"All's Well" by Mona Awad follows the story of Miranda Fitch, a former theater actress turned teacher, who is dealing with chronic pain after a career-ending fall. The plot revolves around her college's production of "All's Well that Ends Well," a choice that is met with resistance from her students. As Miranda navigates her personal struggles and the challenges within the theater department, she encounters mysterious strangers who offer her a cure for her pain, leading to unexpected consequences. The novel is described as darkly funny, empathetic, and infused with elements of magic, creating a unique and captivating narrative that explores themes of female pain, self-discovery, and the complexities of human relationships.
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Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings
Content warnings for All's Well include discussions of chronic pain, mental health issues, themes of internalized misogyny, and medical neglect.
From The Publisher:
From the author of Bunny , which Margaret Atwood hails as "genius," comes a "wild, and exhilarating" (Lauren Groff) novel about a theater professor who is convinced staging Shakespeare's most maligned play will remedy all that ails her-but at what cost?
Miranda Fitch's life is a waking nightmare. The accident that ended her burgeoning acting career left her with excruciating chronic back pain, a failed marriage, and a deepening dependence on painkillers. And now, she's on the verge of losing her job as a college theater director. Determined to put on Shakespeare's All's Well That Ends Well , the play that promised and cost her everything, she faces a mutinous cast hellbent on staging Macbeth instead. Miranda sees her chance at redemption slip through her fingers.
That's when she meets three strange benefactors who have an eerie knowledge of Miranda's past and a tantalizing promise for her future: one where the show goes on, her rebellious students get what's coming to them, and the invisible doubted pain that's kept her from the spotlight is made known.
With prose Margaret Atwood has described as "no punches pulled, no hilarities dodged…genius," Mona Awad has concocted her most potent, subversive novel yet. All's Well is a "fabulous novel" (Mary Karr) about a woman at her breaking point and a formidable, piercingly funny indictment of our collective refusal to witness and believe female pain.
Ratings (26)
Incredible (5) | |
Loved It (15) | |
Liked It (2) | |
It Was OK (3) | |
Did Not Like (1) |
Reader Stats (108):
Read It (25) | |
Currently Reading (1) | |
Want To Read (70) | |
Not Interested (12) |
4 comment(s)
This book is a fantastic DARK fever dream. It’s exactly what I love about Mona Awad.
I loved the element of a characters suffering from a chronic illness, something I rarely read about. I found that the story didn't try to glamorousise or romantise illness bit showed the struggle. I do not have a physical chronic illness so I don't know how realistic that part was. The theater and thriller elements however servilely missed the marked for me. A great idea but I did not find myself engaged or caring much for that. I would still very much want to read Bunny. However it's sadly not available on my book app or library as for now. But I'll keep my eyes on it
This is the first Mona Awad book that I just felt confused about for a bit. However I ended up really enjoying the story. I really enjoy monas books that encompass mental health issues. Would recommend
a lucid dream in the best way possible
What can you read after
All's Well?
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