maryjames's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Cursing, Injury/injury detail, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Addiction
kam_pearson's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Abandonment, Ableism, Gaslighting, Chronic illness, Cursing, Drug use, Grief, Infertility, Sexual content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Self harm
vigil's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
the way this book is set up is to function as a retelling of all’s well, the play being put on during the book. i’m not too familiar with all’s well that ends well but from what i’ve gathered, it does it adequately. but a part of me wonders why it even bothered at all, considering it had nothing new to contribute. i feel like if you’re going to create a retelling of a shakespearean play and put your own spin on it, you should at least have something to say.
the main on going theme throughout this book is pain (physical and emotional) but with the odd pacing, and overwhelming plot that got a bit lost in the noise. i feel like mona actually had really insightful things to say, but she tried to make a metaphor a plot, (which can absolutely be done and done well, writers do it all the time, i just don’t think it was here) and then it just went off the rails.
the plot builds to an immense degree, to the point where the ending just feels lackluster. i usually don’t mind an open ended finish but i don’t think it was executed to its fullest potential here. at the end of it all i was left thinking “ok now what? why did we do all of that?”
and that’s really the question i have about the novel as a whole. what was the point? i feel like there may have been one at some moment or another, or popping in and out, but it drowned in the sea of weird. this book has several hundred pages and manages to say too much and not enough at the same time.
the writing style, reflective of miranda’s mental state, is longwinded and repetitive. i didn’t mind this much, but there were several times where my eyes glazed of the descriptions because it became too much.
i think this review gives off a harsher view of this book than i have. i did actually enjoy this, and it’s a total page turner. mona awad is in excellent writer and i do plan to read more from her. but this book wasn’t what i thought it would be coming into it, and even while reading it. if you wanna have a fun, weird, worrying, time and have a background metaphor for pain weaved in throughout, you should read it.
it’s not a bad book in the least, but at the end of it i came away feeling “that’s it?”
Graphic: Chronic illness, Cursing, Death of parent, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Mental illness
eisenbuns's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
4.5
I'm so glad I was able to put aside all of my concerns and preconceptions, and dive into this work. 'All's Well' is a story of magic, of witches, of the fantastical and the mundane. It's also, primarily, a story about living with chronic pain. How it feels to be rendered invisible to professionals and loved ones alike. How it transforms you.
I think this book is an absolute masterpiece. I loved it even as I hated it.
Graphic: Body horror, Chronic illness, Cursing, and Medical trauma
Minor: Bullying, Infidelity, Gaslighting, Fatphobia, Abandonment, Body shaming, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Mental illness
ajoyn1201's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Chronic illness and Cursing
Moderate: Alcohol, Body horror, Medical trauma, Medical content, Injury/injury detail, and Drug use
house_of_hannah's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
5.0
The main character, Miranda, suffers from chronic pain with no concrete answers as to what's causing it. As someone who has been suffering with chronic pain since I was a teenager, I found I could relate to Miranda in so many ways. I understood her on such a personal level that I almost cried. I will say that if you can't relate to or understand her, then you may end up finding her to be annoying or whiny. Her pain is a huge part of the story, so be prepared to hear about it constantly.
Through this story we essentially live inside Miranda's head. This means that it is written as someone's train of thought would be, so there are very short sentences quite often. There are also a lot of flashbacks about her past as people and places remind her of happier times in her life. This kind of blurs the lines between reality and the past.
If you've read Bunny, then you are familiar with Mona Awad's ability to write an ending where there are multiple interpretations to what actually happened. I personally love this, and you can expect the same in All's Well. For a good chunk of it, it seems like there's just one path, but the last third really opens up other doors to possibilities, and I am here for it !
if you enjoy stories with an unreliable narrator, that are strange and bizzare, and deal with someone fighting the system to be heard, then I would 100% recommend this book. It's truly a phantasmagoria of pain, loss, and the right to live.
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Body horror, Chronic illness, Cursing, Drug abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Medical content, Medical trauma, Suicidal thoughts, and Sexual content
Moderate: Toxic friendship
Minor: Blood, Death, and Panic attacks/disorders