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challenging
dark
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
A fascinating and challenging novel. So much of this felt like being struck in a dream where nothing quite makes sense.
I loved the way this novel had such a foreboding, chaotic feeling that built through the reading experience.
I also enjoyed reading about a woman with chronic pain that talked about medical gaslighting and the way people treat you when you have an invisible illness. But I also loved that the main character was in many ways unlikable, and the way we learn more about her as the novel goes on.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Chronic illness, Medical content, Medical trauma, Gaslighting
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Look, I read this over two days so it clearly got me. I can't fully say I understood it through and through. Reminds me of the Pisces in it's protagonist. Miserable (justifiably so?) and resentful of the world and it's people.
At best I found her understandable. At worst absolutely contemptable. Which I think I would have liked more if there was a little more catharsis towards the end. Anti-climatic for me (which is mentioned in the book? An intentional lampshade?)
You definitely feel this book. You feel the frustration of no one believing you, of diminishing your suffering. But Miranda turns that pain into...just absolutely thinking so little of the woman around her, either by infantilizing or villainizing. Can't fully tell if this was on purpose though, and had the same struggle with Bunny.
Overall will keep returning to this author I think.
At best I found her understandable. At worst absolutely contemptable. Which I think I would have liked more if there was a little more catharsis towards the end. Anti-climatic for me (which is mentioned in the book? An intentional lampshade?)
You definitely feel this book. You feel the frustration of no one believing you, of diminishing your suffering. But Miranda turns that pain into...just absolutely thinking so little of the woman around her, either by infantilizing or villainizing. Can't fully tell if this was on purpose though, and had the same struggle with Bunny.
Overall will keep returning to this author I think.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness
Moderate: Ableism, Sexual content, Gaslighting
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
ARC provided by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I knew before starting that this book would be weird, but I think it's the kind of weird that doesn't entirely work for me. However, I did really like the Shakespeare references; getting hints of what the production of All's Well was like, but also the sneakier references to Macbeth, the ones that aren't blatant, but there if you know the play. I think trying to figure that layer out was the most fun I had with this book, but overall this was either a frustrating or confusing reading experience, depending on which part of the book I was in.
Miranda as a character evokes a lot of sympathy at the beginning, and the way her suffering is described is vivid. I couldn't help but think about how often women's pain is ignored because it's an exaggeration or all in our heads. I felt deeply for her, but as the story progresses, I found that sympathy changing to annoyance and dislike. The way she carries herself after the first part made me wonder if that is what she was like before her accident: smug, and insufferable with it.
I still couldn't tell you what exactly happened in the last act of this story. Miranda is an unreliable narrator, that much is clear, but we don't really get any hints to help us figure out what actually happened. Reading this feels very much like hallucinating. The ending is left very open as well and didn't quite feel satisfying. The writing remains excellent throughout and is definitely the highlight of this book.
I knew before starting that this book would be weird, but I think it's the kind of weird that doesn't entirely work for me. However, I did really like the Shakespeare references; getting hints of what the production of All's Well was like, but also the sneakier references to Macbeth, the ones that aren't blatant, but there if you know the play. I think trying to figure that layer out was the most fun I had with this book, but overall this was either a frustrating or confusing reading experience, depending on which part of the book I was in.
Miranda as a character evokes a lot of sympathy at the beginning, and the way her suffering is described is vivid. I couldn't help but think about how often women's pain is ignored because it's an exaggeration or all in our heads. I felt deeply for her, but as the story progresses, I found that sympathy changing to annoyance and dislike. The way she carries herself after the first part made me wonder if that is what she was like before her accident: smug, and insufferable with it.
I still couldn't tell you what exactly happened in the last act of this story. Miranda is an unreliable narrator, that much is clear, but we don't really get any hints to help us figure out what actually happened. Reading this feels very much like hallucinating. The ending is left very open as well and didn't quite feel satisfying. The writing remains excellent throughout and is definitely the highlight of this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Cursing
Moderate: Body horror, Drug use, Medical content, Medical trauma, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Drug abuse
Moderate: Alcohol
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
THIS BOOK. Wow. This was wild.
This book recreates chronic pain, ableism and healthism, and medical trauma very well. I'm not sure I've read another novel like this, especially not one staged with so many supernatural and thriller-like elements. The scenes between Miranda and her PT were excruciating and hyper-realistic. You can tell Mona Awad's had her own pain and disillusionment with the medical-industrial complex.
Miranda is an amazingly developed and flawed character, and reading through her perspectiveespecially as she becomes more frantic and manic throughout the book is captivating. The mix between supernatural mysticism and Shakespeare retelling is littered just enough to make the plot work, but Miranda, the harm done to her, and the harm she does take center stage.
Miranda's use of Brianna and Ellie as caricatures heightens the drama, especially early on, and I was cringing with Miranda's simultaneous pity and love-bombing of Grace. And the blurs between Paul and Hugo... oof. I feel like Miranda herself and Miranda's view on the people around her strayed close to stereotyping at points, but the narration was so carefully orchestrated to make that the scary point? Like, how ordinary this story is and how easily we can ignore the complexity and humanity of others? And the ending was really bittersweet with this slight zoom outward to all the women in chronic pain, potentially haunted in similar storylines. It wasn't too heavy-handed and it brought everything in the novel to an emotional and targeted end.
This book recreates chronic pain, ableism and healthism, and medical trauma very well. I'm not sure I've read another novel like this, especially not one staged with so many supernatural and thriller-like elements. The scenes between Miranda and her PT were excruciating and hyper-realistic. You can tell Mona Awad's had her own pain and disillusionment with the medical-industrial complex.
Miranda is an amazingly developed and flawed character, and reading through her perspective
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Medical trauma
Moderate: Drug use, Sexual content, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship
Minor: Sexual violence, Alcohol
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
All’s Well by Mona Awad
⭐️⭐️⭐️
“Our remedies oft in ourselves do lie which we ascribe to heaven.”
I was REALLY looking forward to this book and I hate to say it, but I’m mildly disappointed. I struggled through the first 25%, enjoyed the next 60%, and then struggled through the last 15% (that equals 100 right?). Anyway, there’s just a lot going on in this book. I love Shakespeare and I love books that handle tough issues in a creative way. Mona Awad did an excellent job of building the main character, Miranda. However, I feel like the other characters fell a little flat. I understand that Awad was critiquing how doctors view women and their pain, but I feel like this message was watered down by Miranda complaining about other things. Also, I am somewhat confused. Toward the end, a lot of things about Miranda’s history and her relationship with Ellie are introduced that are never fully resolved. On a romantic scale, there’s no explanation as to why she is seeing Paul and what exactly is happening with Hugo. I have seen All’s Well labelled as a dark comedy, but I don’t see it. It seems to be more tragic and a psychological thriller. Overall, this book was dead in the middle for me. The parts I enjoyed, I really enjoyed. The parts I didn’t enjoy, were hard to get through.
I really don’t know if I recommend this book or not. I believe everyone’s opinion is valuable and that you should read a book to develop your own opinion.
CW: Suicide, Murder, Drug Use, Drinking, Chronic Illness
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Chronic illness
Minor: Suicide, Murder