Title: Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason
Publisher: Harper
Genre: Contemporary, Women’s Fiction
Length: 347 pages
Book Rating: C
Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through Edelweiss
Summary:
A compulsively readable debut novel—spiky, sharp, intriguingly dark, and tender—about a woman on the edge that combines the psychological insight of Sally Rooney with the sharp humor of Nina Stibbe and the emotional resonance of Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine.
Martha Friel just turned forty. Once, she worked at Vogue and planned to write a novel. Now, she creates internet content. She used to live in a pied-à-terre in Paris. Now she lives in a gated community in Oxford, the only person she knows without a PhD, a baby or both, in a house she hates but cannot bear to leave. But she must leave, now that her husband Patrick—the kind who cooks, throws her birthday parties, who loves her and has only ever wanted her to be happy—has just moved out.
Because there’s something wrong with Martha, and has been for a long time. When she was seventeen, a little bomb went off in her brain and she was never the same. But countless doctors, endless therapy, every kind of drug later, she still doesn’t know what’s wrong, why she spends days unable to get out of bed or alienates both strangers and her loved ones with casually cruel remarks.
And she has nowhere to go except her childhood home: a bohemian (dilapidated) townhouse in a romantic (rundown) part of London—to live with her mother, a minorly important sculptor (and major drinker) and her father, a famous poet (though unpublished) and try to survive without the devoted, potty-mouthed sister who made all the chaos bearable back then, and is now too busy or too fed up to deal with her.
But maybe, by starting over, Martha will get to write a better ending for herself—and she’ll find out that she’s not quite finished after all.
Review:
Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason is a melancholy novel about a woman’s struggles with mental illness.
Martha Friel’s battle with mental illness begins in her late teens. Her family life is chaotic and dysfunctional due to her mother’s temperamental moods and excessive drinking. Her dad is her rock as is her sister Ingrid. Martha’s career choices are more accidental than planned and she is not exactly fulfilled. Her relationships suffer as she veers between deep depression, mood swings, and fits of rage. Ingrid is always there to pick up the pieces when her life spirals out of control. Martha reconnects with family friend Patrick Friel and he becomes her long-suffering husband who patiently stands by her side during all of their ups and downs.
Martha’s mental illness is not adequately diagnosed or treated until later in life. She is very angry with Patrick and the future of their marriage hangs in the balance. By this point, Ingrid is also losing patience with her sister. As Martha reflects back on her life, she tries to pinpoint the main source of her unhappiness. She also has regrets about the state of her marriage but will she be able move past her anger? And if she does, is it too late for her and Patrick?
Sorrow and Bliss is a well-written novel that provides a realistic and insightful portrait of living with mental illness. The storyline is interesting but the pacing is slow. Martha is a frustrating woman and her self-absorption and casual cruelty to her loved ones is difficult to watch. Ingrid is a wonderful person with a marvelous sense of humor. Patrick is likable but a bit underdeveloped until very near the story’s end. Both Martha and her mother undergo significant growth which is quite uplifting. Meg Mason brings the novel to a slightly unsatisfactory but true to life conclusion.
