Mapping the interior: Book review




Book review


Title: Mapping the interior
Author: Stephen Graham Jones
Genre: Fiction/Horror

Mapping the interior is one of those kind of stories which explores the relationship between memory, trauma and loss of a loved one. 

We have our narrator named Junior who is on the brink of adolescence. Junior is yearning to connect with his dad who drowned under mysterious circumstances. Junior was barely four and the memories of his father are blurred. The story begins with Junior sighing his father’s ghost in his trailer home where he lives with his cognitively impaired brother Dino and his mother. At first Junior thinks the ghost has come to save his family. Later he is filled with apprehension and fear. Junior is forced to confront the ghosts of the past and delve deeper into the realms between the two worlds. 

The entire story is narrated in first person from the point of view of Junior. The prose is raw mending authenticity to the character’s voice. The setting is inside the protagonist’s memory and gives a glimpse of the Native American world. 

From the first line, the story hooks you. The presence of the spirit ranges from being heartwarming to instances of horror. Throughout the book, you travel with Junior into his quest to find out the truth and into the dark world of imagination.  Themes of loss and loneliness are touched upon here. 

Mapping the interior is an intense read. It brings out the effects of an unsettled past and how it haunts an individual forget. It’s a heady mix of genres- Psychological fiction, horror and American history.there is a lot that is packed in this book. 



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