{"product_id":"sorrow-and-bliss-9781474622998","title":"Sorrow and Bliss","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"+1\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eSHORTLISTED FOR THE WOMEN''S PRIZE FOR FICTION\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTHE BOOK EVERYONE IS TALKING ABOUT\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e''Just read it. It''s unforgettable''\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eIndia Knight, \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe Sunday Times\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e''It is impossible to read this novel and not be moved. It is also impossible not to laugh out loud... Extraordinary''\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eGuardian\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e''Full of snappy one-liners but, at the same time, remarkably poignant''\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eCraig Brown\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e''Probably the best book you''ll read this year''\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eMail on Sunday\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e''Completely brilliant. I think every girl and woman should read it''\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eGillian Anderson\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e''Exactly the book to read right now, when you need a laugh, but want to cry''\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eObserver\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e''The most wonderful, heartbreakingly gorgeous novel of the year''\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eElizabeth Day, author of \u003ci\u003eMagpie\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e''A raucously funny, beautifully written, emotion-bashing book''\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis richly spiced novel is \u003cb\u003ea pleasure from the first page to the last.\u003c\/b\u003e.. Its beautifully understated, airy style conceals the \u003cb\u003efiercest intelligence\u003c\/b\u003e. \u003cb\u003eI loved it so much\u003c\/b\u003e that I stalked the author on social media - a first. \u003cb\u003eJust read it. It's unforgettable.\u003c\/b\u003e -- India Knight * SUNDAY TIMES CULTURE *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe most wonderful, heartbreakingly gorgeous novel of the year.\u003c\/b\u003e -- Elizabeth Day * THE MAIL ON SUNDAY, YOU MAGAZINE *\u003cbr\u003eIt is impossible to read this novel and not be moved. It is also impossible not to laugh out loud... \u003cb\u003eMason pulls off something extraordinary in this huge-hearted novel\u003c\/b\u003e, alchemising an unbearable anguish into something \u003cb\u003etender and hilarious and redemptive and wise\u003c\/b\u003e, without ever undermining its gravity or diminishing its pain. -- Clare Clark * GUARDIAN *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eInspired storytelling\u003c\/b\u003e... a \u003cb\u003edevastating and sharply funny \u003c\/b\u003elove story... it is Martha's voice itself - her woeful deadpan narration always teetering between the comic, the tragic and the downright unlikable - that \u003cb\u003emakes this novel sing\u003c\/b\u003e. -- Julie Myerson * OBSERVER *\u003cbr\u003eProbably \u003cb\u003ethe best book you'll read this year\u003c\/b\u003e... \u003cb\u003eBrilliant, bleak, hilarious: the book of the summer.\u003c\/b\u003e -- Natasha Poliszczuk * THE MAIL ON SUNDAY *\u003cbr\u003eSorrow and Bliss, Meg Mason's first novel to be published in the UK, is\u003cb\u003e as wonderful as everyone says it is\u003c\/b\u003e. \u003cb\u003eBlunt, tender, hilarious, and so very good on the trickiness of families\u003c\/b\u003e, it is that rare \u003cb\u003eperfect balance\u003c\/b\u003e of fun (commercial) and difficult (literary), and \u003cb\u003eexactly the book to read right now\u003c\/b\u003e, when you need a laugh, but want to cry. -- Eva Wiseman * THE OBSERVER MAGAZINE *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSummer's must-read novel... We can't recommend Sorrow And Bliss highly enough.\u003c\/b\u003e -- Francesca Brown * STYLIST *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA Fleabag-esque novel\u003c\/b\u003e being raved about by Gillian Anderson and Ann Patchett... Expect this one to light up the WhatsApp chats. -- Louisa McGillicuddy * SUNDAY TIMES STYLE *\u003cbr\u003eYou know \u003cb\u003ethat book that only comes along every so often\u003c\/b\u003e, that seems to unite everyone who has read it in a sort of delirious fervour? Sorrow and Bliss is that book... It's \u003cb\u003eutterly compelling and darkly funny: the book you have to read this summer.\u003c\/b\u003e -- Jessie Thompson * EVENING STANDARD *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eMeg Mason has achieved \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003esomething remarkable\u003c\/b\u003e - Sorrow and Bliss is a \u003cb\u003eraucously \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003efunny, beautifully written, emotionbashing \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003ebook\u003c\/b\u003e about love, family and life's curveballs that leaves you, satisfyingly, with what feels like \u003cb\u003ewisdom forged in fire.\u003c\/b\u003e -- Siobhan Murphy * THE TIMES *\u003cbr\u003eThis is a story of mental illness reflected through the prism of an uproarious, big-hearted family comedy. \u003cb\u003eIt is fiercely intelligent and absolutely sublime.\u003c\/b\u003e -- Anne Cunningham * IRISH INDEPENDENT *\u003cbr\u003eRarely have the excoriating effects of mental illness been articulated quite so beautifully - \u003cb\u003eas heartbreaking as it's funny, \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eSorrow And Bliss\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003e is one for the keeper shelves\u003c\/b\u003e. -- Sarra Manning * RED MAGAZINE *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eDeeply moving but also darkly funny\u003c\/b\u003e, Mason has created the sort of story that \u003cb\u003eyou savour the last pages of and long for once it's over.\u003c\/b\u003e -- Olivia Ovenden * ESQUIRE *\u003cbr\u003eCompletely brilliant, I loved it.  \u003cb\u003eI think every girl and woman should read it\u003c\/b\u003e. * Gillian Anderson *\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eSorrow and Bliss\u003c\/i\u003e is \u003cb\u003ea brilliantly faceted and extremely funny book\u003c\/b\u003e about depression that engulfed me in the way I'm always hoping to be to be engulfed by novels. While I was reading it, I was making a list of all the people I wanted to send it to, until I realized that \u003cb\u003eI wanted to send it to everyone I know\u003c\/b\u003e. * Ann Patchett *\u003cbr\u003eSharp yet humane, and \u003cb\u003ejaw-droppingly funny\u003c\/b\u003e, this is \u003cb\u003ethe kind of novel you will want to press into the hands of everyone you know\u003c\/b\u003e. Mason has an extraordinary talent for dialogue and character, and her understanding of how much poignancy a reader can take is profound. \u003cb\u003eA masterclass\u003c\/b\u003e on family, damage and the bonds of love: \u003cb\u003eas soon as I finished it, I started again\u003c\/b\u003e. * Jessie Burton *\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eSorrow and Bliss\u003c\/i\u003e is \u003cb\u003ea thing of beauty\u003c\/b\u003e.  Astute observations on marriage, motherhood, family, and mental illness are threaded through a story that is by turns devastating and restorative. Every sentence rings true. \u003cb\u003eI will be telling everyone I love to read this book\u003c\/b\u003e. * Sara Collins, author of THE CONFESSIONS OF FRANNIE LANGTON *\u003cbr\u003eA sharply observed, darkly hilarious and merciless portrait of a thoroughly messed-up family. \u003cb\u003ePatrick Melrose meets Fleabag\u003c\/b\u003e. Brilliant. * Clare Chambers, author of SMALL PLEASURES *\u003cbr\u003eMeg Mason writes about the slow bleed of life-long depression with \u003cb\u003ecandour, humour and stark precision\u003c\/b\u003e. Sorrow and Bliss is about what happens when your illness pushes everyone away - leaving you with only the sorest parts of yourself for company. It will, as the title suggests, \u003cb\u003eshatter your heart, before mending it with infinite love.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cb\u003eI've never read anything like it and will be pressing it into the hands of every reader I know.\u003c\/b\u003e * Pandora Sykes *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eCompulsively readable\u003c\/b\u003e, \u003ci\u003eSorrow and Bliss\u003c\/i\u003e is \u003cb\u003eone of the funniest books I've read.\u003c\/b\u003e.. Martha is such \u003cb\u003ea brilliant, singular creation\u003c\/b\u003e - as Patrick says, \"The idea that you might be ordinary is unbearable\" - that it is more interesting to imagine not the characters that have inspired her but \u003cb\u003ethe ones she will inspire\u003c\/b\u003e. -- Francesca Steele * I NEWSPAPER *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSharp, stylish and revelatory, this novel is sure to be one of the big success \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003estories of the year.\u003c\/b\u003e -- Sarah Gilmartin * IRISH TIMES *\u003cbr\u003eConsistently \u003cb\u003efunny \u003c\/b\u003eand \u003cb\u003esharp \u003c\/b\u003eand \u003cb\u003edark\u003c\/b\u003e: it's \u003cb\u003ewonderful\u003c\/b\u003e. * Charlotte Mendelson, author of ALMOST ENGLISH *\u003cbr\u003e[A] \u003cb\u003erazor-sharp\u003c\/b\u003e exploration of mental health and identity. \u003cb\u003eHilarious and heartbreaking\u003c\/b\u003e, this is best enjoyed over a large glass of rosé on a sunny afternoon. * COSMOPOLITAN *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe unforgettable novel you need to read this summer.\u003c\/b\u003e * TIMES BOOKS NEWSLETTER *\u003cbr\u003eI've never read a novel about the impact of mental illness on the life of a woman, and those around her, like this. It is \u003cb\u003esimply brilliant\u003c\/b\u003e, and \u003cb\u003eMartha's voice is a joy: hilarious, sharp and devastating. A must read. \u003c\/b\u003e -- Alice O'Keefe * THE BOOKSELLER, Editor's Choice *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eNina Stibbe meets Fleabag\u003c\/b\u003e -- Charlotte Heathcote * DAILY EXPRESS *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBlisteringly good\u003c\/b\u003e... a novel that manages to be psychologically complex, yet still \u003cb\u003ean \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eutter joy to read\u003c\/b\u003e. Sorrow and Bliss \u003cb\u003ebristles with great one-liners\u003c\/b\u003e and setpieces that are sometimes alarming, sometimes comic, but more often both. * READER'S DIGEST *\u003cbr\u003eHeartbreakingly sad and yet \u003cb\u003escreamingly funny\u003c\/b\u003e. -- Deirdre O'Brien * BEST *\u003cbr\u003eI very much enjoyed Meg Mason's \u003cb\u003ewitty, affecting\u003c\/b\u003e Sorrow and Bliss. -- David Nicholls * GUARDIAN - Hot Summer Books feature *\u003cbr\u003eThis is \u003cb\u003ea beautiful depiction of a marriage\u003c\/b\u003e, with all of its ugliness and joy. But its also \u003cb\u003ea brilliant depiction of a whole family\u003c\/b\u003e, wounded by a legacy of mental illness, and \u003cb\u003etender, witty, and loving\u003c\/b\u003e, in spite of it, \u003cb\u003eSo funny, and so very, very sad.\u003c\/b\u003e * Abigail Dean, bestselling author of GIRL A *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAn incredibly funny and devastating debut \u003c\/b\u003e... enlivened, often, by a madcap energy. Yet it still manages to be \u003cb\u003esensitive and heartfelt\u003c\/b\u003e, and to offer a nuanced portrayal of what it means to try to make amends and change. * Guardian *\u003cbr\u003eWith its finger on the modern pulse, \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eSorrow and Bliss\u003c\/i\u003e blisters with its prose which manages to be both hilarious and heartbreaking in the same line\u003c\/b\u003e. I kept having to stop to underline sentences. It reminded me of a cross between \u003ci\u003eFleabag \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eMy Year of Rest and Relaxation\u003c\/i\u003e, but really, Meg Mason has crafted a protagonist who feels completely her own person. \u003cb\u003eFresh and alive\u003c\/b\u003e. * Jodie Chapman, author of ANOTHER LIFE *\u003cbr\u003eSorrow and Bliss is \u003cb\u003ea moving and poignant story\u003c\/b\u003e about mental illness, family and love. \u003cb\u003eIt made me laugh and cry\u003c\/b\u003e; a bittersweet read that will stay with you for a long time. * Libby Page, bestselling author of The Lido *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eI devoured this book\u003c\/b\u003e, with all its humour and pain and cock-eyed hope. It's a funny and excruciating portrayal of mental illness, family dysfunction and love, all told through the point of view of a narrator who is in turn frustrating and endearing, but always fascinating. \u003cb\u003eI adored it from the first page\u003c\/b\u003e. * Julie Cohen, author of TOGETHER *\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eSorrow and Bliss\u003c\/i\u003e is \u003cb\u003ehilarious, haunting, and utterly captivating\u003c\/b\u003e. Meg Mason has created a heroine as prickly as Bernadette in \u003ci\u003eWhere'd You Go, Bernadette\u003c\/i\u003e. Her humor is \u003cb\u003eas arch and wise as the best work of Joan Didion and Rachel Cusk\u003c\/b\u003e, yet completely original. What a thrilling new voice! * Amanda Eyre Ward, New York Times bestselling author of THE JETSETTERS *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBrutal, tender, funny\u003c\/b\u003e, this novel - a portrait of love in all of its many incarnations - came alive for me from the very first page.  \u003cb\u003eI saw myself here. I saw the people I love. I am changed by this book\u003c\/b\u003e. * Mary Beth Keane, New York Times bestselling author of ASK AGAIN, YES *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSo dark, so funny, so true. \u003c\/b\u003eYou will see your sad, struggling, triumphant self in this deeply affecting novel * Laura Zigman, author of SEPARATION ANXIETY *\u003cbr\u003eThis is a romance, true, but a real one. It's modern love up against the confusing, sad aches of mental illness, with all its highs, lows, humour and misery. \u003cb\u003eComparisons to Sally Rooney will be made, but Mason's writing is less self-conscious than Rooney's, and perhaps more mature\u003c\/b\u003e. Her character work is outstanding, and poignant-the hairline fractures, contradictions and nuances of the middle-class family dynamic are painstakingly rendered with moving familiarity and black humour, resulting in \u003cb\u003ea combination as devastating and sharply witty as Phoebe Waller-Bridge's \u003ci\u003eFleabag\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e. * Bookseller+Publisher *\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003eExploring the multifaceted hardships of mental illness and the frustrating inaccuracy of diagnoses, medications, and treatments, \u003ci\u003eSorrow and Bliss\u003c\/i\u003e is \u003cb\u003edarkly comic and deeply heartfelt\u003c\/b\u003e. Much like the narrator of \u003ci\u003eEleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine\u003c\/i\u003e, Martha's voice is acerbic, witty, and raw. \u003cb\u003eFans of Marian Keyes should put this on their to-read lists.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e * Booklist *\u003cbr\u003eMartha's anecdotes, simultaneously funny and sad, are stacked with observations that alternate between brutally cutting-especially when directed at her mother and at the patient and supportive Patrick-and aching, as when her oblique descriptions of her sister's growing family increasingly belie her true feelings about motherhood. \u003cb\u003eWitty and stark, Martha's emotionally affecting story will delight fans of Sally Rooney.\u003c\/b\u003e * Publishers Weekly, Starred Review *\u003cbr\u003eMartha Friel, the narrator of this \u003cb\u003eimprobably charming \u003c\/b\u003enovel about mental illness, will \u003cb\u003ehave you chortling and reading lines aloud\u003c\/b\u003e. * PEOPLE *\u003cbr\u003eMeg Mason has the ability to keep the reader alongside and sharing in the hope every step of the way. * WOMAN \u0026amp; HOME *\u003cbr\u003eA \u003cb\u003esharp-eyed\u003c\/b\u003e look at the impact of mental illness that's \u003cb\u003eheartbreaking \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003ebut also bitterly funny.\u003c\/b\u003e -- Jo Finney * GOOD HOUSEKEEPING *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eDeliciously dark and fantastically funny.\u003c\/b\u003e * THE SUNDAY POST *\u003cbr\u003eMartha tells the sotry of the end of her marriage, her fiercely close relationship with her sister and her terrifying experiences of mental chaos in this\u003cb\u003e brilliant, painful and unexpectedly comic novel\u003c\/b\u003e. Narrated with \u003cb\u003einsight and sensitivity \u003c\/b\u003eby actor Emilia Fox, \u003cb\u003eit looks set to become one of the hits of the year.\u003c\/b\u003e -- Alex Clark * FINANCIAL TIMES, Audio Books review round up *\u003cbr\u003eA \u003cb\u003eviciously funny \u003c\/b\u003enovel about mental illness that combines acute social satire with warmth and insight. -- Claire Allfree * METRO *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWithout a doubt the book of the summer.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003eBy turns dryly funny and breathtakingly sad, it is a \u003cb\u003ecompulsive, exquisitely written\u003c\/b\u003e look at mental illness and relationships. -- Gwendolyn Smith * I NEWSPAPER - #1 pick in summer reading roud up *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBrilliant, bleak and hysterically \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003efunny\u003c\/b\u003e. Tackling mental illness, families, sisterly love and failing marriages... it's \u003cb\u003euniversally \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003ebeing proclaimed \"The book of the summer\".\u003c\/b\u003e -- Suzannah Ramsdale * EVENING STANDARD *\u003cbr\u003eMeg Mason's debut novel is \u003cb\u003etender and dark as a \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003ebruise\u003c\/b\u003e, coloured with complicated emotions but also\u003cb\u003e wryly funny\u003c\/b\u003e. And, as it takes a candid look at the way mental illness can derail a person, it also \u003cb\u003ebrims with hope \u003c\/b\u003eas Martha looks to the future, determined to pick up the pieces of her broken life. -- Eithne Farry * SUNDAY EXPRESS S MAGAZINE *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eUnputdownable - one of the darkest, sharpest novels you will find this year.\u003c\/b\u003e -- Nadine O'Regan * THE SUNDAY BUSINESS POST *\u003cbr\u003eThis debut from Meg Mason is \u003cb\u003ea brilliant, many-faceted diamond of a book.\u003c\/b\u003e * SAINSBURY'S MAGAZINE *\u003cbr\u003eMartha Friel is one of those fictional characters that \u003cb\u003eyou can't get out of your head\u003c\/b\u003e... The moment we'd finished this \u003cb\u003edazzling, spiky, darkly funny book, we wanted to read it all over again.\u003c\/b\u003e -- Emma Lee-Potter * INDEPENDENT *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe most recommended book of the summer,\u003c\/b\u003e and with good reason. Meg Mason's novel about mental health, marriage and sisterhood is told in a singular voice of \u003cb\u003ewry wit and blackly comic frankness\u003c\/b\u003e. One of those \u003cb\u003e'read it in one sitting and tell all your friends'\u003c\/b\u003e kind of books. -- Jessie Thompson * EVENING STANDARD, Best Fiction of 2021 *\u003cbr\u003eIt is a subtle and sensitive writer who can make you \u003cb\u003eshout with laughter as she wrings your \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eheart\u003c\/b\u003e. \u003cb\u003eMason's characters are exquisitely \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003edrawn. \u003c\/b\u003eSorrow, yes, but also \u003cb\u003eutter bliss\u003c\/b\u003e. -- Rose Shepherd * SAGA *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eMust-read stuff: clever, sparkling and funny.\u003c\/b\u003e * STRONG WORDS *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis account of a life derailed by mental illness is both \u003cb\u003edarkly \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003efunny and deeply touching\u003c\/b\u003e... \u003cb\u003eA brilliantly faceted and funny book that will engulf you.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e * BEST MONTHLY *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eIt made me laugh and cry. I loved it so much - I need to read it again.\u003c\/b\u003e * Emilia Clarke *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe summer of 2021's most (justifiably) hyped novel.\u003c\/b\u003e.. is a \u003cb\u003ebeautifully paced, darkly funny, heart-thuddingly moving \u003c\/b\u003eportrait of family, marriage and chronic illness. Its pithy protagonist-narrator, Martha, is a memorable creation. -- Patricia Nicol * THE SUNDAY TIMES, Best Fiction of the Year *\u003cbr\u003eSimply unforgettable. -- Francesca Steele * I NEWSPAPER, Best Books of 2021 *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe summer's word-of-mouth hit \u003c\/b\u003ewas Meg Mason's Sorrow and Bliss (W\u0026amp;N), a \u003cb\u003ewisecracking black comedy\u003c\/b\u003e of mental anguish and eccentric family life focused on a woman who should have everything to live for. -- Justine Jordan * GUARDIAN, Best Books of 2021 *\u003cbr\u003eSorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason is \u003cb\u003ea knockout\u003c\/b\u003e. An unnamed mental health illness and a struggling marriage are both rendered by Mason \u003cb\u003ewith devastating honesty and laugh-out-loud wit.\u003c\/b\u003e -- Louise O'Neill * IRISH EXAMINER *\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Orion Publishing Co","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48066901049687,"sku":"9781474622998","price":9.49,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781474622998.jpg?v=1713212461","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/sorrow-and-bliss-9781474622998","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}