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mena_reads's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I think there’s something to be said here about the medical field often ignoring or diminishing female pain…So what is it? I’m going to have to read this 20 times before I can complete that thesis but there’s something in here for sure!
The main character, Miranda, reminded me of a darker, less likeable Fleabag. There’s a lot of dark humour, but not much to root for with her. Miranda suffers with an inexplicable, chronic pain that can be felt through the page. You carry that burden with her throughout the first half of the book and it can get pretty exhausting, but I think that speaks to the author’s merits rather than making this an unenjoyable read. Definitely not for everyone but I love it.
I truly believe Mona Awad is a master of her craft. Bunny is one of my favourite books of all time and I will read anything Awad puts out. All’s Well is quite similar in that you are placed in this surrealist world that leaves you with lots of questions and not necessarily a lot of answers, but that’s the beauty of it. Both novels showcase Awad’s incredible talent, so I definitely recommend them, especially in a bookclub scenario seeing as there is a lot to talk about!!
I really wished I had read All’s Well That Ends Well before this, so I could try and catch more Shakespearean allegories but alas! Next time. ;-)
The main character, Miranda, reminded me of a darker, less likeable Fleabag. There’s a lot of dark humour, but not much to root for with her. Miranda suffers with an inexplicable, chronic pain that can be felt through the page. You carry that burden with her throughout the first half of the book and it can get pretty exhausting, but I think that speaks to the author’s merits rather than making this an unenjoyable read. Definitely not for everyone but I love it.
I truly believe Mona Awad is a master of her craft. Bunny is one of my favourite books of all time and I will read anything Awad puts out. All’s Well is quite similar in that you are placed in this surrealist world that leaves you with lots of questions and not necessarily a lot of answers, but that’s the beauty of it. Both novels showcase Awad’s incredible talent, so I definitely recommend them, especially in a bookclub scenario seeing as there is a lot to talk about!!
I really wished I had read All’s Well That Ends Well before this, so I could try and catch more Shakespearean allegories but alas! Next time. ;-)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Chronic illness, Body horror, Medical trauma, Drug use, and Drug abuse
house_of_hannah's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Mona Awad is now a "must read" author for me. I have read both this and Bunny, and have been blown away at just how creative, weird, and amazing her stories are. The characters feel so real, and have so much depth to them that I feel like I know them personally.
The main character, Miranda, suffers from chronic pain with no concrete answers as to what's causing it. As someone who has been suffering with chronic pain since I was a teenager, I found I could relate to Miranda in so many ways. I understood her on such a personal level that I almost cried. I will say that if you can't relate to or understand her, then you may end up finding her to be annoying or whiny. Her pain is a huge part of the story, so be prepared to hear about it constantly.
Through this story we essentially live inside Miranda's head. This means that it is written as someone's train of thought would be, so there are very short sentences quite often. There are also a lot of flashbacks about her past as people and places remind her of happier times in her life. This kind of blurs the lines between reality and the past.
If you've read Bunny, then you are familiar with Mona Awad's ability to write an ending where there are multiple interpretations to what actually happened. I personally love this, and you can expect the same in All's Well. For a good chunk of it, it seems like there's just one path, but the last third really opens up other doors to possibilities, and I am here for it !
if you enjoy stories with an unreliable narrator, that are strange and bizzare, and deal with someone fighting the system to be heard, then I would 100% recommend this book. It's truly a phantasmagoria of pain, loss, and the right to live.
The main character, Miranda, suffers from chronic pain with no concrete answers as to what's causing it. As someone who has been suffering with chronic pain since I was a teenager, I found I could relate to Miranda in so many ways. I understood her on such a personal level that I almost cried. I will say that if you can't relate to or understand her, then you may end up finding her to be annoying or whiny. Her pain is a huge part of the story, so be prepared to hear about it constantly.
Through this story we essentially live inside Miranda's head. This means that it is written as someone's train of thought would be, so there are very short sentences quite often. There are also a lot of flashbacks about her past as people and places remind her of happier times in her life. This kind of blurs the lines between reality and the past.
If you've read Bunny, then you are familiar with Mona Awad's ability to write an ending where there are multiple interpretations to what actually happened. I personally love this, and you can expect the same in All's Well. For a good chunk of it, it seems like there's just one path, but the last third really opens up other doors to possibilities, and I am here for it !
if you enjoy stories with an unreliable narrator, that are strange and bizzare, and deal with someone fighting the system to be heard, then I would 100% recommend this book. It's truly a phantasmagoria of pain, loss, and the right to live.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Body horror, Chronic illness, Cursing, Drug abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Medical content, Medical trauma, Suicidal thoughts, and Sexual content
Moderate: Toxic friendship
Minor: Blood, Death, and Panic attacks/disorders
deedireads's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
All my reviews live at https://deedispeaking.com/reads/.
TL;DR REVIEW:
All’s Well is a weird, frustrating, trippy, impressive, darkly funny story about being a woman with chronic pain. The right readers will love it.
For you if: You like experimental novels and/or Shakespeare.
FULL REVIEW:
Thank you to Simon & Schuster for sending me a review copy of this book! I’m still not quite sure what I just read, but … in a good way? I haven’t read Bunny, but by all accounts, if you liked that one from Mona Awad, you’ll like this one too. It’s weird — almost psychedelic — darkly funny, and impressively crafted.
The book is about a theatre professor named Miranda Fitch, whose acting career was just taking off when she suffered injuries that still cause her terrible chronic pain today. She can’t walk, can’t sit, can’t live normally at all. But now it’s now been so long that everyone around her is starting to suspect that her pain is psychosomatic, and that she’s just not trying hard enough to get better. At work, she’s determined to stage “All’s Well That Ends Well,” but her headstrong students go behind her back to try to stage Macbeth instead. Then she goes to a dive bar and meets three strange men who seem to know her and her life, and they show her a “trick” — and everything changes.
This is one of those impressive books with a writing style that makes you feel exactly how the main character feels — frustrated and exhausted. It’s written in short sentence fragments that never feel resolved, that pull you through the text in short, stilting, never-ending bursts. We, as readers, are made to question what is real and what is not at every turn. The story spins and swirls around us as Miranda tips further and further over the edge. You’ll finish it and go … what did I just read?
So this book won’t be for everyone, but if you’re here for trippy, experimental novels (and Shakespeare references!), I think you’ll like this one. It’s crafted in a way that’s just so effective in tackling the subject of ablism, chronic pain, and the way society treats women with it.
TL;DR REVIEW:
All’s Well is a weird, frustrating, trippy, impressive, darkly funny story about being a woman with chronic pain. The right readers will love it.
For you if: You like experimental novels and/or Shakespeare.
FULL REVIEW:
Thank you to Simon & Schuster for sending me a review copy of this book! I’m still not quite sure what I just read, but … in a good way? I haven’t read Bunny, but by all accounts, if you liked that one from Mona Awad, you’ll like this one too. It’s weird — almost psychedelic — darkly funny, and impressively crafted.
The book is about a theatre professor named Miranda Fitch, whose acting career was just taking off when she suffered injuries that still cause her terrible chronic pain today. She can’t walk, can’t sit, can’t live normally at all. But now it’s now been so long that everyone around her is starting to suspect that her pain is psychosomatic, and that she’s just not trying hard enough to get better. At work, she’s determined to stage “All’s Well That Ends Well,” but her headstrong students go behind her back to try to stage Macbeth instead. Then she goes to a dive bar and meets three strange men who seem to know her and her life, and they show her a “trick” — and everything changes.
This is one of those impressive books with a writing style that makes you feel exactly how the main character feels — frustrated and exhausted. It’s written in short sentence fragments that never feel resolved, that pull you through the text in short, stilting, never-ending bursts. We, as readers, are made to question what is real and what is not at every turn. The story spins and swirls around us as Miranda tips further and further over the edge. You’ll finish it and go … what did I just read?
So this book won’t be for everyone, but if you’re here for trippy, experimental novels (and Shakespeare references!), I think you’ll like this one. It’s crafted in a way that’s just so effective in tackling the subject of ablism, chronic pain, and the way society treats women with it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Chronic illness, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Alcohol and Gaslighting
thecorkedreader's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
All's Well follows Miranda Fitch, a former stage actor, turned college theatre director who suggers from chronic back pain. A career ending stage fall left her injured with a reliance on pain killers and a lifestyle that ultimately ended her marriage. Despite a cast of students who would rather put on Macbeth, and putting her career on the line, she decides that thehy are going to put on Shakespeare's All's Well That Ends Well. She meets three mysterious stage benefactors, who somehow have an intimate knowledge of Miranda's struggles, who promise her that the show must go on. Miraculously healed, she is more determined than ever.
Mona Awad certainly captures Miranda's pain in a way that really makes the reader empathize with her. The failed treatments, the frustrations and the lack of understanding from her peers feels so real. It certainly felt like the authentic experience of someone suffering from chronic pain.
It was certainly a dark and strange story with hints of magical realism intertwined. While I was definitely enthralled in the story and finished it in two sittings over the course of 24 hours, there were some times that I was a little confused. Overall though, it took me on quite the ride through Miranda's journey. Even though she was a bit of an unlikeable character, I still found myself rooting for her.
⭐3.5/4 stars⭐
Thank you to Simon &Shuster and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Mona Awad certainly captures Miranda's pain in a way that really makes the reader empathize with her. The failed treatments, the frustrations and the lack of understanding from her peers feels so real. It certainly felt like the authentic experience of someone suffering from chronic pain.
It was certainly a dark and strange story with hints of magical realism intertwined. While I was definitely enthralled in the story and finished it in two sittings over the course of 24 hours, there were some times that I was a little confused. Overall though, it took me on quite the ride through Miranda's journey. Even though she was a bit of an unlikeable character, I still found myself rooting for her.
⭐3.5/4 stars⭐
Thank you to Simon &Shuster and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Chronic illness and Drug abuse
ninjamuse's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
fast-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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Chronic illness, Misogyny, Medical trauma, and Medical content
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Blood, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Sexual assault
harri_w's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness and Medical trauma
Moderate: Drug abuse and Medical trauma
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