside of us like water on the inside of a well.

It sounds like a secret word for the shape the moon makes on still water.

Anthimeria is also the verbing of a noun. From the Greek 'anti' - against, opposite 'meros' - part, it is a leap, a transformation, a conversion from Thing to Action; where we box away, crane up, curtain through the certainty of what things are and what they could be. 

The way light moons about on a flat plate of sea.

The only thing worse than death is knowledge of coming.

This lyrical debut novel is at once a passionate coming-of-age story, a meditation on illness and death, and a kaleidoscopic journey through one woman’s life—told in part by the malevolent voice of her disease. Lia, her husband Harry, and their beloved daughter, Iris, are a precisely balanced family of three. With Iris struggling to navigate the social tightrope of early adolescence, their tender home is a much-needed refuge. But when a sudden diagnosis threatens to derail each of their lives, the secrets of Lia’s past come rushing into the present, and the world around them begins to transform. Deftly guided through time, we discover the people who shaped Lia’s youth; from her deeply religious mother to her troubled first love. In turn, each will take their place in the shifting landscape of Lia’s body; at the center of which dances a gleeful narrator, learning her life from the inside, growing more emboldened by the day. Pivoting between the domestic and the epic, the comic and the heart-breaking, this astonishing novel unearths the darkness and levity of one woman’s life to symphonic effect.

I don’t know. Maybe a brown. Or a purple-grey. Iris looked up to the ceiling and laughed one of her wide-open golden laughs and said, No no no, you’re just saying that because you’re old. Old people can be bright too.

"Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies" caught me off guard, leaving a deep impact that I hadn't expected. As I got lost in its pages, I felt completely wrapped up in the story, maybe because it reminded me so much of my own experiences, step by step, until the end. It's important to mention that this story might be tough for someone who has lost a family member to cancer. It has trigger points for those worth mentioning.

However, in the midst of all the strong emotions, there was something comforting in these pages. The way it reflected my thoughts and feelings throughout this tough journey made me feel understood and less lonely, like it was tending to a wound. The story has a contemporary style, but it's written so well that every part flows smoothly into the next.

Getting back to the heart of the story, we follow Lia's life from the beginning to the end, along with all the important characters who shaped her journey—her childhood, first love, heartbreaks, friendships, motherhood, and the unexpected arrival of cancer. Lia's genuine nature shines throughout, staying true from start to finish. Although the story focuses on Lia, every character gets their own space and voice, so you really get to know them and connect with them.

In this sense, the bond I formed with Iris was the most significant part of my experience with this book. She became my anchor and a source of comfort as I read. For the first time, I want to thank the author for bravely putting this story on paper, with all its ups and downs, with all the madness involved because going through the loss of a loved one and holding onto hope until the very end, only to finally accept reality, is just like this book portrays it.

Illness does many things, she thought, but perhaps most sick, most grotesque is its way of reminding you that death and dignity can have as much to do with economy as they do with luck – that sometimes life can be bought and sold.

I don’t know. Maybe a brown. Or a purple-grey. Iris looked up to the ceiling and laughed one of her wide-open golden laughs and said, No no no, you’re just saying that because you’re old. Old people can be bright too.

"Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies" caught me off guard, leaving a deep impact that I hadn't expected. As I got lost in its pages, I felt completely wrapped up in the story, maybe because it reminded me so much of my own experiences, step by step, until the end. It's important to mention that this story might be tough for someone who has lost a family member to cancer. It has trigger points for those worth mentioning.

However, in the midst of all the strong emotions, there was something comforting in these pages. The way it reflected my thoughts and feelings throughout this tough journey made me feel understood and less lonely, like it was tending to a wound. The story has a contemporary style, but it's written so well that every part flows smoothly into the next.

Getting back to the heart of the story, we follow Lia's life from the beginning to the end, along with all the important characters who shaped her journey—her childhood, first love, heartbreaks, friendships, motherhood, and the unexpected arrival of cancer. Lia's genuine nature shines throughout, staying true from start to finish. Although the story focuses on Lia, every character gets their own space and voice, so you really get to know them and connect with them.

In this sense, the bond I formed with Iris was the most significant part of my experience with this book. She became my anchor and a source of comfort as I read. For the first time, I want to thank the author for bravely putting this story on paper, with all its ups and downs, with all the madness involved because going through the loss of a loved one and holding onto hope until the very end, only to finally accept reality, is just like this book portrays it.

Illness does many things, she thought, but perhaps most sick, most grotesque is its way of reminding you that death and dignity can have as much to do with economy as they do with luck – that sometimes life can be bought and sold.

When I picked it up it looked like a book I wanted to write. It turns out it wasn't that.

It was an outline of a different real-life-scenario outcome that I wanted to be prepared for in case life pulled a trick again. Nothing prepares except the knowledge whispered by ghosts. I still believe that. Should I know better?

No, I'm beginning to be fine with 'naive'. 

Dora Tominic

Disclaimer: this is not a review.

Why did I pick this book? 

When I picked it up it looked like a book I wanted to write. It turns out it wasn't that.

It was an outline of a different real-life-scenario outcome that I wanted to be prepared for in case life pulled a trick again. Nothing prepares except the knowledge whispered by ghosts. I still believe that. Should I know better?

No, I'm beginning to be fine with 'naive'. 

Olağanüstü, olağanüstü, olağanüstü bir kitap okudum. 1996 doğumlu Maddie Mortimer'ın, bu sene Booker Ödülü'ne aday gösterilen ilk romanı "Muhteşem Bedenlerimizin Coğrafyası" çok ama çok acayip bir şeydi. "Bu kadar genç bir yazarın eseri nasıl Booker adayı olabilir ya" diye düşünüyordum; okuyunca anladım. Olabilirmiş, olmalıymış.

Mortimer, 14 yaşındayken annesini kanserden ötürü kaybetme deneyiminden yola çıkarak bir hikaye anlatıyor: Kanser tüm vücuduna yayılmış olan genç anne Lia'nın öyküsü bu; ölümün bir gerçeklik olarak belirmesi ve her şeyi şekillendirmeye başlamasıyla beraber kızı, kocası, eski sevgilisi ve annesiyle ilişkisinin dönüşmesine dair bir öykü. Yakın zamanda bir hastalık ve kayıp süreci yaşadıysanız kitabın çok tetikleyici olabileceğini belirtmek isterim. Nitekim ben bazı bölümlerde nefessiz kalıyor gibi hissedip durma ihtiyacı duydum. ("Ölümden daha kötü bir şey varsa, o da ölümün yaklaştığını bilmektir" - ah bu cümleyi hiç anlayamasaydım keşke.)

Anlattığı hikaye bir yana, yazım tekniği itibariyle oldukça yenilikçi hatta deneysel bir biçimde yazılmış bir eser bu. Bir tarafta zamanda ileri-geri giderek de olsa daha konvansiyonel diyebileceğimiz bir şekilde hikayeyi anlatan bir dış ses var, bir de aralarda girip konuşan bir başka ses. Bu sesi ilk başta kanserin, hastalığın sesi olarak okuyorsunuz ancak metin ilerledikçe kanser hastası olan Lia ile birleşip sanki bir tür Tanrı-anlatıcıya hatta Tanrı’nın bizzat kendisine dönüşüyor.

Büyüyen ve küçülen puntolar, bir sarmal şeklinde yazılmış kelimelerle beraber bazı sayfaları adeta tipografik sanat eserlerine benzeyen bu acayip kitap; yaşama, ölüme, yasa, sevmenin biçimlerine, aşka, anneliğe dair 25 yaşında bir yazardan beklenmeyecek derinlikte içgörüler sunuyor. 

Bir de tabii dili... Kelimelerle nazikçe dans edişi, oynayışı, o sakin, şiirli anlatımı. Çok ama çok sevdim.

İnsan bazen nasıl seveceğini bilemez. İnsan bazen neye öfkeleneceğini bilemez. İnsan bazen bir büyük yıkıntının altında kaldığını hisseder. Bazı insanlar da işte bir büyük cesaretle soyunup bunları yazar, ortaya böyle kitaplar çıkar. Sevgili Maddie Mortimer, iyi ki yazmışsın ve seninle iyi ki tanıştık.

Eylül Görmüş

Olağanüstü, olağanüstü, olağanüstü bir kitap okudum. 1996 doğumlu Maddie Mortimer'ın, bu sene Booker Ödülü'ne aday gösterilen ilk romanı "Muhteşem Bedenlerimizin Coğrafyası" çok ama çok acayip bir şeydi. "Bu kadar genç bir yazarın eseri nasıl Booker adayı olabilir ya" diye düşünüyordum; okuyunca anladım. Olabilirmiş, olmalıymış.

Mortimer, 14 yaşındayken annesini kanserden ötürü kaybetme deneyiminden yola çıkarak bir hikaye anlatıyor: Kanser tüm vücuduna yayılmış olan genç anne Lia'nın öyküsü bu; ölümün bir gerçeklik olarak belirmesi ve her şeyi şekillendirmeye başlamasıyla beraber kızı, kocası, eski sevgilisi ve annesiyle ilişkisinin dönüşmesine dair bir öykü. Yakın zamanda bir hastalık ve kayıp süreci yaşadıysanız kitabın çok tetikleyici olabileceğini belirtmek isterim. Nitekim ben bazı bölümlerde nefessiz kalıyor gibi hissedip durma ihtiyacı duydum. ("Ölümden daha kötü bir şey varsa, o da ölümün yaklaştığını bilmektir" - ah bu cümleyi hiç anlayamasaydım keşke.)

Anlattığı hikaye bir yana, yazım tekniği itibariyle oldukça yenilikçi hatta deneysel bir biçimde yazılmış bir eser bu. Bir tarafta zamanda ileri-geri giderek de olsa daha konvansiyonel diyebileceğimiz bir şekilde hikayeyi anlatan bir dış ses var, bir de aralarda girip konuşan bir başka ses. Bu sesi ilk başta kanserin, hastalığın sesi olarak okuyorsunuz ancak metin ilerledikçe kanser hastası olan Lia ile birleşip sanki bir tür Tanrı-anlatıcıya hatta Tanrı’nın bizzat kendisine dönüşüyor.

Büyüyen ve küçülen puntolar, bir sarmal şeklinde yazılmış kelimelerle beraber bazı sayfaları adeta tipografik sanat eserlerine benzeyen bu acayip kitap; yaşama, ölüme, yasa, sevmenin biçimlerine, aşka, anneliğe dair 25 yaşında bir yazardan beklenmeyecek derinlikte içgörüler sunuyor. 

Bir de tabii dili... Kelimelerle nazikçe dans edişi, oynayışı, o sakin, şiirli anlatımı. Çok ama çok sevdim.

İnsan bazen nasıl seveceğini bilemez. İnsan bazen neye öfkeleneceğini bilemez. İnsan bazen bir büyük yıkıntının altında kaldığını hisseder. Bazı insanlar da işte bir büyük cesaretle soyunup bunları yazar, ortaya böyle kitaplar çıkar. Sevgili Maddie Mortimer, iyi ki yazmışsın ve seninle iyi ki tanıştık.

Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies

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