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A review by fleeno
All's Well by Mona Awad
5.0
Miranda was once a promising theatre actress but during a performance of Macbeth she fell from the stage, injuring her back and hip, ending her career. The accident and operations have left Miranda with chronic pain, unable to act, a shell of her former self. It's time for the class to put on a Shakespearean play and the class is set on Macbeth but Miranda can't face the Scottish play, electing instead that they perform one of Shakespeare's lesser known and problematic plays, All's Well That Ends Well. The class is ready to mutiny when Miranda meets a brethren of three Scottish men, who seem to know all about her and after a confusing evening Miranda wakes up and her pain has lessened. After some frightening incidents with a student and a sadistic physiotherapist, her pain is gone completely. Or is it? What follows is a fever dream of Shakespearian proportions in situations which become weirder and weirder, magic and mayhem.
The thing I loved about this book is that Awad captured life with chronic pain so perfectly. Getting conflicting information from doctors, exercises that make the pain worse, friends who lose interest when pain goes on for too long and suggest maybe the pain isnt real, colleagues who suspect she's faking. It is a constant, frustrating cycle that has destroyed every aspect of Miranda's life. Miranda’s voicelessness in having her pain being taken seriously by medical professionals and her friends dismissal and willingness to believe she’s being dramatic, was heartbreaking to read. As someone with chronic pain it was easy to relate to Miranda and even though I think she was supposed to be an unlikeable character - both when she's in pain and miserable, and when she is healed and becomes manic - I felt for her. The truth is pain can make you an awful person who thinks awful things and wishes people who don't believe you felt even an ounce of your pain, and when the pain is gone you can gaslight yourself into thinking it wasn't that bad, and to that end Miranda is a brilliantly written character. There are many Shakespearen references including the ending which I think is a bit of a homage to All's Well That Ends Well. I devoured this book in an evening, I absolutely loved it.
The thing I loved about this book is that Awad captured life with chronic pain so perfectly. Getting conflicting information from doctors, exercises that make the pain worse, friends who lose interest when pain goes on for too long and suggest maybe the pain isnt real, colleagues who suspect she's faking. It is a constant, frustrating cycle that has destroyed every aspect of Miranda's life. Miranda’s voicelessness in having her pain being taken seriously by medical professionals and her friends dismissal and willingness to believe she’s being dramatic, was heartbreaking to read. As someone with chronic pain it was easy to relate to Miranda and even though I think she was supposed to be an unlikeable character - both when she's in pain and miserable, and when she is healed and becomes manic - I felt for her. The truth is pain can make you an awful person who thinks awful things and wishes people who don't believe you felt even an ounce of your pain, and when the pain is gone you can gaslight yourself into thinking it wasn't that bad, and to that end Miranda is a brilliantly written character. There are many Shakespearen references including the ending which I think is a bit of a homage to All's Well That Ends Well. I devoured this book in an evening, I absolutely loved it.