Mapping the Interior

A quick read. I love Stephen Graham Jones and this book hit me right in the heart. It is definitely a little spooky and a lot "coming of age." It was one my favorite books I read last year.

“Mapping the Interior” by Stephen Graham Jones starts out pretty interesting as I enjoyed learning about all sorts of Indian culture. I liked all the references to that as I learned a lot from them as it was a slow burn of a novella at first.Now, the thing is, I went into this thinking it would be what I’m used to when it comes to his style of writing. You know, incredibly scary situations, events, in-depth character development, and everything else in between. Instead, this felt more like an emotional read about family, Indian culture, losing a family member that meant a lot to you, and just trying to cope with that kind of pain.This felt more like a paranormal/supernatural kind of story than full-on horror, which is more of what I enjoy. Regardless, this was a very unique and interesting read that had its moments but for me, got a bit confusing and dragged on with things that just didn’t make much sense to me as they happened.I believe this was probably written that way to leave it to interpretation by readers. I don’t mind that but prefer straightforward writing about horror and not so much a dark fantasy that deals with the topics I mentioned. As usual, Graham Jones is a fantastic writer but as I said, I prefer scarier stories that keep me up at night. Not so much emotional adventures such as this one.I give “Mapping the Interior” by Stephen Graham Jones a 3/5 as it just didn’t really do it for me but his writing style is and always has been fantastic. I enjoyed all the Indian culture references as well as an overall interesting story but it just didn’t connect with me since I wanted a lot more horror and scarier situations. Either way, it’s not a terrible story or anything, it just wasn’t for me and as I always say, reading is and forever will be subjective.Some readers will absolutely love this novella and others not so much. Regardless, I still genuinely enjoy his work and will continue reading what he’s written as well as anything new that comes out in the future. He’s that great and I’m glad I read this novella but in the grand scheme of things, it just didn’t do it for me and that’s okay. Onto the next one!

Mapping the Interior (2017) is the latest short novel by the prolific Stephen Graham Jones. It is pretty safe to assume that unless the reader is well-versed in Jones’ work, it will be unlike anything else they have likely read in quite some time. The protagonist of the novel begins his story when he is twelve-years-old, a sleep-walker, and who sees the silhouette of his dead father in the house where the boy, his younger brother who suffers from seizures, and their mother live. There are unknowns about the father’s death and unknowns about what the boy sees that fateful night because he doesn’t see his father as he was, but as what he might have become.Mapping the Interior is a unique piece of fiction in many ways. For one, Jones’ prose is unbelievably beautiful; almost lyrical. It has a deceptive flow to it which lulls the reader into appreciation of Jones’ story-telling without at first noticing that the story’s narrator is totally unreliable. In some ways, Mapping the Interior is reminiscent of what now may be an almost forgotten, albeit brilliant novel, The Kryptonite Kid (1979) by Joseph Torchia in which the reader is forced to evaluate and try to detect fantasy from reality. Jones’ narrator, however, makes it even more difficult than does Torchia’s.There is no doubt that by time Jones’ narrator sees his father’s ghost that the boy is haunted; but by exactly what? Determined to see his father again, the boy tries to trigger more sleep-walking episodes and he goes so far as to draw a map of the family’s floor plan to their inadequate modular house—including under it—to try to find evidence of his father’s presence. The book’s title, thus, becomes a wonderful metaphor for the boy’s internal search of the house as well as himself.During all of Mapping the Interior there are moments of realist family drama and interactions between the two brothers and between the brothers and their mother. Some scenes reflect great love. Some reflect tragedy and fear. Growing up for those that are considered different and who do not have much of any luxury to fall back upon is difficult. However, in Mapping the Interior there are also genuinely frightening events—made all the more alarming by the fact that the line between reality and fantasy is a blur throughout and the narrator’s citing of events is filled with misleading contradictions. The ground upon which the reader stands is ever uncertain and shifting.By time readers reach the end of the novel they will most likely have gained some greater appreciation of modern American Indian life and the trials many of those individuals face without having been preached to by Jones. As per the plot and story, readers who must have everything spelled out for them in black and white with every loose end neatly tied up are likely to be disappointed. Mapping the Interior will best be appreciated by readers who revel in superb writing and who enjoy experiencing a wonderful literary experience and a small glimpse of the terrors of the unknown and the confusion that can be wrought by the human psyche. Because of its length, readers will be tempted to consume all of Mapping the Interior in a single sitting, but that would be like chugging a fine wine meant to be sipped and would not do justice to this short, but phenomenal work of art.

This is the first time I’ve read anything by this author, so I went in with no real expectations one way or another. I started it and didn’t stop until I was finished.This is one of those rare stories that make unusual happenings seem sort of normal. The fact that the boy is only 15 makes it possible to view what’s happening as some type of dreaming, or maybe wishful thinking. Then everything changes.One of the best novellas I’ve ever read. And I’ve been reading for a long, long time.

This one took a little longer to hit its stride, I thought, but it sinks its teeth into you like a guard dog in the end. It seemed to me to be about grief, what grieving looks like for a young kid, holding onto the hope that someone’s coming back into your life, maybe not fully understanding the permanence of death.This one’s extra conversational in tone, but that works really well in conveying that younger voice. Overall, definitely worth a look, especially for existing SGJ fans.

What a fantastic story. I love how Jones uses speculative elements to deliver such rich, wonderful characters. The boy who loses his father and feels he must be the man of the house. The way he will do anything to protect his brother, the way he'll do whatever it takes to get his son back. A story pure of heart.

A short, sad tale about a boy's relationship with his dead father, his loving but unhappy mother, and his little brother, a boy with a learning disability and a penchant for superhero toys. About growing up poor and Native American in a modular house in the middle of nowhere. With a supernatural twist: the boy's father comes back as a ghost, though only the boy sees him. My favourite SGJ trademark, his horror geekery, comes through in the boy's compulsion to figure out the rules regulating these apparitions: what is the best way of engineering an encounter with his father's ghost? how does the ghost sustain itself? what's the connection between it and the boy's brother's toys? And there's that other SGJ trademark, too, the prose syntax that only reveals the meaning of the words shyly, almost reluctantly, as if it doesn't entirely trust the reader, like a wild beast. I'd love to see a film of this book one day, but it would be a challenge for the writer or director to capture this compellingly elusive quality.

Read lots of this aloud (as I wanted to read but son wasn't for going to sleep) and it was even better than reading it silently. First SGJ book, will definitely be checking out more. Got that great blend of readability (groan) with some form of experimentation - seamless segues into past, future, dreams, imagination...

I liked this book but got through it very fast. I thought it was written very convincingly from the point of view of a young adolescent experiencing the haunting of his father. A clever YA take on a ghost story, but not one that lingers unfortunately.