All's Well

All's Well

  • Downloads:2931
  • Type:Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date:2021-09-18 06:52:05
  • Update Date:2025-09-06
  • Status:finish
  • Author:Mona Awad
  • ISBN:0735241201
  • Environment:PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle

Summary

Miranda is a theatre professor whose life is less than satisfactory。 After falling during a performance early in her acting career, she finds herself in constant, seemingly incurable pain and struggles to even sit still。 When she hopes to revisit the glory of her acting days by having her class stage Shakespeare's All's Well That Ends Well, she is met with a mutiny from her students, led by her least favourite undergrad--the devious Briana。 Forced instead to put on Hamlet, Miranda is devastated at the duplicity of her students, underhandedness of her boss, and is consumed by frustration at the lack of control she has over her own body and life。

When she's drowning her sorrows at the local pub one night, her path takes a sharp turn。 Three mysterious men in suits who seem to know everything about her--her pain, her glory, and her deepest desires--offer to help her。 After drinking a glowing, golden liquid, she wakes up the next morning with no memory of the night before, and her chronic pain has lifted。 Miranda's life starts falling into place: she is not only walking but running with ease; Briana has become gravely ill; and a twist of fate allows Miranda to stage her beloved All's Well That Ends Well。 But as a lover of the Bard, Miranda should know that sudden streaks of luck always come at a price。。。

All's Well is a searing exploration of chronic pain and depression through the classic tensions between saints and sinners, healers and witches, revenge and jealousy, love and lust to craft a completely modern and truly unique rendition of a Shakespearean play。

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Reviews

Shanice

2。5

Betty

A special thank you to Mona Awad for mailing me the ARC for All's Well, all the way to the UK!What can I say, without spoiling the book。。。。 I ADORED IT。 All's Well brought back the writing style I loved so much in Bunny, and really cemented Mona Awad as one of my favourite authors ever。 The novel blurs the lines between reality and imagination, and dives deep into Miranda's self, her psyche, her experience as a woman with severe chronic pain and the struggles of not being taken seriously by thos A special thank you to Mona Awad for mailing me the ARC for All's Well, all the way to the UK!What can I say, without spoiling the book。。。。 I ADORED IT。 All's Well brought back the writing style I loved so much in Bunny, and really cemented Mona Awad as one of my favourite authors ever。 The novel blurs the lines between reality and imagination, and dives deep into Miranda's self, her psyche, her experience as a woman with severe chronic pain and the struggles of not being taken seriously by those very people who are meant to be helping you。 This resonated with me a lot。 I struggled a lot during my teenage years with a certain health issue, my parents driving me all around the country to the best specialists, constantly hearing different things, being given tons of different medications (none of which did much), not to mention the friends/relatives who would constantly try and give you their (unrequested) opinion: "have you tried UV lamps?", "What about eating goji berries", "I heard about the miraculous properties of natural thermal water", and the ever present "maybe it's just stess triggering a psycho-somatic reaction"。 I really felt for Miranda and saw myself in her in those moments。 All's Well is funny, deep, introspective and sexy, I couldn't put it down。 There were many moments where - just when you though the story was going in a certain direction - a twist came up and it kept the narration fresh and enjoyable。 I kept comparing it to Bunny (Awad's previous novel) and I have to say it was even better。 The things I loved about Bunny were developed and expanded in All's Well, which showed that Awad knows how to play with her strengths。I guess I could say All's Well is part fantasy, part magical realism, part new-weird。。。。 It's hard to label it and that's why I loved it so much。 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5 stars! 。。。more

Megan Kelly Hubbell

Could not get into it。 3 hours of talking about her pain and not going anywhere else。 Couldn't keep going Could not get into it。 3 hours of talking about her pain and not going anywhere else。 Couldn't keep going 。。。more

jenna

ummm。。。。。 i don’t even know

Julie Debrosse

It was good…but that ending didn’t make any sense to me。 I’m confused and the last 3 or 4 chapters of the story was wack and I barely listened to it。 I loved the audiobook though (well for the parts that I enjoyed not so much towards the end)。 I loved the bluntness of the character and I liked how she kinda sorta got her revenge and or got a better life at the end。 But the whole thing with the three men really confused me… are they supposed to be the candy man? But then what does that have to do It was good…but that ending didn’t make any sense to me。 I’m confused and the last 3 or 4 chapters of the story was wack and I barely listened to it。 I loved the audiobook though (well for the parts that I enjoyed not so much towards the end)。 I loved the bluntness of the character and I liked how she kinda sorta got her revenge and or got a better life at the end。 But the whole thing with the three men really confused me… are they supposed to be the candy man? But then what does that have to do with a play。 And why was the play so anticlimactic。 Honestly, I thought it would be more action packed during the play。 That part was kind of a let down, but overall I really liked the book。 I would recommend if you like those weird types of books that leave everything open to interpretation。 。。。more

Grand lodge of Russia

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Shayna

2。5*I enjoyed the writing style as I did with bunny。 I found it very interesting to read about chronic pain and the main character’s experience with different health professionals along with the way that other people in her life react to her chronic pain。 I could really relate to some of these aspects。The way that the story was told was interesting and unique and tension was successfully built at times。 However, this book was a real slog to get through。 From the end of part one onwards the book 2。5*I enjoyed the writing style as I did with bunny。 I found it very interesting to read about chronic pain and the main character’s experience with different health professionals along with the way that other people in her life react to her chronic pain。 I could really relate to some of these aspects。The way that the story was told was interesting and unique and tension was successfully built at times。 However, this book was a real slog to get through。 From the end of part one onwards the book is very boring and repetitive。 In part two, Miranda’s character changes and this made me lose interest。 Reading from the perspective of a character like that (kind of the villain?) may just not be my thing。 The theatre stuff bored me。 The ending was weird which I should have liked but I just found it confusing and since id lost all interest in the main character, I couldn’t connect to it。 I don’t get what the point of it was。 There were a few sentences towards the end that seemed to be making a moral of the story kind of statement but I either didn’t understand them in relation to the story, or thought they were superficial。 My reaction to finishing this was uhh okay…。 and not in a good way。 I’m quite sad considering I loved bunny and gave it 5 stars。 。。。more

Jeremy Neely

Sometimes I realize, shortly into a book, that I don’t want to finish it, and then I smartly put it aside。 Sometimes I wonder if I should set a book aside but then dumbly go ahead and finish the whole thing。

Samantha Sipowicz

What I liked about “Shakespeare in Love” was the behind the scenes insights of characters, their lives and the historical era of the times of Shakespeare’s plays。 Life imitating art is a well-known device for writing a novel so I was eager to read this story。 I liked the snarky attitude of Miranda at first, but her second guessing her own observations and motivations grew tedious。I recognize that was by design to test the patience of friends and the depths Miranda would go to to rationalize her What I liked about “Shakespeare in Love” was the behind the scenes insights of characters, their lives and the historical era of the times of Shakespeare’s plays。 Life imitating art is a well-known device for writing a novel so I was eager to read this story。 I liked the snarky attitude of Miranda at first, but her second guessing her own observations and motivations grew tedious。I recognize that was by design to test the patience of friends and the depths Miranda would go to to rationalize her actions。 How the story slowly segues to All’s Well and Macbeth were subtle but not subtle There were rabbit trails that didn’t lead anywhere。 But after hundreds of pages, I wasn’t all that interested in traveling down them。 Why was 。。。more

Dasha

Stunning! Absolutely freaking’ magnificently overwhelming and beautifully disturbing。 Now this is my kind of horror。 Plant images in my head and leave me speechless for hours, questioning everything I’ve just read。 For half of the book I was just enjoying the ride, but then the whole experience shifted into something that would surely leave a long lasting impact on me as a reader。 I’m in awe of this story, Mona Awad’s writing style and her imagination。 Loved every word of it。

Bee

3。5/5 stars

Christine

I enjoyed the book but the end left me wondering what was the point? I guess I can see what the author was going for and she succeeded

Layna Thompson

i would read ANYTHING by Awad at this point。 this book is amazing, perhaps better than Bunny even

Mel Lenore

3。43 on CAWPILEThis just was not the book for me。 It had Awad's unique and gripping writing style。 It had the weirdness。 But it had none of the charm and intrigue that Bunny did。 It was just strange, non-sensical, and the main character just pissed me off。 I don't get this book。 I was so bored。 Just not for me。 3。43 on CAWPILEThis just was not the book for me。 It had Awad's unique and gripping writing style。 It had the weirdness。 But it had none of the charm and intrigue that Bunny did。 It was just strange, non-sensical, and the main character just pissed me off。 I don't get this book。 I was so bored。 Just not for me。 。。。more

Shannon Theroux

3。5

Loksandra

The way that Awad so viscerally describes pain is quite impressive, and made the book difficult for me to get into initially, but then I was HOOKED! I don’t think I entirely understood the book, but I thought it was an interesting character study on top of everything else。

Alice 🌙

2/5 ⭐️ Uuhhhgggg this was so slow!! I got so bored with it!

Katie

it was supposed to give。。。 but it did not give??I've come to the conclusion that as much as I love Mona Awad's concepts, her execution is just! Not for me!Much like its predecessor "Bunny," "All's Well" takes place at an unnamed elite college in New England。 It follows a theatre professor, Miranda Finch, who is dealing with chronic pain while attempting to put on a collegiate production of All's Well That Ends Well, even though the students would much rather do Macbeth。 These two storylines inte it was supposed to give。。。 but it did not give??I've come to the conclusion that as much as I love Mona Awad's concepts, her execution is just! Not for me!Much like its predecessor "Bunny," "All's Well" takes place at an unnamed elite college in New England。 It follows a theatre professor, Miranda Finch, who is dealing with chronic pain while attempting to put on a collegiate production of All's Well That Ends Well, even though the students would much rather do Macbeth。 These two storylines intertwine as Miranda meets three mysterious figures who offer to make her pain go away。。。 and things spiral from there。Our protagonist Miranda starts off as very compelling and sympathetic but I increasingly found her more insufferable。 This, combined with Awad's stream-of-consciousness writing style, made for a mentally exhausting read。 I also felt that Miranda's character development was at the expense of the rest of the characters, none of whom grow past their initial stereotypes。If you really, really like magical realism and/or the blurring of dream and reality, this could definitely be your cup of tea! Unfortunately, much like "Bunny," I walked away from this one feeling disappointed。 。。。more

Joelle

This book is quite a strange journey but such a creative premise。 Not for everyone I recognize but I enjoyed it。 Think you would particularly like it if you ever participated in school theater。 The audiobook is expertly narrated。

Laura Miriam

Bit slow to start

Marissa Benners

I don’t even know where to start with this one。 It’s a bizarre, evocative, and propulsive ride that left my eyes wide open and my head spinning。 Miranda’s stream of consciousness really allows you to get into her head and experience everything she’s going through (even when it’s so odd that it doesn’t make sense)。 For the first portion of the book, I felt like I was in the haze of a deep and relentless depression, whereas I felt exuberant, energized, and utterly manic during the second half。 If I don’t even know where to start with this one。 It’s a bizarre, evocative, and propulsive ride that left my eyes wide open and my head spinning。 Miranda’s stream of consciousness really allows you to get into her head and experience everything she’s going through (even when it’s so odd that it doesn’t make sense)。 For the first portion of the book, I felt like I was in the haze of a deep and relentless depression, whereas I felt exuberant, energized, and utterly manic during the second half。 If you read and enjoyed Bunny, you will have a good idea of what you’re getting into when you pick up this book and yet somehow you will still ask yourself, “what did I just read?” after turning the final page。 Now that I have had some time to process everything that’s packed into this story, I’ve come to appreciate Mona Awad’s satirical brilliance for what it is。 Thank you to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for providing me with an e-galley! 。。。more

Caroline Tew

This was interesting in many aspects, but much like Bunny it just took a bizarre turn at the end that makes it practically unreadable。 I liked the discussion of how people respond to those in pain: respond in the "normal" ways, but once you're in too much pain it's no longer a "good performance" and others become distant or uninterested。 I like the tie in to Shakespeare but by the end if I had to hear one more joke about how "all's well!' I was going to lose it。 And maybe if I was more familiar This was interesting in many aspects, but much like Bunny it just took a bizarre turn at the end that makes it practically unreadable。 I liked the discussion of how people respond to those in pain: respond in the "normal" ways, but once you're in too much pain it's no longer a "good performance" and others become distant or uninterested。 I like the tie in to Shakespeare but by the end if I had to hear one more joke about how "all's well!' I was going to lose it。 And maybe if I was more familiar with the play I would glean a bit more but honestly some of the stuff was so nuts and also repetitive that I just wasn't having fun reading the last 25% of this。 。。。more

Dana Cristiana

Okay, so。。。 I won't rate this book just yet。 I have read this book because it's the September pick for Literally Dead Book Club hosted by Kayla (BooksandLala), so I'm looking forward the Live Discussion that will take place either at the end of this month or at the beginning of October。Until then I won't give a rating to this book, although I would say 3 stars。 The narration of Sophie Amoss wasn't among my favourites, and I struggled with this book, understanding it and all。I understood that it Okay, so。。。 I won't rate this book just yet。 I have read this book because it's the September pick for Literally Dead Book Club hosted by Kayla (BooksandLala), so I'm looking forward the Live Discussion that will take place either at the end of this month or at the beginning of October。Until then I won't give a rating to this book, although I would say 3 stars。 The narration of Sophie Amoss wasn't among my favourites, and I struggled with this book, understanding it and all。I understood that it is weird, and I don't dislike books like these, but the narrator confused me even more。Plus, I'm not into theatre settings and plot that much, because personal reasons。 Not to mention that Shakespear isn't among my favourite authors。 I only read Macbeth from him but didn't quite enjoy his stye。All in all, a good book。 Not extraordinary because of it dragging too much in the first part, but also not horrible because the weirdness and characters and the excitement going on。Will come back with a proper rating, as promised。 。。。more

KC

I wouldn't categorize this as a typical scary horror but more like real life horror。 If you go into this book wanting to be scared you won't enjoy it。 But if you go into it like oh this a phycological horror about the hells of real life for those who suffers from pain or injury or any medical condition in their everyday life, then you will really get the themes and see the physical and mental hurt that exists in the world。 I wouldn't categorize this as a typical scary horror but more like real life horror。 If you go into this book wanting to be scared you won't enjoy it。 But if you go into it like oh this a phycological horror about the hells of real life for those who suffers from pain or injury or any medical condition in their everyday life, then you will really get the themes and see the physical and mental hurt that exists in the world。 。。。more

ommd

tablecloth

Lisa Boyd

Weird。 Very weird。 Was it good? Was it terrible? Was it a train wreck? Was it amazing? Yes to all the above。 Started as a dark comedy, ended as a… I don’t know。 The explanation of it being a fever dream comes to mind quite a bit when I try to explain this novel。 Have you read it? Let’s chat。

Doug

It’s a story about a theater professor at a small college – named Miranda because naming her Prospero would’ve been a bit much – who intends, come hell or high water, to put on a production of All’s Well That Ends Well, though it comes to near mutiny when her students insist on MacBeth。 Miranda, incidentally, suffers from back pain too, intense, crippling, unexplained back pain that no doctor can figure out, and I’d love to tell you more about it, but don’t dare ruin the surprises for you。The pl It’s a story about a theater professor at a small college – named Miranda because naming her Prospero would’ve been a bit much – who intends, come hell or high water, to put on a production of All’s Well That Ends Well, though it comes to near mutiny when her students insist on MacBeth。 Miranda, incidentally, suffers from back pain too, intense, crippling, unexplained back pain that no doctor can figure out, and I’d love to tell you more about it, but don’t dare ruin the surprises for you。The plotting is a clever mishmash of Shakespeare, obviously MacBeth and All’s Well That Ends Well, though I think there’s a little Tempest thrown in as well。 But Awad doesn’t make herself a slave to what Shakespeare dictates。 She has entwined the Scottish play so brilliantly in a brutal theater production of All’s Well, that the power plays, the ghosts, the betrayals, the madness, are seamlessly incorporated, when they’re incorporated at all, because, in the end, this is pure Awad。 There is nothing Shakespearean about the finale, for example, that is trippier than the worst trip Timothy Leary ever had。 The prose is a wonder。 Though I dislike overwritten prose, Awad has written one hell of an exception。 The whole thing reads like a fever dream, whether describing intense back pain, or an onstage kiss, or a drink at a bar with three strange men, her prose captures the ferocity of any situation with killer phraseology – repeated words, linguistic rhythms, italicized asides。For a while there, authors were coming up with ways to update various Shakespeare plays through the Hogarth series。 Margaret Atwood did a prison version of the Tempest。 Tracy Chavelier did a playground Othello。 Those were probably the two best, but there were many others。 None were written with the sheer imagination and power of this。 This feels like genuine inspiration, not a commission。 How Awad came up with all this fascinates me。 I wonder, did she have the idea of updating MacBeth first, or All’s Well? Or maybe she just had an idea of a crazy theater production careening off the rails, and it all sprang from there? Maybe it began with some back pain one morning? It’s genuinely hard to tell。 This isn’t going to be for everyone。 Not everyone is going to glom on to the strangeness of it, mixing Shakespeare and the supernatural in a college theater department setting, never mind the back pain, the long nightmarish dream sequences towards the end, all told by a narrator slowly going mad。 If you think Haruki Murakami or Kurt Vonnegut are offbeat, Awad brings it to a whole new level。 It’s simply going to out-weird some。It’s a dramatic improvement over Bunny, the last Awad book I read, which was also good, also trippy, but not the whirlwind All’s Well is。 Where Bunny starts off brilliantly but ends in incoherence, All’s Well pulls together nicely at the end, trippy, climatic, and suspenseful (loved the slowly approaching thunderstorm towards the end。 My God, Awad can write!)。 The last few sentences I had to read twice to fully appreciate how she wraps things up。 It’s abrupt, with little explaining, but I think it’s genius。One of my favorites for the year。 。。。more

Kelsey

Lmaoooooo okaaaaaay

erika

Funny, fucked up story about a woman in chronic pain who’s also chronically disbelieved and minimized - by her partner, colleagues, friends - until she’s given the ability to transfer the pain, to take on the role of the condescending abled, to dabble in (could it be?) witchcraft, just like the main character in the play she identifies with the most。 Miranda Fitch is unlikeable and maybe delusional but somehow her story compelled me with its honesty and grim humour。

Jordan

I guess Mona Awad is just not for me。