Maps To Anywhere

This book was slightly confusing to me.  It seems to just be a collection of short stories that tell about his background and family and history.  I don't exactly understand what the stories have to do with maps.  On page 37, the narrator uses terms associated with maps to describe Mrs. Mazel, stating that her topography amazed him.  Throughout the short stories, that seems to be a the theme for the writer.  He is frequently associating maps with every day life and memories from when he was a child.  Also, with the ways in which he tells the history of the Earth and other details about it, it seems like he is trying to make maps of the world come to life through the telling of stories.  It seems like he is trying to make it all feel real to the reader.  Truthfully, it was rather difficult for me to follow the stories because of how much he jumped around to different times and different places.  It could work for others as a way of keeping things from getting dull, but I found it hard to really indulge in what the writer was trying to portray with all of his stories.