Maps of our Spectacular Bodies, opens by introducing the three central characters, Lia, her husband Harry, and their only daughter, Iris. In a flashback, Mortimer shows how Lia’s strict religious parents, Anne and Peter, reminded her that the human body belongs to Christ. Consequently, from the age of 12, Lia grew up knowing that her body was sacred. When Lia is in her teenage years, her parents adopt a handsome young boy called Mathew, who looks forward to becoming a priest. Mathew lives with the family, and Lia’s parents adore him. Similarly, Lia loves Mathew differently because there is a spark of intimacy and adoration.
Lia’s parents do not know what is happening between their daughter and Mathew because they assume that their relationship is that of brother and sister. Paradoxically, Lia and Mathew have a sexual relationship, and a lot goes inside her bedroom without her parent’s knowledge. However, when Lia becomes a young woman, she realizes that Mathew cannot give her the immovability and sanguinity she needs as a woman. Lia is also secretly seeing an academician called Harry, whom she falls in love with an assurance of marriage and happiness. A few years after cohabiting with Harry, Lia becomes pregnant and gives birth to Iris. After giving birth, Lia is diagnosed with breast cancer, but the condition is successfully treated. However, doctors advise Lia not to become pregnant again because that would worsen her condition.
After several years, Iris grows up with her parents, becoming an adolescent teen wanting to discover everything around her. Unfortunately, when Lia is in her forties, her breast cancer reappears, and this time the situation worsens. The relationship between Iris and her mother becomes stronger. Iris takes care of her ailing mother, and she comforts her with poetry and paintings. Lia’s diagnosis of breast cancer brings out her dark secrets; including her relationship with Mathew and the news threatens the stability of her family. Harry is confused about what to do but decides to continue caring for his wife. As the narrative continues, the cancer gets stronger, and Lia’s body becomes weaker. The novel ends in a comical and disheartening way because Lia is dying while living her past, present, and future life.
