A review by escape_through_pages
Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason

funny reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

📖 REVIEW 📖

 ‘“Nostos, Martha, returning home. Algos, pain. Nostalgia is the suffering caused by our unappeased yearning to return.” Whether or not, he said, the home we long for ever existed.’

Well this one is certainly a Booksta favourite. I wanted to love it more than I did in honesty. 

It’s Martha’s story, a 40ish year old woman reflecting on the end of her marriage and her journey through life with a mental illness that remained mislabelled for many years. 

It is in parts sad, in others humourous. It’s very readable and the portrait of a mildly quirky family is painted vividly - I enjoyed Martha’s relationships with her parents and sister. 

The writing, however, was jumpy and jarring. I’m also in two minds about how I feel about Mason always referring to Martha’s diagnosis as ‘— —‘ even in speech. It just made for unsatisfying reading; maybe that’s the medic in me seeking understanding but it meant the sentences also felt fractured. I also felt, after being invited in to Martha’s life, I was then pushed out the door again, kept at arm’s length. I can, however, appreciate that this approach sends the message that each person’s experience of mental illness is an individual thing and not reducible to a one size fits all diagnostic label. 

It started off as an exploration of mental illness, but then once Martha was commenced on correct treatment, it became a bit of a drag picking over her poor treatment of her devoted and adoring husband Patrick (who, incidentally, reads too good to be true). The book picked up for me again in the final quarter, when we really delve into the effects of Martha’s actions on her closest family and on her marriage, depicting the strength of these bonds despite the hurt we cause each other. There was a lot of tenderness and poignancy and elements I related to here. The ending felt an appropriate conclusion. 

I don’t typically give star ratings as I’m usually too indecisive to settle on one, but Sorrow and Bliss was a clear ⭐️⭐️⭐️ pour moi.