text ¶ Sorrow and Bliss Ó Meg Mason
A compulsively readable debut novel spiky sharp intriguingly dark and tender about a woman on the edge that combines the psychological insight of Sally Rooney with the sharp humor of Nina Stibbe and the emotional resonance of Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely FineMartha Friel just turned forty Once Sorrow and PDFEPUBshe worked at Vogue and planned to write a novel Now she creates internet content She used to live in a pied à terre in Paris Now she lives in a gated community in Oxford the only person she knows without a PhD a baby or both in a house she ha Damn I loved this – make sure it’s on your wishlist Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason It’s an anti love love story Mason has managed to configure a novel about women’s mental health and self sabotage and instead of using high literary stylings as Moshfegh or Broder would she’s utilised romance novel tropes and just turned it all on its head making for very accessible and downright delightful reading and yet she’s still kept some of the pathos and darkness Wildly impressive and so damn satisfying to read It ultimately filled me with hope which is really saying something given the week I’ve had
Meg Mason Ó Sorrow and Bliss text
Sorrow and BlissTes but cannot bear to leave But she must leave now that her husband Patrick the kind who cooks throws her birthday parties who loves her and has only ever wanted her to be happy has just moved outBecause there’s something wrong with Martha and has been for a long time When she was seventeen a little bomb went off in her brain and she was never the same But countless doctors endless therapy every kind of drug later she still doesn’t know what’s wrong why she spends days unable to get out of bed or alienates both strangers and her loved ones with c 35 4This novel has been promoted in Australia as humorous and heartwrenching for those who loved Fleabag and Normal People When I spotted the newly added library audiobook I jumped at the opportunity to listen to itI kept waiting and waiting and waiting for the humour to make an appearance It never did I was expecting irreverence some shocking behaviours and observations a la Fleabag those never occurred I got annoyed with myself for partially falling for the marketing While the novel itself is readable the writing was for the most part flat and occasionally jumpy I wondered if it was intentional since the narrator Martha suffers from an undisclosed mentalmoodpersonality disorder which remains unnamed Speaking of the disorder I both admired and got annoyed that it was kept a mystery The wanna be doctor in me needs diagnosis even though I understood that Mason didn't want to put the spotlight on a particular disease but on being misdiagnosed and the suffering that affects not only the patient but everyone close The last uarter picked up the pace and my dopamine levels surged The resolution was satisfyingIn conclusion I wanted to love Sorrow and Bliss than I did I don't regret the time spent in its company