Hi bibliophiles!

Is there a Book in your life that you almost didn’t buy but now you’re so thankful you did buy it?

Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason is that book for me.

I didn’t want to read it at first because I was really into romance that time but then after reading a lot of good reviews about Sorrow and Bliss I thought I should read it. Well, I didn’t read it right away after purchase. I waited for my mood for romance books to completely die down.

So here we are. This is my Sorrow and Bliss Review.

What is this Meg Mason Book About?

Martha Friel recently turned 40. She creates content. She is the only person she knows who doesn’t have a PhD, a child or both (wow, like me!) and she resides in a gated neighborhood in Oxford in a home she despises but can’t bear to leave. Her loving spouse Patrick has just moved out and now she must move out too. She has nowhere to go but her childhood home, back to her parents, where she must try to survive without the devoted sister who once made all the chaos bearable but is now too busy or too tired to deal with her.

Something happened in her brain when she was seventeen and she never recovered from it. She has seen doctors and taken every type of medication but she still has no idea what is wrong.

By beginning afresh, Martha might be able to give herself a better ending and realize that she isn’t completely done after all.

My Sorrow and Bliss Review

I saw the reviews of my fellow bookstagrammers about Sorrow and Bliss. They said it was funny, a must read, and explores the importance of mental health. I didn’t get how a book about mental health can be funny.

And then I read it. It is a funny read. What I found funny is what the characters say and how they deliver their lines.

For example, what and how Patrick says when he announces that they are engaged: “Just quickly, everyone, I asked Martha to marry me last night and she said fine.” I found this hilarious! Haha!

Another example, when Ingrid tells Martha she’s pregnant and Martha says this to her: “Something weird is happening. But, you’re pregnant. I am so excited. Do you know who the father is?” Haha! This is funny because Ingrid is happily married to Hamish. Hamish is obviously the father. Haha!

Rate:

How many days did I read this?
A week. I’m at a time in my life where I’m a slow reader.

Topics covered: mental health, family, parents, married life, love, having and not having babies/children.

This book reminds me of… other not so happy but made me laugh books like My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh.

Did I enjoy the author’s writing?
Yes. It’s a gift or talent or hardwork or all of it for an author to write a beautiful book that is, like what Jojo Moyes said, funny and tragic. I find it amazing.

Will I reread this?
Yes. There are some things I don’t get from reading a book once. I have to read it again and again like The Unbearable Lightness of Being.

Do I recommend this book?
Yes! You’re going to love or like this book if you also love or like Normal People, The Idiot (Elif Batuman), My Year of Rest and Relaxation, Queenie, and A Little Life.

And I just based this on the fact that I like/love all these books.

Other thoughts about this book:
Patrick is probably the best fictional husband I’ve ever encountered.

Sorrow and Bliss Quotes by Meg Mason

“Normal people say, I can’t imagine feeling so bad I’d genuinely want to die. I do not try and explain that it isn’t that you want to die. It is that you know you are not supposed to be alive, feeling a tiredness that powders your bones, a tiredness with so much fear. The unnatural fact of living is something you must eventually fix.”

“Because when suffering is unavoidable, the only thing one gets to choose is the backdrop.”

“Just that feeling of like, thank God when you see that person.”

“Thank God is how I felt when I saw Patrick that day. Not a thrill or affection or pleasure. Visceral relief.”

“It is hard to look into someone’s eyes. Even when you love them, it is difficult to sustain it, for the sense of being seen through. In some way, found out.”

“It doesn’t matter if you’re unhappy. It’s not a good enough reason. If you’re just bored and it’s all a bit hard and you don’t feel like you love them any more, who cares. You made a deal.”

“Everything is broken and messed up and completely fine. That is what life is. It’s only the ratios that change. Usually on their own. As soon as you think that’s it, it’s going to be like this forever, they change again.”

“Martha, no marriage makes sense. Especially not to the outside world. A marriage is its own world.”

“I have been unbearable but I have never been unloved. I have felt alone but I have never been alone and I’ve been forgiven for the unforgiveable things I have done.”

“People who talk about how the’ve forgiven others sound so arseholey.”

“There are things, crimes in a marriage, that are so great you can not apologize for them.”

That’s it!

There you have it. My Sorrow and Bliss review. I hope you found this helpful.

If you know a good book that is like this one, please recommend

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