Maps To Anywhere Blog Response #2

Maps To Anywhere Blog Response #2

Brandon Lazovic

Continuing on from the week previous to this one is the second half of Maps To Anywhere. In the second half of the book is a lot of shorter story essays, but what I’ll be writing about is the largest essay story in the latter half of the novel. The story starts off with the sub chapter “House of the Future.” It begins with the narrator and his parents travelling to the House of the Future attraction and the narrator marvels at the world of possibilities and the imagination of the whole attraction. Throughout the next ten or so pages he cuts to his brother, who is slowly dying away from what appears to be Cancer. He keeps cutting back to the perfection of the future that the House of the Future opened up in his mind’s eye. This might be because he’s just a young child with an imagination common for those of that age, but I feel as though it’s really to escape the inevitability of his brother’s death due to the Cancer. He keeps trying to envision this perfect future to block out the pain that his brother is suffering at that moment. His brother, Gary, has this same idea, although his version of events is most likely different to his brothers. He looks into the future, using that as a lens to see all of the things that he’ll never be able to in the upcoming years. He knows he’s going to die, so he tries to envision what his life would’ve been like had he lived. Just my own speculation, however.

                The next chapter of the essay was “Dream House.” It goes into the condition of the house. Bernard’s mother and father are in denial regarding Gary’s illness, even as he’s slowly dying. They try to show him pictures of people who have gotten better from their sicknesses, but it doesn’t mean too much it seems. Bernard sees that his brother is slowly easing his body into death, just like easing yourself into the cool water of a swimming pool. “Dog House” Follows after this. It describes a couple who is friends with the family as the husband attempts to teach them ventriloquism. Bernard’s parents thrive off of them and I believe they’re used to lighten the mood and distract them from Gary’s illness. His brother also becomes attracted to his brother. Not in a sexual sense, but in a sense in which he knows that Gary is slowly slipping away. To me it’s an act of brotherly love as Bernard tries to evoke that love in more than just an emotional sense.

                After this the next few chapters basically go into Gary’s degeneration and his brother’s memories with him. Bernard was delusional, thinking that with the help of Martin, the nurse, his brother would instantly get back to regular health once again. It never happens, and it’s made obvious that it won’t happen when they leave to go to a show that Bernard is performing in. As the weeks up to his death continue everything gets worse: his skin is scaly, he’s constantly dehydrated, his symptoms are becoming more prominent. He eventually passes away.

                What I found interesting was the fact that every chapter had the word ‘House’ in it. The idea of architecture was also used several times, so I feel as though this was done to further the story along. Each chapter helped piece together a part of one large picture, adding a room to a house with each one in a sense. It describes memories that Bernard had and inspects various angles and emotions felt throughout the time period in which his brother was dying. In a sense that House that has been built seemingly falls apart with his brother’s death. It’s all one great analogy for how the story unfolded at the end.