Tournament of Books discussion

space to discuss 2022 TOB contender "All's Well" by Mona Awad

I bailed on it and I usually like this author - she was doing a good job bringing me in to the narrator's experience but I didn't want to be. Then the three magical men... I could just tell I would end up annoyed.

Sorry it wasn't for you. I'm only a third of the way through the tournament books (and I haven't gotten to =The Trees= yet) but this is my favorite so far, weird brethren and all.

I stopped at 100 pages, which I see is RIGHT before her 2nd meeting with magical men so I really debated if I would regret jumping right when it takes off…. But if it takes you over 100pages to finally start the good stuff… I don’t know, life is short.

Also Atwood blurbing about its’ hilarity threw me… I shoulda known cause I don’t think Atwood actually has a sense of humor but I may have had more patience if this was blurbed about the tragi-comedy of pain management. Were we trying for farce with all the awful interactions with caregivers? If so, boo!

Amy wrote: "if it takes you over 100pages..."

Yeah, it takes some hairpin turns, but it's not like =Trust Exercise=; it's not going to become something else half-way through. So if the first 100 pages aren't for you, well, even if the remaining pages are spinning off in odd directions, they probably aren't for you either.

You guys have almost been scaring me off this, but I looked and saw a bunch of very positive reviews from Goodreads friends whose judgment I respect, so now I’m excited to check it out. I have it queued up as my next audiobook and hope to start it on Monday.

Amy wrote: "Also Atwood blurbing about its’ hilarity threw me… I shoulda known cause I don’t think Atwood actually has a sense of humor ..."

I really liked it but I wouldn't say it was a funny book at all.

Yeah, it's not really funny... in the comedic sense. There are parts of dark absurdity that practically made me laugh— like when the sheer discomfort is so much that all you can do is laugh to relieve the awkwardness. I did enjoy this book, though. The writing style is so effortless, too, so I really flew through it.

Amy wrote: "Also Atwood blurbing about its’ hilarity threw me… I shoulda known cause I don’t think Atwood actually has a sense of humor but I may have had more patience if this was blurbed about the tragi-come..."

Hi all! I'm a frequent lurker but not a frequent poster here but wanted to jump in. I agree the Atwood blurb is weird in all kinds of ways (and these days, a bit of a contra-indicator) but I honestly think the marketers were tapping in to the Hag Seed comparison, the female Cdn author comparison, and also of course the feminist angle (which, vis-a-vis Atwood, don't get me started).

Anyhoo, this is such a uniquely and strongly told tale of women's disenfranchised, disregarded, overtreated/undertreated/badly treated pain. It's super dark (not funny haha, but darkly funny), has weird magical realist twists, and yeah - if you haven't latched on in the first 100 pp it's probably not your cuppa'. Me, I loved it with a passion.

Jennifer (aka EM) wrote: "Amy wrote: "Also Atwood blurbing about its’ hilarity threw me… I shoulda known cause I don’t think Atwood actually has a sense of humor but I may have had more patience if this was blurbed about th..."

Sounds like great discussion fodder for the ToB!

Well, I just finished tonight. The descent into madness was fascinating, and I love Awad's writing. But I just wrote in my review that reading it was like spending those hours consumed by chronic pain myself...I'm so glad to be done.

I think humor would have helped so much, making Miranda a character more like Moshfegh's, that kind of interspersed quirkiness that completely takes you by surprise. IMO the contrast would have made the whole thing more powerful and enjoyable. I'm not sorry I read it, though, it was often an incredible experience.

Oh gosh, I loved this book! I loved the parallels with Macbeth, the mythical and magical realist feel, how women's chronic pain is dismissed, the performance of pain theme, the strange "play" she puts on at the end...I just thought it was such a readable page-turner that also managed to have deep themes to discuss and dig into. But I was completely drawn in by the first 100 pages so maybe I'm just the right reader at the right time. I really need page turners right now, the pandemic has destroyed my ability to concentrate, but I'm also craving something deeper and more intellectual than some of the thrillers and romances I've been reading, this book for me had that perfect balance.

I like the first half and then felt like it turned into a real slog.

Cat wrote: "Oh gosh, I loved this book! I loved the parallels with Macbeth, the mythical and magical realist feel, how women's chronic pain is dismissed, the performance of pain theme, the strange "play" ..."

Exactly!!!

Right there with you!

I found it uncomfortable being inside the head of a woman dealing with so much pain and anguish, but the book picked up steam as it went along and I ended up really liking it. Not quite dice stars worth, but I loved Awad’s exploration of the gendered experience of chronic pain and the other aspects you guys have been mentioning.

At the halfway point, and I do have to agree the prose just slides by. Very quick reading.

I can definitely understand bailing if the chronic pain stuff is triggering.

Jan wrote: "I found it uncomfortable being inside the head of a woman dealing with so much pain and anguish ..."

Yeah, I did too, but that was what made this book so good - the way Awad was able to make all that so visceral and so real. That's what great writing does - puts you in someone else's head, makes you really feel it.

@Tim, I agree with everything you say, just noting that it wasn’t a fun place to be. Props to Awad for writing so skillfully!

Ok I finished this last night, and overall thought it was fantastic, but I could use some help interpreting the last... 20% of it? I was sucked in right away and as someone with experience with chronic illness/pain I felt very "seen" with much of this. I definitely picked up dark humor vibes, especially with the revenge fantasy(?) element of other people finally getting a glimpse of what Miranda had been going through and how awful it is for people to dismiss, ignore, or not believe those in pain.

BUT I'm not quite sure what it all meant in the last few chapters with the play, Ellie, Paul, the fall, the three men, etc. Like with Bunny, I find Awad's story endings to stretch a bit too far to the side of mystery on the mystery/clarity spectrum writers need to find the right balance with on what they put out there. I really enjoyed the themes brought up here but would appreciate some interpretations of what was going on in the end if y'all can help me with that. :)

Thanks!

Lauren wrote: "... would appreciate some interpretations of what was going on in the end if y'all can help me with that"

Lauren, I'm sure there are as many interpretations of this novel as there are readers. To me, Miranda's pain was very real, as was the deep despair & depression it caused her. But everything beginning with the three men in the bar was, to me, a product of magical thinking/mental deterioration, as evidenced by her ever-increasing manic state - sort of a fever dream. Ultimately, she lets her benefactors (the three men in the bar) down when she chooses not to force pain onto others in order to be relieved of it herself. No idea whether that gets anywhere near what you are asking for or what other readers' take-away might be.

The gospel names of her physical therapists (Matt, Mark, Luke, and John) had to be intentional, right? I'm still trying to figure out the reasoning behind that choice...

Phyllis wrote: "Lauren wrote: "... would appreciate some interpretations of what was going on in the end if y'all can help me with that"

Lauren, I'm sure there are as many interpretations of this novel as there a..."

Yes - this helps! Thank you. So would that mean the experiences with Hugo weren't part of the "reality" side of things? But the breakup with Paul was real? And I'm not sure what actually happened to Grace... And Ellie as a baby - was that supposed to connect to Miranda as a baby and how some of her pain/trauma could be tied back to much earlier times (I'm thinking of generational trauma, for example). Sorry I'm still so lost on the ending. It's making it hard for me to summarize my feelings about the book overall (and give it a rating). ;)

Lauren wrote: "... So would that mean the experiences with Hugo weren't part of the "reality" side of things? But the breakup with Paul was real? And I'm not sure what actually happened to Grace... And Ellie as a baby - was that supposed to connect to Miranda as a baby and how some of her pain/trauma could be tied back to much earlier times (I'm thinking of generational trauma, for example)...."
Again, all of this is just how I read it. I think Miranda and Paul really did break up, and I think the "Ellie as a baby" thing was that she & Paul were in a place where they might have had a child together but for her injury & chronic pain, and that Miranda viewed the real-life Ellie as someone who truly cared about her and whom she had a role in molding (like a baby and it's mother). I think Grace just coincidentally got sick -- I don't think Miranda caused Grace's illness, but merely imagined she did. I think Miranda and Hugo really did date, during her manic phase when she was super over-drugging herself to get through the play. And I don't think either Miranda or Ellie were the cause of Briana falling ill or her miraculous recovery, though I believe both really thought they were through their various forms of "magick." The thread I can't reconcile is the true source of the funding to the college for the theatre program - anyone got any ideas on that?

Kyle wrote: "The gospel names of her physical therapists (Matt, Mark, Luke, and John) had to be intentional, right? I'm still trying to figure out the reasoning behind that choice..."

Maybe differing views on possible salvation from pain?

Phyllis wrote: "Lauren wrote: "... So would that mean the experiences with Hugo weren't part of the "reality" side of things? But the breakup with Paul was real? And I'm not sure what actually happened to Grace......"

To me, both Grace's and Briana's illnesses felt far too coincidental to me to just be her imaginings. I thought she did hurt them somehow, even if it was in a more conventional way. (I was imagining her pushing Grace, and Grace hitting her head.)

I had the same thoughts about her imagining Ellie as her baby.

And yes, even if some of the magical realism elements were just her own delusions, there were things like the funding, and Briana developing agonizing pain as soon as she was touched, that can't really be explained...so without answers the idea of none of it being real feels a little unsatisfying to me.

Elizabeth wrote: "...even if some of the magical realism elements were just her own delusions, there were things like the funding, and Briana developing agonizing pain as soon as she was touched, that can't really be explained..."
This one is more of a stretch for me, but I think Briana was far more like Miranda than was always clear. I think (and forgive me for saying it aloud) that Briana's illness might in fact have been histrionics, invoked because she wasn't getting to play the role she wanted, and then milked to demand she get to be in the play, and then "cured" to demonstrate her (previously unappreciated) acting abilities. I think Miranda disliked herself for disliking Briana. I kind of wondered whether Briana's father was the actual anonymous benefactor of the department.

Kyle! I totally missed the disciple names! So now I’m wondering about Paul’s name (the replacement “12th apostle”) especially since we hear about him before any of the therapists.

I'm with you, Elizabeth. I think the events were real.

There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio / Than are dreamt of in your philosophy."

Including the weird brethren.

Thanks for everyone's comments helping me wrap my mind around this stuff! Very helpful - I appreciate it. :)

Kyle, I missed the four disciples also! How interesting...

I flew through the last half of the book but I still don't quite know what I thought of it. It was definitely interesting and captivating, but much of the time I didn't like Miranda. Even though I wanted to sympathize with her, her character just turned so damn dark that I felt uncomfortable a lot. And then that wild ending. Whew.

I do think it'll make an interesting discussion!

I’m enjoying hearing others’ views on this. I’m in the camp of thinking some kind of actual magic was happening here. The pain does seem to move around—to Grace, to Brianna—in a way that I believe goes beyond mere coincidence. There is a Faustian bargain element at play that Miranda ultimately rejects. It’s not as clear as I’d like it to be, which is why I gave the book 3 stars. I enjoyed some aspects, but the weirdness didn’t hold together enough to make for a truly satisfying reading experience.

I'm halfway through and I'm...really on Miranda's side? The audiobook is just a breeze to get through too.

Bob wrote: "I'm halfway through and I'm...really on Miranda's side? The audiobook is just a breeze to get through too."

Don't commit too soon....

I was on her side the whole ride. Really liked it.

Wow. Was I the only one who hated this book? I didn't get -- or buy -- any of it. I'm not a magical realism fan in general, but this didn't seem like magical realism exactly, as much as it came across as heavy-handed deus ex machina-invoking. I thought it was klunky and clumsily written and I had little to no idea of what she was trying to say and ultimately didn't care. I have an inkling that it was covering some of the same ground as We Ride Upon Sticks, but, oh my goodness, that book was miles -- and miles -- better.

Ellen wrote: "Wow. Was I the only one who hated this book?"

I hope so! I loved this book. I thought it was brilliantly written - the part where she was in pain was was delivered by Awad so viscerally, it was uncomfortable. (And if you've ever been in PT, or struggled with getting your doctor to engage with symptoms that aren't obvious, surely you felt seen.) And then, when she's in her manic phase, the text changes, the pacing changes, everything changes and you feel it while you read it.

The ambiguity of the story, the echoes of Miranda in other characters, and the way it echoed the Shakespeare it was referring to....

I liked her =13 Ways of Looking at a Fat Girl=, thought =Bunny= was great, but I thought =All's Well= was amazing. My fave, so get your ammo ready for the tournament!

(I'm so disappointed this is coming out against =The Trees=; my fantasy bracket has the magic of Zombies bringing them together again in the final.)

I also bracketed “All’s Well” and “The Trees” to meet again in the final rooster round.

Phyllis wrote: "I also bracketed “All’s Well” and “The Trees” to meet again in the final rooster round."

I always knew you were a perceptive reader of excellent taste!

Phyllis and Tim, did your brackets have both of these coming back as zombies or just one of them? Since they're both in by top three for the shortlist, I'd also like to see them in the final but am not sure which one has more zombie strength since there are a ton of voters outside this group...

I had just one of them coming back as a zombie.

(My top three are all on the same side of the bracket with two books left to go.)

Lauren wrote: "Phyllis and Tim, did your brackets have both of these coming back as zombies or just one of them? ..."

My answer is exactly the same as Tim's, though whether our other two books are the same in the Zombie rounds is an interesting mystery.