Sorrow and Bliss
- Downloads：9737
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-05-24 00:51:21
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Meg Mason
- ISBN：1474622976
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
Everyone tells Martha Friel she is clever and beautiful， a brilliant writer who has been loved every day of her adult life by one man， her husband Patrick。 A gift， her mother once said， not everybody gets。
So why is everything broken？ Why is Martha - on the edge of 40 - friendless， practically jobless and so often sad？ And why did Patrick decide to leave？
Maybe she is just too sensitive， someone who finds it harder to be alive than most people。 Or maybe - as she has long believed - there is something wrong with her。 Something that broke when a little bomb went off in her brain， at 17， and left her changed in a way that no doctor or therapist has ever been able to explain。
Forced to return to her childhood home to live with her dysfunctional， bohemian parents （but without the help of her devoted， foul-mouthed sister Ingrid）， Martha has one last chance to find out whether a life is ever too broken to fix - or whether， maybe， by starting over， she will get to write a better ending for herself。
So why is everything broken？ Why is Martha - on the edge of 40 - friendless， practically jobless and so often sad？ And why did Patrick decide to leave？
Maybe she is just too sensitive， someone who finds it harder to be alive than most people。 Or maybe - as she has long believed - there is something wrong with her。 Something that broke when a little bomb went off in her brain， at 17， and left her changed in a way that no doctor or therapist has ever been able to explain。
Forced to return to her childhood home to live with her dysfunctional， bohemian parents （but without the help of her devoted， foul-mouthed sister Ingrid）， Martha has one last chance to find out whether a life is ever too broken to fix - or whether， maybe， by starting over， she will get to write a better ending for herself。
Reviews
Lauren Anderson
，
Not a fan。 Yawn。
Sherry Stanton
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Very little bliss but an extra star for the perfectly constructed English and the relief at not having to read a sentence beginning with ‘Me …’。
Mollie
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This book was so beautiful。 The main character came to life and was so funny and good at telling her experiences。 It was somehow light while dealing with the heavy and devastating effects of her mental illness。 I loved her husband and sister， and even her mother who was a bad mother。 I don’t know if I’ve ever been so emotionally wrapped up with a character—I felt like she was a real person who mattered to me。 This one will stick with me。
Stefanie Onieal
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Best book I’ve read this year。 It’s very Sally Rooneyesque。 Can’t wait to talk about it with someone！
Jenna
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This book was very sad and realistic， I liked and disliked the main character at the same time。 I appreciated the way this book ended。
Annie
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Breathtakingly honest but delivered with the most unique， beautiful voice。 Exquisite。
Liz Wyknenko
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I LOVED this book。 Fiercely。 The characters， the dialogue， the evolution of each relationship。。。it was all perfection as far as I’m concerned。
Ann Callaghan
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This book will make you both laugh and cry。 I loved it and couldn’t put it down。
Marilyn J Laws
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What a waste of space。。。 Sorry！
Caroline Scott
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Devoured this and loved every minute。 Keep reading the last page in tears。 What a wonderful read。
Ena
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Ein wunderbares Buch！ Eines meiner Favoriten bisher！
Kate
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Beautiful and full of quiet emotion。 I found myself crying even when there was really nothing to cry about。
Shiloh
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I wanted to love this book， but overall found it extremely frustrating。 The first half was very engaging， but once Martha is diagnosed with “—“， the constant use of “—“ was just SO distracting & annoying & I found myself continually wondering why the author chose to do that。 I feel like this could have been a powerful book about the life experience of someone with a mental illness， but to me not naming it contributes to stigma & made the whole focus on the second half of the book wondering what I wanted to love this book， but overall found it extremely frustrating。 The first half was very engaging， but once Martha is diagnosed with “—“， the constant use of “—“ was just SO distracting & annoying & I found myself continually wondering why the author chose to do that。 I feel like this could have been a powerful book about the life experience of someone with a mental illness， but to me not naming it contributes to stigma & made the whole focus on the second half of the book wondering what illness she had。。。 I also felt that the end was much too tidy & neat。 I guess the fact that I feel so frustrated by it shows I was invested in it， though？ 😂 。。。more
Amy Margaret
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4。5 rounded upSorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason has been everywhere right now， everyone is reading it and raving about it， so naturally I was cautious going in。 Normally hyped books are a massive disappointment for me， and I was expecting this book to be a standard look at a woman unhappy in her life and her mental health。 Instead I got a heart-wrenching and at times hopeful story about love， marriage， and the messiness of living with an undisclosed mental illness。 The protagonist Martha is a comple 4。5 rounded upSorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason has been everywhere right now， everyone is reading it and raving about it， so naturally I was cautious going in。 Normally hyped books are a massive disappointment for me， and I was expecting this book to be a standard look at a woman unhappy in her life and her mental health。 Instead I got a heart-wrenching and at times hopeful story about love， marriage， and the messiness of living with an undisclosed mental illness。 The protagonist Martha is a complex character that is often not a likeable person， however as you go on， you realise how she views herself impacts on how you view her。 Her husband Patrick and all the other characters support the story beautifully and by the end I was feeling all the feels。 I did not find this book funny， as it is described on the cover， but there were some humorous moments， （it was more the writing style- look for the dog walker reference） and these were a good break from the tensions in the narrative。 So overall for me this book totally lived up to the hype and I'd highly recommend！ ⭐⭐⭐⭐🌠 （4。5/5）。 。。。more
Kimberly McEneny
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Beautiful character development between Martha and Patrick and Ingrid。 I loved the sister relationship。 This book is definitely deep and sometimes depressing or hard to read。 Martha has suffered from a mental illness and feel sadness since she was 17。 This book opens when her at age 40 w her marriage to Patrick ending and looking back at her life from 17 to 40。 Very transparent look at mental illness。 Well written and funny。 Definitely have to be in the mood for this type of book。 Can’t believe Beautiful character development between Martha and Patrick and Ingrid。 I loved the sister relationship。 This book is definitely deep and sometimes depressing or hard to read。 Martha has suffered from a mental illness and feel sadness since she was 17。 This book opens when her at age 40 w her marriage to Patrick ending and looking back at her life from 17 to 40。 Very transparent look at mental illness。 Well written and funny。 Definitely have to be in the mood for this type of book。 Can’t believe this is a debut novel also。 Wow。 。。。more
Marije
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Goed geschreven， geweldig grappige passages， pijnlijk oprecht en deprimerend。 Toch verloor ik mijn interesse doordat het allemaal teveel om Martha draaide。 Op drie kwart van het boek wordt dit haar pas verteld en begint ze het langzamerhand te beseffen。 Tot die tijd zit je als lezer teveel in haar mentaal zieke hoofd。 En ik vond Martha als personage niet meer boeiend， te weinig diepgang。 Een fictieve diagnose - - als een verklaring voor haar gedrag opgeven had ook niet gehoeven。 Het leven is al Goed geschreven， geweldig grappige passages， pijnlijk oprecht en deprimerend。 Toch verloor ik mijn interesse doordat het allemaal teveel om Martha draaide。 Op drie kwart van het boek wordt dit haar pas verteld en begint ze het langzamerhand te beseffen。 Tot die tijd zit je als lezer teveel in haar mentaal zieke hoofd。 En ik vond Martha als personage niet meer boeiend， te weinig diepgang。 Een fictieve diagnose - - als een verklaring voor haar gedrag opgeven had ook niet gehoeven。 Het leven is al zwaar genoeg， je hoeft niet per se een psychische aandoening te hebben als reden voor existentiële worstelingen。 Vergeleken met Sally Roony schrijft Meg Mason （zoals op de achterkant ook wordt geciteerd） inderdaad zelfverzekerder， maar ik miste het zoekende。 Er zaten scènes in die te stijlistisch waren， die wat uit de toon vielen en niet zo pasten bij de irrationele en inconsistente hoofdpersoon。 Door de ontzettend goede reviews die dit boek heeft gekregen， had ik ook hele hoge verwachtingen， en daardoor ben ik kritischer in mijn oordeel。 Voor een debuutroman is dit boek echt goed， Meg Mason heeft een prettige en vlotte schrijfstijl。 Ik ben wel benieuwd naar meer werk van haar。 。。。more
LISA CLARK
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This book was pretty enjoyable。 The plot was entertaining and quite funny at times。 I truly enjoyed the way she viewed things and the way she blurted out things， and at times I feel the same way she did。 It's sometimes hard to imagine someone with a mental illness， as it seems like they should just be able to "get over it" or deal with it ， better than they do。 Her illness seemed more real to me and helped explain how a person might feel as they go through life with these thoughts and personalit This book was pretty enjoyable。 The plot was entertaining and quite funny at times。 I truly enjoyed the way she viewed things and the way she blurted out things， and at times I feel the same way she did。 It's sometimes hard to imagine someone with a mental illness， as it seems like they should just be able to "get over it" or deal with it ， better than they do。 Her illness seemed more real to me and helped explain how a person might feel as they go through life with these thoughts and personality traits。 -- The book seemed written well - simple and to the point。 At the beginning， I got a little lost with all the going back and forth， and it didn't seem at first like a "story"。。 as she just writes a few lines or paragraphs at times。 - But once you get used to her writing style， the flow becomes easier to follow along with 。 No big depth to this book， just a simple easy read。 。。。more
Rachel
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“Everything is broken and messed up and completely fine。 That is what life is。 It’s only the ratios that change。 Usually on their own。 As soon as you think that’s it， it’s going to be like this forever， they change again。”Wonderful writing but you need to be able to find humor in the darkness to enjoy this one。
Maddison Gillman
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Unfortunately I didn’t enjoy as much as I should have。 I could not get past how annoyingly selfish the main character was。
Susan
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Absolute rubbish！
marmix
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I really enjoyed this book， but became increasingly frustrated that the diagnosis remained unnamed。 I understand the rationale behind the decision to keep it vague and just learned that the film rights have been acquired。 I'm curious to see how they handle this sad， funny， sad story in a movie。 I really enjoyed this book， but became increasingly frustrated that the diagnosis remained unnamed。 I understand the rationale behind the decision to keep it vague and just learned that the film rights have been acquired。 I'm curious to see how they handle this sad， funny， sad story in a movie。 。。。more
Madeleine
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Very funny dialogue and I liked the family dynamics。 However， the meanness of the central character （some of which was driven by her mental health challenges） and the sadness of her marriage was a bit too much for me。
Lily Dunn
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This was a solid 4 stars until I got to the last quarter or so。 And then it got even better。 Mostly， it hit home for me in a lot of ways and made me feel seen。
Madeleine
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Wow this was spectacular， devastating， and also really darkly funny！ I saw people compare it to Fleabag and Sally Rooney and I agree with both。 And sooo many good lines。 I underlined a ton。 “One day， years later， my mother would tell me that no marriage makes sense to the outside world because， she would say， a marriage is its own world。” I want to add a million more but that would spoil it！
KK
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2。5。 Book was exhausting。 Main character was irritating then author became irritating by not naming the fake mental illness and just leaving the reader in the dark。
Carrie Zier
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Will easily be one of my top 2021 reads， if not my #1 read of 2021。 The writing， the layers， the story， the relationships 。。。 I just completely fell in love with this book。
Bryan
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I had to really think about how I felt about this book。 It's sometimes funny， often sad and sometimes painfully annoying to read。 It's probably one of the most accurate depictions of a mental health struggle I have read and， at times， that made for a very frustrating read。 Martha， I love you， sometimes I am you and you drove me as bananas as I drive myself。 Definitely recommend but know that it is not an easy read。 I had to really think about how I felt about this book。 It's sometimes funny， often sad and sometimes painfully annoying to read。 It's probably one of the most accurate depictions of a mental health struggle I have read and， at times， that made for a very frustrating read。 Martha， I love you， sometimes I am you and you drove me as bananas as I drive myself。 Definitely recommend but know that it is not an easy read。 。。。more
Catherine
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*Trigger Warnings: mental illness， miscarriage， alcoholism This is a heartbreaking and beautifully written character-driven novel that will stay with me for a long time。 I loved the author’s writing style。 There are sentences that are so sweet and touching I found myself stopping to re-read them。 Then， there are others that just break your heart in two。 There is sarcastic humor sprinkled throughout that helps to balance the melancholy。 This book has similar vibes to the tv show “Fleabag”， which *Trigger Warnings: mental illness， miscarriage， alcoholism This is a heartbreaking and beautifully written character-driven novel that will stay with me for a long time。 I loved the author’s writing style。 There are sentences that are so sweet and touching I found myself stopping to re-read them。 Then， there are others that just break your heart in two。 There is sarcastic humor sprinkled throughout that helps to balance the melancholy。 This book has similar vibes to the tv show “Fleabag”， which I loved and have watched twice。 So， if you’re a fellow fan， you’ll probably like this book as well。 While I wouldn’t characterize this book as depressing （trust me- I’ve read some really depressing books）， it is terribly sad。 If you’re a reader that only prefers light and happy， I would skip this one。 。。。more
kyle
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i would like to give this book five stars if its okay with my 64 goodreads friends
Cheryl Pashlin
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Loved the book， the characters etc。 But can we say fu**ed up？A little depressing too but a good read！！
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Sorrow and Bliss
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Sorrow and Bliss&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Sorrow and Bliss&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0