Reviews tagging 'Ableism'

All's Well by Mona Awad

47 reviews

rachelly's review against another edition

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dark emotional inspiring reflective sad
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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luckykosmos's review against another edition

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challenging tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Incredibly stressful, I'm obsessed. I think people who didn't quite click with Bunny should give this one a shot - the way that All's Well and Macbeth as stories were paralleled in the story, how Miranda was using those around her as set dressing for reclaiming the life before her injury, was amazing. I adore Mona Award. 
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julia_jojo17's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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ecb03's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

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stargirlsky's review against another edition

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emotional fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.5

wow, what can I really say other than wow. this book was so stunning and so emotional, literally JUST finished reading it. I feel everything for miranda; from fear, to joy, to sympathy, and I really can not help but love her and feel for her in the end. really this book is a treasure 
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dhritigupta's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

this was a wacky and surreal book that would have maybe benefitted from being shorter? i liked the narrative tone but since there was a lot of internal monologue involved, it dragged on sometimes.

it was interesting to read this after rouge, and spot the occasional similarities between the protagonists and the themes! 
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withlivjones's review against another edition

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challenging mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

Holy hell, Mona Awad has done it again. This book as it all: trippy dream sequences, mysterious characters reminiscent of Alice in Wonderland, and overall a really powerful message about how women’s pain, especially if it’s invisible, is so often dismissed and erased. Part of me sympathises with and roots for Miranda as she gains the ability to take ownership of her chronic pain and punish those who have downplayed it, while part of me grows slightly more horrified as she descends further into insanity. This book, like Awad’s other writing, reads like an acid trip, and I am so here for it. 
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orlagal's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

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raitherabbit's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

As someone who does theatre, this book wrecked me. As someone who also has a degree in psychology, this book was fascinating and kept me asking for more. Watching the slow downfall of someone you supposedly root for is excruciating, but also satisfying. There was no way I would predict how any of this ended (both the play and the plot itself). I do think things will get better after this. In other news, female rage is a powerful thing and it was made more interesting by the intricate interpersonal relationships Ms. Fitch had with her students and coworkers. I rooted for everyone but also wished for their downfall. 
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danidamico's review against another edition

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dark medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes

4.5

Esta fue mi primera experiencia leyendo a Mona Awad y me encantó. All's Well me mantuvo entretenida y enganchada de principio a fin. La novela presenta la historia de Miranda, una actriz de teatro que ahora enseña en una universidad de medio pelo en Massachusetts. Años atrás, mientras interpretaba a Lady Macbeth, se cayó del escenario y desde entonces sufre de unos dolores crónicos intensos en todo el cuerpo. Awad construye minuciosamente el día a día de Miranda en un cuerpo que parece traicionarla hasta para lo que damos por sentado en nuestra vida cotidiana, caminar, manejar un auto, cocinarse algo, dar una clase, sentarse a mirar tele en el sillón. Los médicos y especialistas que consulta no logran comprenderla ni empatizar con ella, todos creen que finge o que su dolor existe en su cabeza, como si fuera un tema de voluntad. Además, Miranda quiere que sus estudiantes preparen una versión de All's Well That Ends Well, una obra menos reconocida de Shakespeare que tiene un gran significado personal para ella, pero los estudiantes no quieren saber nada al respecto, inclinándose por Macbeth. Todo empieza a cambiar tras el encuentro extraño de la protagonista con tres hombres en un bar que le ofrecen una bebida especial, un remedio dorado.

Esta novela tiene varios elementos que me gustan: una protagonista que está en una situación límite, o como se le dice ahora, unhinged woman; una narradora poco confiable, un elemento fantástico oscuro y perturbador que irrumpe en la realidad, humor tragicómico. El estilo de Awad me fascinó, tiene una cualidad hipnotizante que te mete por completo en ese estado de extrañamiento de la narración, como un limbo entre el sueño y el despertar. Por momentos tiene algo vertiginoso, vinculado al peligro de lo que en cualquier momento puede perder el control y explotar.

La única razón por la cual no llega a las cinco estrellas es que no me convenció del todo el final. Si bien parece un final redondito en el que cierra todo, para mí faltó impacto. Se desinfla, no se arriesga a mantener el tono del resto del libro. Creo que por ese motivo tampoco logró emocionarme tanto como habría podido. Pero como ya dije, de todos modos me encantó y tengo muchas ganas de leer Rouge, la próxima novela de Awad, y también Bunny, por qué no. 
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