'Original; memorable; shimmering' Sarah Moss 'Extraordinary; kaleidoscopic' Daisy Johnson Today I might trace the rungs of her larynx or tap at her trachea like the bones of a xylophone . . . Something gleeful and malevolent is moving in Lia’s body; learning her life from the inside out. A shape-shifter. A disaster tourist. It’s travelling down the banks of her canals. It’s spreading. When a sudden diagnosis upends Lia’s world; the boundaries between her past and her present begin to collapse. Deeply buried secrets stir awake. As the voice prowling in Lia takes hold of her story; and the landscape around becomes indistinguishable from the one within; Lia and her family are faced with some of the hardest questions of all: how can we move on from the events that have shaped us; when our bodies harbour everything? And what does it mean to die with grace; when you’re simply not ready to let go? Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies is a story of coming-of-age at the end of a life. Utterly heart-breaking yet darkly funny; Maddie Mortimer’s astonishing debut is a symphonic journey through one woman’s body: a wild and lyrical celebration of desire; forgiveness; and the darkness within us all.