Literally Dead Book Club discussion

part one in my edition is from page 241 to 354.
In the audiobook, part three begins at 8h46m and ends...at the end lol

Did this end in a satisfying way?
If you've read any other Mona Awad, how do they rank?
If you haven't read any other Mona Awad, will you now?

Share all your full spoiler thoughts below.
What did you think overall of this? What is your rating?
And what would you like us to talk about in the live show discussion?

Mona Awad is a must read author for me. I have read both this and Bunny, and I adore how she leaves the endings open to multiple interpretations !

As someone with chronic pain I found I could relate to Miranda on such a personal level that I almost cried a few times. I love how this book is about how women's pain is so ignored, as it's something I have been struggling with for about 15 years now. I think being able to relate to Miranda is very important, as I can definitely see how those who can't might find her whiny, or annoying, which I think is the point.

I've never really had an interest in Shakespeare, but this book really makes me want to check out the plays mentioned. It made me really curious about them, and I might even get a deeper understanding of the book as well if I read them.

Honestly, some days I wish I had the power to transfer my pain to someone else just so they can understand. I think that's another reason why this book just really hit home for me. It's just such a love letter to those who suffer every day.

For me this was a 5/5 stars, and is a new favorite read.

I love Mona Awad, I’ll read anything she writes. This was my most anticipated book of the year and I thought it was…fine. 3/5 stars. For me what lost me was the Shakespeare references and themes. I don’t like Shakespeare. To be fair if not written by Mona Awad this is probably not a book I would have ever picked up.

I did appreciate the commentary on chronic pain but overall the book was just okay

I’ve never read Mona Awad before and this book was not at all what I expected it to be. I gave the book a rating of 2.7/5 because it just didn’t do it for me. I liked how it brought light to women who suffer from chronic pain, and how they are often overlooked, but I found the story to be confusing. I didn’t find the ending to be satisfying because I was left with so many questions and no answers. I also didn’t appreciate all of the Shakespeare references because I’m not into Shakespeare so that was just something that went over my head. I’m not sure if I’ll read more from Mona Awad, I’ll definitely have to do some research before picking up another book by her.

As I mentioned in comments on previous sections, I really liked the writing style of this book. Based on that alone when I read the first chapter or so, I thought this was going to end up being a new favorite. However, Part One moved so slowly and felt so repetitive that I started to get impatient with it. Part Two was much more interesting and well-paced, and Part Three...well, Part Three was odd. I already knew from Kayla's discussions of Bunny that this was probably going to be a weird book, but I think it could have done a slightly better job of tying things up at the end. For the most part, I could accept all the weirdness that was happening, but I'd love to know why Miranda didn't go back to her original chronic pain-having self at the end of the book. I'm assuming it was because she finally took one of the baths and those also happened to work, so she remained healed even after the three men had undone their magic and refused her further access to the golden remedy, but I would have liked just a tiny bit more explanation so I knew what the author had intended to do. Regardless, I do plan on picking up another book by Mona Awad at some point.

I read this last month so I'm jumping to the final discussion thread. I gave this 3 stars for personal enjoyment, but actually think it would be a 5 star book for a lot of people. I don't have much Shakespeare knowledge, and know nothing about All's Well That Ends Well, and I feel like I would've gotten more out of this book if I read that and MacBeth first, or at least looked through the cliff notes versions.

I don't know what it's like to have chronic pain, but it felt like the main character's entire personality and identity revolved around her pain, and I didn't really get to know her outside of that. It also made me understand why people in her circle would avoid talking to her, because she made sure that every conversation circled back to her pain.

The final performance was WILD and was definitely worth sticking with the book to read.

I had read Bunny before and gave it 5 stars because I loved the writing, the weirdness and the dark humor, and I think this book was very similar. I will pick up her next book.

If anyone is looking for something with a similar tone, the book Nightbitch by Rachel Yoder came out earlier this year and has a similar tone. That book is about a mother who thinks she may be turning into the dog. It ends with a performance as well.

TraceyL wrote: "I read this last month so I'm jumping to the final discussion thread. I gave this 3 stars for personal enjoyment, but actually think it would be a 5 star book for a lot of people. I don't have much..."

Echoing on the recommendation of Nightbitch by Rachel Yoder, very similar vibe!

I actually gave this 5 stars. I don't love Shakespeare, but I don't hate his work either, and I really appreciated the way Mona Awad gave this novel a very Shakespearean structure. I believe there are Macbeth, All's Well that Ends Well, and The Tempest references in this novel. I've only read Macbeth, so I'm sure I missed some of the references, but I still really liked this. I love the weirdness and exploration of how chronic pain is perceived. I love how Mona Awad's books make you feel like you're having a fever dream. Do I fully understand that ending? No, and that's okay.

I gave it two stars. As much as I understood and like the descriptions of chronic pain and all that goes with that, the rest of the book was just ugh... It was too weird for me. Let me just say first, that I'm not a theater person, so maybe that was some of it. Have I read Awad before? No, and I probably will not. But, I'm glad I finished it. It is okay with me that I read it for book club. I actually learn more about myself when I read off books I wouldn't pick for myself. That is why I watch Kayla to begin with. I rarely agree with her like/dislike, but she informs me and shows me different options. I guess on to" My heart is a chainsaw"!! lol

I ended up enjoying it overall (not a fav, and will probably not read it again) It was emotionally on point and hypnotically written, a spiraling mind-trip about pain and empathy, through the lens of Shakespeare.

It is a little long-winded in certain sections, and the very last chapter kind of dropped the ball with its wishy-washy closure when I would've liked there to be more clarity.

Also, why do people online keep referring to this as a thriller/horror? I don't see the publisher promoting it that way; it's probably more of a character study.

I agree with Justin C. It doesn't fit as horror or thriller.

Justin wrote: "I ended up enjoying it overall (not a fav, and will probably not read it again) It was emotionally on point and hypnotically written, a spiraling mind-trip about pain and empathy, through the lens ..."

Definitely not a thriller. I'm Ok with calling it a horror novel because of the general unsettling vibes, and horror covers a wide range of books that feel "off," but maybe Suspense would be a better term.

I had to sit with this one a bit before being able to write thoughts out coherently.

I gave it 4 stars. Much like Bunny, it read like an acid trip and I love stories that do that. I'm still not sure what to do with the ending, but that's okay.

It's definitely horror to me. It's a slow, creeping, uncomfortable journey from the resignation and bitterness of chronic pain to an absolute, mad-cap mania when that pain is relieved. And I definitely relate to that...the mania that comes with rare good days isn't talked about a whole lot, and this is that taken to an extreme. Combined with the way unprocessed grief can really do a number on your psyche...yeah, it's terrifyingly relatable.

Between this and Bunny, Mona Awad has definitely become an autobuy author for me.

Finished this this morning. Like with Bunny, I think the chaos of the last 1/3rd were great. I loved how she wrote Miranda’s voice and how her tone shifted throughout. At the beginning it was all clipped sentences and sharp punctuation, and then as she felt lighter she talked more and asked questions. Every sentence went up at the end (and floated a bit maybe? But that’s a little on the nose lol)

4/5

I finished this last night, and after sitting on it for a bit, I think I'm giving it 3.5 stars.

I didn't love how open the ending was, I wanted more of a satisfying conclusion, personally. I'm still not sure that I'll read Bunny after this, but I'd be interested to see what Mona Awad releases next.

I did appreciate the commentary on chronic pain and specifically how female pain is often overlooked, minimized, or flat-out ignored. I only understand Shakespeare at a very basic level, so I'm sure that I missed some interesting references, but I did like what I was able to pick up on.

Overall, I enjoyed this more than I expected to, so I'm happy about that. I'm hoping the live show can bring a bit more clarity to the ending of the book.

I initially gave this 3 stars, but after sitting on it, dropped to a 2. This book was torturous to get through at times. I hated Miranda (in personality, chronic pain aside) and it was often kind of boring. I wanted to appreciate the commentary on chronic pain, but just found the perspective it was told from aggravating. As someone who has severe chronic nerve pain, it was actually quite triggering at times.

For me, this felt like reading from the perspective of people say, "I don't know how you do it, if I was in that much pain I'd die/give up/etc" imagining life in pain. A portrayal devoid of joy. I'm grateful that isn't actually what my life is like, though acknowledge that for some it can be. (I don't know anything about Mona Awad's situation/if she has chronic pain, so definitely NOT saying she is that person. Just how I personally felt reading this from the lens of my life and outlook)

That said, I do think Awad can write and comes up with interesting premises for her books. I'll probably keep reading her books, because Bunny actually was a dark comedy that was entertaining. Or, I laughed at some of the outrageousness.

Finished last night, and gave 4.5 stars. This book really made me feel like I was right by Miranda seeing everything at both her pace and state of mind while seeing the glimpses of reality, or what likely seemed to be real from the students. This combined with the parallels to Macbeth throughout the book were quite satisfying! The writing is done with a lot of care and with such mania that's hard to convey.

I have not read any of Mona Awad's books until now, and I'm very interested in reading her other works now. This wasn't quite the horror book I was looking for but I got something I rather liked and that's fine by me!

I had already read this book prior to it being a book club pick. I gave it a 4.0-star rating. I did enjoy it. I loved the pacing, the storyline, and the writing style. I don't know if I would classify this as a very good thriller, though. It had more literary aspects to it than thriller-y (lol) aspects, in my opinion. I have to say I did enjoy this more than I enjoyed Bunny when I read it. I also have to say that I appreciated the voice here. I am someone that suffers from an autoimmune disorder with other complications, and I can say that as a daily sufferer of chronic pain I know what it feels like to both spend a great deal of my time suffering, and also a lot of my time being judged by people who don't understand that suffering or even some physicians who can be barely sympathetic. Chronic pain disorders are very often invisible, so I have found people not to be the best at understanding my limitations, as well as feeling the need to offer loads of either unhelpful advice or criticism. I feel like Awad captured the feeling of both being trapped in this invisible illness and others' responses to it.

I'm so confused. This is my first Mona Awad book, the writting was so good but the story itself left me scraching my head. Did I enjoy this? I'm not quite sure. 3/5

Okay, wow. I'm so ... confused? I didn't particularly enjoy the story but I can definitely appreciate how Mona Awad encapsulated the depressing nature of chronic pain. This was so weird and I guess it just wasn't my thing. The Shakespeare aspect was really fun but overall, this was not for me.

3/5 ⭐️ I love Mona’s writing and I think her work is original and unique. But I can’t deny this one was hard for me to read. Audio helped a lot and part 2 and 3 were definitely most enjoyable for me. I didn’t mind the ending. But this was not a book I couldn’t wait to pick up and read and by the end I wouldn’t put it down now because I loved it so much but because I didn’t want to have to deal with it tomorrow. Haha. I know that makes it sound like I didn’t like it, which isn’t the case! I just didn’t love it and I don’t know who I’d ever recommend this to.