Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies

Remarkable . . . A tearjerker, but it's hopeful too . . . Brave, inventive and mature ― Sunday Times

Here is a book to dance and sing about. An extraordinary, kaleidoscopic dive into language -- Daisy Johnson, Man Booker-shortlisted author of Everything, Under

Compelling and uplifting . . . undeniably impressive: Mortimer is clearly a talent to watch ― Telegraph

An original and memorable novel written in shimmering prose. The characters stayed with me long after I’d finished reading -- Sarah Moss, Women's Prize-shortlisted author of Ghost Wall and Summerwater

Lyrical and beautiful, this is a novel unlike anything else ― Stylist

Both expansive and intimate, Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies is an intricate portrait of a life hurtling towards the inevitable. An extraordinary debut. -- Kiran Millwood Hargrave, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Mercies

Striking . . . formally inventive . . . Sadness is not allowed to crowd out wit and joy ― New Yorker

A beautiful novel about death that feels completely alive, pulsing with tenderness and wit -- Megan Hunter, author of The End We Start From and The Harpy

An extraordinary debut, unlike anything I've read. Wildly inventive, poetic and poignant, this is a rare gem of a novel that took my imagination to new places and touched my heart. -- Emma Stonex, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Lamplighters

Technically dazzling . . . Mortimer has the same felicity with language as Jon McGregor, combining an incantatory prose style with imagery so acute it almost burns

― Daily Mail

Ambitious, sprawling . . . brings to mind Eimear McBride's A Girl Is a Half-Formed Thing . . . restlessly inventive . . . delicate and persuasive . . . sharply funny ― Guardian

It may move between different styles and moods, but underpinning it all is the book’s bursting energy and, in the face of death, its verve for life ― i newspaper

This is a touching, eye-opening perspective on life and illness like you've never read before ― Good Housekeeping

Using word placement, font, and shape to create images on the page, Mortimer deepens the reader’s engagement with the story and characters . . . Through breathtaking attention to detail, Mortimer crafts a stunning novel that touches on the expanses one life can contain ― Booklist (starred)

Maddie Mortimer's dazzling debut novel about a woman with breast cancer is a life-affirming read - all the more so because of its proximity to death . . . While there are many books that explore these themes, it is rare to find one that does so in such an immersive and harrowing way ― Straits Times

About the Author