User Reviews
Rating: really liked it
shakespeare whomst? i only know mona awad.
Rating: really liked it
This was... oh boy... I’m so overwhelmed right now... I don’t know what words will be appropriate to express my feelings about this reading experience...
Strange... extraordinary...frustrating...blurry... illusionary...disturbing...sad...delirious...wild...different ...original...exhausting...dark...depressing ...weird...complex...conflicted...
I can keep writing those words for several more pages but it is so hard for me to put them in proper sentences because this book extracts the opposite feelings from you at the same time. You love it, you hate it, you love to hate it, you hate to love it! But for a long time I haven’t been book-drunk or suffered from intense book-gover ( which is terrible version of hungover! The meaningless words poured out of my mind at the same time! )
I have to admit: my heart ached for Miranda who suffers from chronic back pain, an invisible pain that cannot be treatable, costed her career, forced her to be an assistant professor at academia for theater program.
She’s in pain. Her pain is contagious. You can feel it in your guts. Your soul feels it! She’s crying for help! She’s absolutely unreliable narrator, taking awkward hallucinatory baths and popping pills like candies to heal herself! Of course she cannot get proper result! When you stuck with her mind, you feel like you found soulmate of Raoul Duke’s drug induced, hallucinatory vision at Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, taking long tour at her distorted realities.
She’s teaching Shakespeare as her life turns into a Shakespearean tragedy: an actress who’s dying to perform but a traffic accident already sealed her faith so she resents the young actresses-her own students who already replaced her. The play they work on All’s Well that Ends Well. An ironic name for her unresolved issues, incessant suffering, delusional mind trips.
At some part, I felt like I was walking in the foggy road, losing my path throughout my reading journey. The book’s abrupt direction to fantasyland dragging you to the witch craft, more illusionary baths, awkward strangers in the bar changing your vision kind of more mind numbing experiences leave you at a strange zone.
Conclusion is full of unanswered questions. Some blanks you fill with your own imagination!
Overall: the author’s different, interesting, extremely direct and realistic to the chronic illness was the best thing about this novel. I loved her choice to build the story at small New England liberal arts college like she did at her previous marvelous work “Bunny”.
Miranda was powerful, connectable character you truly care about. The thin line between fantasy and fiction was a little intense and confusing for me. I skip some parts because it was truly exhausting experience for me but writing is uniquely creative and original which I absolutely enjoyed a lot!
Special thanks to NetGalley and Simon& Schuster for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest thoughts.
Rating: really liked it
his is categorized as horror, fiction, contemporary, thriller, magical realism, fantasy, literary fiction, and mystery.
even crazier: it actually IS all of those things.
this is a wild and weird and one of a kind book that's as repulsive as it is immersive. i would have read it no matter what because it's by the author of the strange and unforgettable bunny and also that cover, but what a pleasant surprise to have found it so worthy of the legacy of its predecessor.
academia, huh?
bottom line: i love a freak!
(thanks to the publisher for the copy)
Rating: really liked it
**3.5-stars**Miranda Fitch is a Theater Professor at a small New England college. Due to chronic pain stemming from the accident that ended her once promising acting career, Miranda isn't currently in a good spot emotionally.
Doctors and Physical Therapists have been unable to make any progress with her. It all feels like a sick joke; nothing she's tries helps.
Therefore, she takes way more painkillers than she probably should.
As we meet Miranda, she is just about at her rock bottom, suffering through life in a sort of drug-induced haze. The Reader gets a glimpse inside her mind, as she tries to direct her students in this year's big production.
Although Miranda is hellbent on
All's Well That Ends Well, her students want to do the Scottish play. Ha! Can you even imagine? Miranda will not let that happen. How pedestrian!
The students are relentless. Worse, they're mutinous and her colleagues, in the faltering Theater Department, are no better. Just when she begins to believe all is lost, Miranda meets three mysterious strangers at her local watering hole. They're somehow able to turn the tides of fate, but at what cost?
I really, really enjoyed the first half of this novel. There's no denying how fantastic the writing is. It's cutting, funny, socially-relevant, dark and quirky.
However, somewhere around 70%, it took a sharp turn, from which it never recovered.
There are a lot of elements included that generally work for me. It's weird, it's biting, it has a touch of the fantastical, but unfortunately, it just got too confusing. You can have solid weird, without confusing. I just feel like in this case, it missed that mark.
I'm sure there will be a lot of Readers that will get it; I'm just not one of them. During the first half of the story, even when things got a little strange, you could still tell the events that were happening in Miranda's reality; you could tell she was having interactions with her students, with her colleagues, what were memories, musings, wishes, etc.
When it got closer to the end, it changed. I couldn't tell what was real. I couldn't tell where Miranda was in time, space, what was happening to her? Was she dreaming? Hallucinating? And it never revealed itself, at least not in my opinion. So, I got to the end and felt like I didn't have a conclusion.
Theoretically, I understand the ideas behind what was happening, but I just wanted more decisive closure. I was really disappointed with the last 25%. In a way, it made me feel like I had wasted my time. Never a good feeling.
I'm mainly bummed because I expected to enjoy this a lot more than I did. It happens. All's well, I suppose.
I did bump my rating up from 3-stars to 3.5, based solely on the author's creativity and writing quality. The story for me is a solid 3-stars. It was a good story, but not necessarily my cup of tea.
Thank you so much to the publisher, Simon & Schuster, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I appreciate the opportunity to share my opinions.
**For any of Stephen King's Constant Readers: if you have read this, did the three mystery men at the bar remind you at all of the little doctors in Insomnia?
Because, same.
Rating: really liked it
this book will consume my every thought now. thanks for coming to my ted talk.
Rating: really liked it
I had such high hopes for this and it started off so strong, but the ending really lost me. Awad is an amazing writer, that’s for sure. This book is so well written, and it was like I could feel Miranda’s pain and frustration, it was so descriptive. I really enjoyed the first two thirds of this, but the last 100 pages or so were so confusing and I just had no idea what was happening. Also, this is getting put under the horror genre for some reason, but I don’t think it’s horror it’s more dark magical realism. And I think I went in with slightly false expectations.
Reading vlog with more thoughts: https://youtu.be/v0v5yTpWtig
Rating: really liked it
this author is just not for me 😅 all the main character did was complain and the book is advertised as a dark comedy but like... wasn’t shit funny? the main character complained so much to the point where it just felt depressing instead of funny. i also was extremely bored half the book and it almost put me in a reading slump
didn’t think i had to specify this but when i say she complain a lot i do NOT mean in regards to her chronic illness, i mean she complain in general.. about people and everything else in her life.
Rating: really liked it
⭐️3.5⭐️
Mona Awad is a fuckin weirdo, writing books for other fuckin weirdos. And I love her for it.
Rating: really liked it
What did I just read? I’m still trying to figure this one out.
Miranda suffers from chronic pain and it consumes the first part of the book. Her friends have finally had enough, and she is finding herself more and more alone. She combines pills that weren’t meant to be combined and adds alcohol on top. She's seen doctor after doctor, tried a multitude of physical therapists. No one has helped. Is it in her head, like some seem to think? She’s a hot mess. On top of that, she works as a theatre professor at some no name college and is directing All’s Well That Ends Well, a play her students have no interest in.
I’ll warn you, at first I didn’t see any humor in the story. Miranda made me cringe more than laugh. For everyone who has an ailment that isn’t visible to the naked eye, it will ring true.
But then she meets up with three strange men. And one shows her “a trick”. And that’s when things start to get really interesting. I’m not sure what I was expecting. The magic realism here almost turns into a horror show. It’s a very strange book. Very dark, surreal, almost hallucinatory. I veered all over the place, trying to wrap my head around this story. What was going on here? At the end, I was no less confused. But it was so interesting, I enjoyed it. It would make an interesting book club selection as it gives you lots to think about.
My thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for an advance copy of this book.
Rating: really liked it
this was a ride and i’m glad it’s over. very repetitive and lucid in a way that was confusing, rather than compelling. there were a few passages about the dismissal of Miranda’s pain (by her male doctors, but more interestingly her female colleagues) that resonated but i struggled to find the comedy to balance this one out.
Rating: really liked it
“But not too much pain, am I right? Not too much, never too much. If it was too much, you wouldn’t know what to do with me, would you? Too much would make you uncomfortable. Bored. My crying would leave a bad taste. That would just be bad theater, wouldn’t it? A bad show. You want a good show. They all do. A few pretty tears on my cheeks that you can brush away.”Well this was a rollercoaster. The desperation and exasperation of part one drew me in immediately. And the mania was deliciously delirious in part two. Much of part three and especially the ending lost me however. I’m keeping this at a 4 despite being pretty disappointed with the third act because the rest was so strong. The messages surrounding invisible pain/disabilities, how women’s pain is often dismissed, and how being conventionally attractive (and able-bodied) entirely changes how people respond to you are important and for the most part well-delivered. I just think the finale could have pushed the boundaries a bit further. This book had
something to say and it just felt like the ending fizzled out and didn’t want to fully commit.
I have had Bunny on my to-read list since it came out, and now that I’ve read this, I will be making sure to get around to it sooner rather than later. Awad has a unique, compelling voice and her writing feels both refreshing and haunting. The next time I’m in the mood for a fever dream of a book, I know exactly where to turn. And when I say fever dream, I really mean it. This is a weird book. You've been warned.
I would recommend brushing up on your Shakespeare (a quick plot summary will do) before reading this for an enhanced experience. It’s not necessary, as Awad does drop in enough contextual clues to give the reader a basic framework, but knowing the general plot of
Macbeth and
All’s Well That Ends Well will add an extra layer of depth.
Also, I just have to say this is one of my favorite covers of the year. Absolutely spot on and so visually arresting.
Rating: really liked it
Yesss! 5 shiny stars! Original, dark, twisted and flipping weird! I LOVED it! 🖤Awad is the Queen 👑 of "What the hell did I just read?!" No she really is..check out the reviews!
Okay so this book...well I wasn't even planning on reading this right now...I was actually reading another book..curiosity got the best of me...I thought...I will just skim a chapter and see what this is all about...150 pages later..well I was all in..invested and my current read was kicked 🦵to the curb..😂🤷♀️
Miranda is a college theater director. She loves her job and she has determined that they are going to put on Shakespeare’s All’s Well that Ends Well. 🎭 The problem is nobody wants to do the play except Miranda...
Miranda has chronic pain..her students, coworkers and friends have zero respect for her...they mock her pain with snarky, cruel comments that bring Miranda down even further into her depths of depression..chasing her pain away with pills💊alcohol 🍷🥃🍸and whatever she can...she is spiraling out of control..she even seeks help from a dude doing "treatments" out of his garage..😳No Miranda...girl..just no..
After hitting an all time low on the floor of a sleazy bar...Miranda's life suddenly turns around. What happened in the bar??? Ummm good question...🤔things got really weird....I am not hallucinating..you are!! 🤔😂😳Good thing I like weird!
So if you loved 🐰 ...well this isn't Bunny..🐰but I think you will love it...if you didn't love Bunny...🐰well I think you will like this...
This book is so original..both of her books have been so creative and written so well...I can't wait to see what she thinks up next!
Huge shoutout to Simon and Schuster for this gorgeous gifted copy!
Rating: really liked it
what a ride—we love it though 👌🏾
Rating: really liked it
I laughed so hard at this dark satirical novel. Mona Awad is just what I needed after so many serious books. The quirky humor she delivers held my attention throughout.
The main character Miranda is a college theater director. In her younger years, she was a performer on stage, but after an accident left her seeking help for her "invisible pain" the doctors doubted and thought she was a delusional pain pill popper she left the stage to teach it. I felt guilty for laughing at someone else's misfortune, but this was well-developed humor and insight into her mind and thought process. Some of it was disturbing and desperate, but most of the time I was laughing out loud.
The disrespect she receives from her friends, colleagues and students creates resentment towards everyone and especially the healthy mode of the younger actresses. She directs the Shakespeare drama All's Well that Ends Well much to the students' dismay that it becomes quite intense. This is wild!!
I'm so thankful I was able to read it and have heard her book Bunny is a delightful read also.
Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Shuster for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.
Rating: really liked it
Another favourite of the year! Mona Awad had me entranced with this one! If this isn’t the most deliciously dark read ever, I don’t know what is.
Miranda has chronic pain as a result of falling off stage just when her career was about to take off. Now, she’s in her mid-thirties and is a theatre professor who can barely move without pain lighting fires throughout her body. To Miranda’s chagrin, everyone in her life is tired of her complaining about it and they keep telling her it must be in her head, that she’s being theatric. All the same, Miranda is about to start rehearsals for this year’s play, All’s Well That Ends Well by Shakespeare.
One evening she goes to a dive bar and meets three men in suits who seem to know everything about her. They offer her a golden remedy with the promise that it will cure all of her ailments. And that’s how this darkly funny and bizarre tale unfurls from there.
This story is told in its entirety from Miranda’s perspective and you really get insight into all of her anxious and depressed thoughts. She reminisces about the days when she was a stunning, able-bodied woman with an adoring husband. She wants her old life back.
The discussions on female pain and how able-bodied people, sometimes, perceive it were spot on. Also, the analysis on how disabled people are sometimes treated by able-bodied people was very realistic.
Nerdy Latin Language Fact: The name Miranda is derived from the Latin ‘mirari’ and in this gerundive form means she who is to be admired, to be amazed at. I don’t know if the author specifically chose the name ‘Miranda’ for her main character with this in mind, but either way, it is genius and very fitting.
Needless to say, I absolutely loved this one and can’t wait for more from the author.
Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Random House Canada for the arc in exchange for my honest opinions.
