Sorrow and Bliss

A Novel

By: Meg Mason

Narrated by: Emilia Fox

Length: 10 hrs and 38 mins

Publisher's summary

"Brilliantly faceted and extremely funny. . . . While I was reading it, I was making a list of all the people I wanted to send it to, until I realized that I wanted to send it to everyone I know." — Ann Patchett

“Improbably charming...will have you chortling and reading lines aloud.” — PEOPLE

The internationally bestselling, compulsively readable novel—spiky, sharp, intriguingly dark, and tender—that combines the psychological insight of Sally Rooney with the sharp humor of Nina Stibbe and the emotional resonance of Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine.

Martha Friel just turned forty. Once, she 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 hates 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 out.

Because 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 casually cruel remarks.

And she has nowhere to go except her childhood home: a bohemian (dilapidated) townhouse in a romantic (rundown) part of London—to live with her mother, a minorly important sculptor (and major drinker) and her father, a famous poet (though unpublished) and try to survive without the devoted, potty-mouthed sister who made all the chaos bearable back then, and is now too busy or too fed up to deal with her.

But maybe, by starting over, Martha will get to write a better ending for herself—and she’ll find out that she’s not quite finished after all.

©2021 Meg Mason (P)2021 HarperCollins Publishers

Lovely story

I really enjoyed this story. A very unique love story. It did however take quite a while for me to stay interested. I had to start over listening. I think this was due to the monotone reader. I detected very little inflection in the voice throughout the story.

so much more than a book "about mental illness"

This book! This performance!! Both were so beautifully done! I was skeptical at first, but quickly fell in love with this story, the writing, the characters, and the execution of it all. Emilia Fox's performance made this book better than a movie or show or podcast or any other form of media entertainment. Such a tender, relatable, heart-wrenching listen. Laughter and tears.

I laughed, I cried, I couldn’t stop listening

This is the most moving, sad, yet hilarious book I’ve listened to in a long time. Anyone who’s ever suffered from any form of despair, anxiety, sadness or hormonal rage will find this book deeply endearing. The relationships are genuine, complex and admirable.

A difficult story, written just beautifully

This ranks among the most moving books I’ve ever read… it will stay with me a long time.
The performance was perfect.

Unique

In all honesty I’m unsure how I feel about the book but I can share that despite several attempts to throw in the towel I continued listening and finished the book.
I think what I most liked about the book were the specific, well-written disturbing thought process(es) that plagued the lead character and the impact of her actions on others (as a result of her thoughts).
I know the book describes the mental health disorder as “z” but I think it is clear that there were layers of pathology that cannot be attributed to one diagnosis.
The book is disturbing but it offers some insight into living with years of mental illness that is not treated.

Felt sorrow and bliss throughout the book

"This novel is about a woman called Martha. She knows there is something wrong with her but she doesn't know what it is. Her husband Patrick thinks she is fine."

Meg Mason manages to describe Martha's way of going through life without knowing what is wrong with her in such an exquisite way... Having been through something similar myself, I felt like I was constantly re-visiting old memories - only this time I wasn't just crying about them but laughing as well; it is such a hilarious book but at the same time so deep and moving. It is beautifully written and Emilia Fox's narration is just brilliant.

Loved it.

Great story but audio is missing some parts

The writing is excellent and witty. The protagonist was not always likable at parts but her journey to self discovery felt genuine. I think that the intense descriptions of mental health issues require one to be in the right frame of mind. The narration was perfect. Note on audio: I often listen to audiobooks while following along with physical books. I have a copy published in the UK and for some reason some paragraphs and sentences here and there were skipped from the audiobook. I’m not sure why this would be as I think parts omitted added to the context. This isn’t an abridged version so I don’t know why that would be. All told probably two to three pages were skipped in total so not a lot but still unfortunate. Overall a great read/listen.

Excellent and Unique

Martha, our narrator, is at times extremely likable, infuriating, or heartbreaking, and sometimes a combination of all three-- aka the perfect protagonist. The journey of still searching for a mental health diagnosis, or even just self discovery as a person, late is life is relatable in a way that makes your heart ache. I found her to be fully formed as a character instead of the one dimensional depressed girl or manic pixie tropes you often see with women with mental illness in literature. The eccentric side characters in her life made the dialogue fun and interesting. The reader of the audio book did a great job capturing every inflection.

Excellent Book!

It was funny, it was sad, and it was real. I wish it wasn’t based on a fictional illness, but I enjoyed it all the same.

Depressing

99% Sorrow
1% Bliss
Hard to enjoy the persistent bickering and very little happiness. I can’t recommend it.