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cassidyserhienko's review against another edition
5.0
Wow. What a strange, disturbing, wonderful book.
This was my first Mona Awad novel, and it’s fair to say I’m obsessed (I need Bunny, like, now).
Miranda is a former Shakespearean actress, current theatre director/professor. She’s suffered from severe chronic pain since she fell off the stage during a performance as Helen in Shakespeare’s All’s Well that Ends Well, a problem play that doesn’t get staged very often. Miranda is determined to put on a production of this play for her group’s yearly Shakespeare performance, despite the loud protests of her rebellious cast and crew. Miranda’s condition, which was once a source of sympathy and interest for her doctors and friends has now become a site of ridicule, derision, and boredom. When their remedies don’t work, her doctors lose interest, and those closest to her believe that her pain is all in her head. When Miranda meets three mysterious benefactors (it’s all very Macbeth), she learns how to transfer her pain to other people. As Miranda’s body miraculously heals, she is able to reclaim everything she’s lost – her sexuality, her power, her talent, and her freedom. But she finds that it comes at a cost.
I went into this book expecting it to have very similar vibes to If We Were Villains – very dark academia. This definitely isn’t the case, but I wasn’t disappointed in the slightest. Miranda is the ultimate anti-hero. Part of you cheers every time she gives a little bit of her pain away to the people who mocked and manipulated her, but you also know that they ultimately don’t deserve it and her actions have a steeper effect on her than she is willing to acknowledge. However, it never becomes preachy. There is never the sense that Miranda herself deserves to have this pain, and that it can be “meaningful” to her. I know a lot of people became frustrated with the stream-of-consciousness style, and I’ll admit all of the rhetorical questions can be grating. However, it’s such a clever way of conveying Miranda’s state of mind as she spirals and becomes more and more manic. She revels in her newfound pain-free life, but even when she’s telling you how amazing everything is and how her cast is in awe of her, the reader can see that this isn’t true without being explicitly told. We also get subtle clues that Miranda is either deliberately leaving out details, or is just unwilling to acknowledge reality as she becomes more and more unhinged. While the ending is slightly ambiguous, I found it really satisfying and it definitely didn’t conclude the way I had been predicting.
Overall I think this is an amazing book that explores the consequences of how we ignore chronic pain, and particularly women’s pain.
This was my first Mona Awad novel, and it’s fair to say I’m obsessed (I need Bunny, like, now).
Miranda is a former Shakespearean actress, current theatre director/professor. She’s suffered from severe chronic pain since she fell off the stage during a performance as Helen in Shakespeare’s All’s Well that Ends Well, a problem play that doesn’t get staged very often. Miranda is determined to put on a production of this play for her group’s yearly Shakespeare performance, despite the loud protests of her rebellious cast and crew. Miranda’s condition, which was once a source of sympathy and interest for her doctors and friends has now become a site of ridicule, derision, and boredom. When their remedies don’t work, her doctors lose interest, and those closest to her believe that her pain is all in her head. When Miranda meets three mysterious benefactors (it’s all very Macbeth), she learns how to transfer her pain to other people. As Miranda’s body miraculously heals, she is able to reclaim everything she’s lost – her sexuality, her power, her talent, and her freedom. But she finds that it comes at a cost.
I went into this book expecting it to have very similar vibes to If We Were Villains – very dark academia. This definitely isn’t the case, but I wasn’t disappointed in the slightest. Miranda is the ultimate anti-hero. Part of you cheers every time she gives a little bit of her pain away to the people who mocked and manipulated her, but you also know that they ultimately don’t deserve it and her actions have a steeper effect on her than she is willing to acknowledge. However, it never becomes preachy. There is never the sense that Miranda herself deserves to have this pain, and that it can be “meaningful” to her. I know a lot of people became frustrated with the stream-of-consciousness style, and I’ll admit all of the rhetorical questions can be grating. However, it’s such a clever way of conveying Miranda’s state of mind as she spirals and becomes more and more manic. She revels in her newfound pain-free life, but even when she’s telling you how amazing everything is and how her cast is in awe of her, the reader can see that this isn’t true without being explicitly told. We also get subtle clues that Miranda is either deliberately leaving out details, or is just unwilling to acknowledge reality as she becomes more and more unhinged. While the ending is slightly ambiguous, I found it really satisfying and it definitely didn’t conclude the way I had been predicting.
Overall I think this is an amazing book that explores the consequences of how we ignore chronic pain, and particularly women’s pain.
thrushnightingale's review
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- 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
3.5
cgreens's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-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? Yes
4.5
kelsieyohe's review
dark
emotional
tense
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? Yes
4.25
kayla_reads_'s review
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This book was both incredible and terrible. It's different than anything I've ever read, so I understand why people either love or hate her writing. If you like Shakespeare, I think you'll love it. There are so many amazing nods to his work, and it's really a love letter to theatre. In fact, it felt like I was reading the script of a really obscure, artistic play/movie. The only downside for me was that the ending didn't really feel cathartic or climactic, but perhaps that was purposeful.
thebellsjar's review against another edition
4.0
reading this lynchian tale of a woman with chronic pain as a woman who lives with chronic pain did a number on me, I'll tell ya.
smiling_plum's review against another edition
5.0
Had no expectations going in and I’m happy that I didn’t. This is exactly what I needed. It had me on the edge of my seat- a page turner, truly. It’s not often I’m blown away but an author’s writing style but this was honestly so well done. I could feel my brain doing mental gymnastics towards the end. Definitely recommend if you’re looking for an entertaining and dark fast read.