Mappalujo

by Jeff Noon, Steve Beard

Mappalujo is a writing game devised by Steve Beard and Jeff Noon. Each narrative produced by the game is set in the imaginary land of Lujo. Gradually, as more narratives are added, the map of Lujo is extended, and further explored.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Science Fiction

ebook

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Jeff Noon is a novelist, short story writer and playwright whose works make extensive use of wordplay and fantasy.

He studied fine art and drama at Manchester University and was subsequently appointed writer in residence at the city's Royal Exchange theatre. But Noon did not stay too long in the theatrical world, possibly because the realism associated with the theatre was not conducive to the fantastical worlds he was itching to invent. While working behind the counter at the local Waterstone's bookshop, a colleague suggested he write a novel. The result of that suggestion,

Vurt, was the hippest sci-fi novel to be published in Britain since the days of Michael Moorcock in the late sixties.

Like Moorcock, Noon is not preoccupied with technology per se, but incorporates technological developments into a world of magic and fantasy.

As a teenager, Noon was addicted to American comic heroes, and still turns to them for inspiration. He has said that music is more of an influence on his writing than novelists: he 'usually writes to music', and his record collection ranges from classical to drum'n'bass.

Reviews

[Cookie M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, aren't I silly! I kept trying to find a single narrative in this story and failed. I didn't discover until the end that these are a series of somewhat interconnected stories telling the tale, not of a person or a place but of a game, a way the authors came up with to write a story. Or, maybe to let a story write itself.
It was beautifully told, and quite engaging, but confusing. If only the Kindle version had some sort of warning in it, or at least a note at the beginning to check the authors' notes, so I would have known what was going on. That's why I only gave it 3 stars.

[Marc Nash · Rating 5 out of 5]

You have to talk about process in considering this book. The co-authors drew up a list of 75 cultural influencers, writers, film stars, musicians, fashion designers & artists (conceptual & performance). They took turns drawing a name out of a hat and that cultural figure influenced/permeated the short chapter he wrote, then passed on to his collaborator to do the same for the next chapter. They called this the Mappalujo Engine. a splicing of Lewis Carroll meets William Burroughs' cut up technique, with lots of resonances to the techniques of other experimental artists and writers.

And you know what? It works. Not only does it work, but for all this seeming randomness & pre-determined inflection, the authors produce a coherent, cogent novel that flows seamlessly from chapter to chapter to tell its story. It is a veritable triumph.

The world created is an extension of Disneyworld, where dreams are produced by the preserved mind of the dead creator and such dreams determine the existence of all its citizens such is the cultural and capitalist power of the commercial machine. Citizens wear masks, partly to hide their true selves, but more to display the dream of who they would like to be, the celebrity they would like to be, or some sort of coded form of expression of what they project of themselves.

But the dreamworld is under threat from dream terrorists who want to break people free of corporate, mass produced dreams and let them expand their minds. 4 characters move through this world and what is so brilliant about the novel is that each is searching for a lost person, a dead parent, dead wife, missing child and how they are all linked together is utterly convincing, when so often such linkage can seem forced. Ultimately, this is a book about loss, of our dreams, our self-expression and our loved ones.

Superb.

"Every expert had a different theory about the murderer's psyche: sociopath, mediapath, abstract narcissist, extreme performance artist, or else someone suffering from toxic celebrity identity disorder." This gives you an idea of the range and depth of insight of the authors' stinging critique of cultural production, media, entertainment, celebrity and our withered imaginations.

[Richard B · Rating 4 out of 5]

This month has been a bit of a Jeff Noon bonanza for me. While ordering his latest (A Man of Shadows) I stumbled on this book which is a collaboration with Steve Beard. One of the things I love about Jeff Noon is that he loves to experiment with how he writes. With this book he a Steve Beard came up with a new writing engine (I believe the last one used for Cobralingus, but I may be wrong). The rules are relatively straightforward and can be found as an appendix to the book. What results is a great story, a tale of celebrity, masks, and dreams set in the city of Lujo. The story is broken into four parts, narrated by four narrators. The two authors did a good job with harmonizing the follow of the book. For fans of Jeff Noon I don't think this will disappoint. There are a lot of great details which lend itself to re-reading a few months down the line.

[B. · Rating 5 out of 5]

In our time of Covid-19, we need to start wearing masks like the characters at the beginning. Designer made, unique masks.

As for the story itself, I loved it. But I've liked everything I've read of Jeff Noon's so that's not really remarkable.

[Mathew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perhaps because of how it was written, it’s one of those books that seems unsure whether it wants to be fantasy or science fiction. It reminded me of Michael Marshall Smith’s “Only Forward” in that respect.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a long-time devotee of Jeff Noon's novels and short stories, I was delighted to learn that a publishing house (the newly formed rEvolution SF) had finally taken a serious chance on his cut-up remixology approach to literature. And I am so, so pleased that the result is Mappalujo. This is fiction at its most free, and it's a joy to read.

The story itself unfolds in several parts. There's a detective story, a murder mystery, corporate intrigue, family drama, and the tale of a city in decline. The presentation of the story (written by Noon and Steve Beard using their Mappalujo engine) is like a psychedelic roller-coaster ride. We visit collective dream worlds, witness drug-induced shifts in identity, and the disorientation we feel brings us more deeply into the city of Lujo.

This was a reading experience like no other, and I can't wait to see the next results of this experiment.

For more on Noon's vision for scratched, sampled, remixed prose, see his literary manifesto, published by the Guardian more than 15 years ago! This book has been a seriously long time coming.
https://www.theguardian.com/books/200...

[Idoru · Rating 5 out of 5]

This novel started out as a writing game between the two authors. The idea is that two (or more) writers select a bank of famous people and then each take a name and write a chapter inspired by that person.

The rules are decided on prior to starting - how long each chapter should be, what forms of writing can be used (verse, prose, comic book strips and so on). The link to the chosen celebrity can be as literal or as allegorical as the writer pleases. So a chapter inspired by Serena Williams could be about a phenomenally successful tennis player, about sportswomen in general, about media representations of women in sport, about sibling rivalry.

I really like the idea of this game. I think it would make a wonderful exercise for creative writing classes. It certainly produced an excellent book in Mappalujo.

It’s difficult to explain what the book is about, but anyone familiar with Jeff Noon’s work will recognise the style here. I’ve not heard of Steve Beard. I did check him out on Amazon but none of his other books appear to be in print. A shame as I’d like to read them.

The book is set in the city of Lujo. It’s surreal landscape is populated by characters we recognise - salesmen, private detectives, business people - and dreams and artificially bred creatures we don’t. In many ways the story is a simple mystery, but it’s also about dreams versus reality, masks and what people try to hide, the commercialisation of dreams, and much more.

It’s brilliant and fascinating and I’d like to read more.

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read Noon's stuff. Please. After reading "Vurt" a second time, I still loved it but noticed some legitimate flaws that were lost on my younger self. Everything else about it was still sublime though, even for a first novel. Mappalujo is only my second Noon book, and I really didn't expect lightning to strike twice but it did.

Admittedly I think the chapters being inspired (kind of) by famous figures is a bit forced and unnecessary. However apparently this is how the entire book came to be. It also leads to said chapters being really varied and often unique from one another though, so in total I liked the decision. I’m usually not into books with unusual formats (hello House of Leaves) but it kept things fresh and interesting here.

The story is just something else and hard to pin down. It has sci-fi trappings but also a lot of blurry, intangible qualities that make a lot of things unclear but fun to piece together. Another read-through is possible and seems like it would be very fruitful, but I enjoyed it just about the entire way through. A bit obtuse at times, but otherwise stellar in every way.

[Nick Watton · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very strange read.
A story of masks.
Masked writing, channeling other authors / personalities.
Sometimes difficult, maddening.
But it's all coming together. And I think it is quite probably brilliant.

[Just This · Rating 3 out of 5]

inconsistent. this book was written by two writers, and i found myself enjoying some parts, and feeling bored by others. an interesting experiment, but a discordant read.

[Tom Loock]

Managed about the first 10% to discover that this book is not for me.
That's not to say it's a bad book at all - my personal circumstances were probably not right.