Literally Dead Book Club discussion

part one in my edition is from page 1 to 160, ending at the end of chapter 14.
In the audiobook, part one ends at 6h07m

Initial thoughts?
Have you ever read a book like this?
What characters stand out for you?
What do you think of the writing style?
Discuss any genres or themes you think this fits!

Initially I was pretty bored of the book. I like that it touches upon women’s pain being ignored and not taken seriously, but I found it to be really repetitive. However, chapters 12-14 have gotten much more interesting. Ellie is someone who stands out to me and I’m interested to see what role she plays throughout the rest of the book.

oh my gosh! As someone who has chronic back pain, this pretty much is a slap to my heart. I have had physical therapists that are very young, very physically fit and very bored with my pain. I have laid under electrodes zapping my spine with tears rolling down my face, and to be told, What? Everyone else says this is soothing! I have been poked, prodded, under prescribed and over prescribed. I have shown up to Spine doctor appointments and told if he hadn't seen my MRI, he thought I was lying. I have been too disabled to work, but not disabled enough to work, lost in a gray zone in a flurry of paperwork that is designed to make you give up. I was lucky, I found someone to help me. I can never be "fixed', but I can cope. I have never read a fiction book like this. This should be filed under, What true horror is really like. As far as the story, I am slogging a bit. I am not a Shakespeare fan per say, so I'm like yeah yeah, get on with it. As far a the friends, its true to life. A shutter drops over their eyes if you speak of your pain. Its the oh, your not better yet? I thought you saw a doctor? So you suck it up, buttercup and stop talking about it. Any questions? You can ask me anything, lol, not shy!

So I have EDS. It took nearly 20 years to get a diagnosis, and there aren't many options that reliev my chronic pain. I felt SO seen by Miranda in this. The constant pain, the constant specialists, the way you can just feel the pity rolling off of people when they see you struggling, the bitterness of nothing working...just..wow. Now that the Shenanigans have started, I'm lookibg forward to the rest of the book!

I agree with everyone else, having chronic pain and being told “oh it’s not that bad” or “Aaw that sucks try this” sucks, but I am also bored with it so far, which is sad cause I absolutely loved Bunny.

I'm absolutely loving the writing style of the book. I love how the dreamlike it is and that the lines between what's happening in the protagonist's head and in the world around her are blurred.

I definitely think Part One could have been cut by like 30-50 pages. Definitely slow and a bit repetitive, as others have said. But it does seem to be picking up now!

Can anyone help me? Sorry if I’m not meant to post this here, but I really want to read this book, I have chronic pain, fibromyalgia, and I’m super excited about reading this, BUT apparently it’s not released till February, so how is everyone reading it?

Are you from the US/Canada? It was released in August but maybe not in your country?

DNF@ CHAPTER 5
I can't, I just can't with this writing style. At this point I am convinced that If I read another chapter I'll be in a slump and I am not doing that just before FALL. Did Bunny had the same style because I don't remember struggling this much with that?

Really enjoying this thus far (I also tend to like character study novels)—I find the writing style immersive and hypnotic, really sucks you into the manic headspace of the protagonist.

I feel the novel keeps the true source of her pain pretty open-ended, it could be either physical or psychological (or both); also appreciate the mirroring of elements from Shakespeare's play (3 men in suits = the 3 Witches).

Definitely took a turn for the fantastical near the end of Part 1—so curious to see how it'll continue developing.

Initial thoughts? I'm still not sure what to expect but I initially thought All's Well was a thriller. Then I thought it was horror. I think it's dark comedy, which is suiting because of all the Shakespeare references. I am getting through this quite slowly so I decided to finish the latter half later this month so I don't get into a reading slump.

Have you ever read a book like this? The closest book I read like this would be the author's other book, Bunny.

What characters stand out for you? The three mysterious businessman are interesting. They definitely raise the suspense factor.

What do you think of the writing style? I like the writing style. The MC does have a lot of internal monologue. It's interesting how minimal dialogue there is, but when it's there, it counts.

I was a little bored in the beginning. It took me a little while to get into the writing, but that was the same with Bunny. The story got more and more interesting as it is going on. Was she lying? Was this pain all in her head? Everything is so dream-like. Sometimes I don't know what is real or not.

I’m liking it so far. Miranda is a trip and I love how the writing sucks us into her pill-induced thoughts. I can feel the layers building. I liked the Macbeth references - 3 suited men, 3 skulls, and 3 crows for the 3 witches, plus the bartender’s “primrose way to the everlasting bonfire” tattoo. I also feel like the four physiatrists named Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John was a Biblical reference? I’m sure I’m missing a million other references as I’m not too familiar with Shakespeare or the Bible. Did y’all notice any others? Still confused by a lot but I’m here for the ride.

Just finished part one last night and WOW. I am in anticipation with how the three men come up again, and if anything changes when Ellie gives another bath. I took a course on Shakespeare in college and am sad to say with did not cover All's Well That Ends Well, but we did cover Macbeth. So many parallels!

And the style of the writing, I am absolutely in love with how she controls the speed of events to reflect Miranda's condition. At first, the beginning felt like a slog, but reflecting on that? Clearly on purpose since that's how Miranda is feeling.

One other character, Fauve, wondering where she is after the scene with the ill actress? Doesn't seem to be accounted for. Wondering if she's watching over the student.

I agree with others that I was having a hard time initially getting into this, but the last few chapters have started to draw my interest more. I haven't read Bunny, so I can't say that I've read anything similar to this, unless maybe the style of Catherine House? I gave that pick 3 stars last year, so honestly, I'm kind of expecting to give All's Well 3 stars also based on my experience so far. But, I'm hoping to be pleasantly surprised as the story progresses!

I'm really drawn in to this book it's weird and supensful in all the right ways for me

its slow and I dont know whats going on but its okay so far

I hated this lol it was so repetitive and I don’t like any of the characters at all. There are exciting parts that get my attention like when she touches Brianna, but then it’s down played by the boring dialogue. Everything just feels so slow and nonsensical.

Omg the beginning was soooo sloooowww. The last few chapters started to pick up but my goodness this was repetitive and downright depressing. I am intrigued to find out more about Ellie's baths and the three men but this was honestly so hard for me to get into. Guess we'll see what Part 2 brings...

Not gonna lie, part one was a bit rough to get through and I didn't know if I'd make it, lol. Around chapter 6 I switched from physical to audio and that made a world of a difference! I was laughing and having a great time! The way Mona chose to write this story, all the inner dialogue, it can feel a lot at times and really hard to push through for me when reading it on a page. But listen to someone speak it has been much more enjoyable. Now I'm onto part 2, back reading physical and having a great time! Miranda is something else man, lmao.