Sorrow and Bliss: A Novel

Written by Meg Mason

Narrated by Emilia Fox

Shortlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction!

""Brilliantly faceted and extremely funny. . . . While I was reading it, I was making a list of all the people I wanted to send it to, until I realized that I wanted to send it to everyone I know."" — Ann Patchett

The internationally bestselling sensation, a compulsively readable novel—spiky, sharp, intriguingly dark, and tender—that Emma Straub has named one of her favorite books of the year

Martha Friel just turned forty. Once, she worked at Vogue and planned to write a novel. Now, she creates internet content. She used to live in a pied-à-terre in Paris. Now she lives in a gated community in Oxford, the only person she knows without a PhD, a baby or both, in a house she hates but cannot bear to leave. But she must leave, now that her husband Patrick—the kind who cooks, throws her birthday parties, who loves her and has only ever wanted her to be happy—has just moved out.

Because there’s something wrong with Martha, and has been for a long time. When she was seventeen, a little bomb went off in her brain and she was never the same. But countless doctors, endless therapy, every kind of drug later, she still doesn’t know what’s wrong, why she spends days unable to get out of bed or alienates both strangers and her loved ones with casually cruel remarks. 

And she has nowhere to go except her childhood home: a bohemian (dilapidated) townhouse in a romantic (rundown) part of London—to live with her mother, a minorly important sculptor (and major drinker) and her father, a famous poet (though unpublished) and try to survive without the devoted, potty-mouthed sister who made all the chaos bearable back then, and is now too busy or too fed up to deal with her. 

But maybe, by starting over, Martha will get to write a better ending for herself—and she’ll find out that she’s not quite finished after all.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperAudio
• Release date: Feb 9, 2021
• ISBN: 9780063049611

Meg Mason

Meg Mason is a journalist whose career began at the Financial Times and the Times of London. Her work has since appeared in Vogue, Elle, the Sydney Morning Herald, the Sunday Times (UK), and the New Yorker’s Daily Shouts. Born in New Zealand, she now lives in Sydney, Australia, with her husband and two daughters. 

Reviews for Sorrow and Bliss

[Victoria Edelsbrunner · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Wasn't convinced at first but it slowly grew on me. Had a positive ending and good characters. Good narration.

[Brenda McFarlane · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Enjoyed this book a lot. Humor and astute social observation helps us stick with this unlikable character. I found her journey compelling and relatable.

[Firedrake · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The central character is narcissistic with no redeeming features, who achieves little . She barely works and expects everyone to cater to her needs, while she makes remarks, sulks, stays in bed and throws things. It's quite depressing. The sister is little more than a vehicle for one-liners, some of which are funny. The mental illness that the central character suffers from is called "x". It's not a real illness, we learn in a footnote at the end. ... A disappointing lack of research - could have explored the real issues instead of using an expedient short cut.

[Sara Kuhl · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The humor and humanity in this novel is brilliant. One of those novels that I didn’t want to end.

[Hannah · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Absolutely loved it. Brilliant book would recommend. I did not like the reader of the audiobook acting out the scenes with shouting. I'm listening with my sleeping baby and the supposed to be narrator starts shouting. I wish they would just narrate the book and not try and act it out.

[pamela · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

The central character is horrible and the continual non-naming of the condition she has is beyond irritating. I only finished it because I always finish books I start. The husband was a mug to stay with her.

[Nana Mohammed · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Liked it, a miserable read ngl, but all in all was good.

[Tere Irish · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Written beautifully. Captured those moments of self reflection, detachment and desperate search to project blame and deny responsibility. I loved witnessing her mend herself and relationships.

[Júlia Rodrigues · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This was one of my favorite books of all time. The main character is so well developed and the writing is real, deep and witty. I dind't have great expectations with this story, but it was such a blast and I'm so glad that I've got the chance to read it

[Jolanta Jolanciukas · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

More like 3,5 stars. Its just main characters were so annoying

[sarah Oneill · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Not sure can I say why I loved it, I just did.
Sorry I realise this isn’t a very helpful review ?

[Mickayla Wheeler · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

When you get to chapter 35 the recording goes wrong. First it keeps cutting out the voice and then it jumps pages, so you will have to read the last few chapters from the book. I liked the writer, but the story? Well it reads more like a memoir. It’s always about the character and her illness and no more.

[baska · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book is so amazing and relatable. Loved every piece of it.

[ablachly_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I didn’t know a book could be both devastating and hopeful at once, but apparently it can.

[castlelass · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Protagonist Martha suffers from a (deliberately unnamed) mental illness. As the story opens, she is enduring her fortieth birthday party, and arguing with her husband. The storyline then shifts back to Martha’s past, onset of her mental issues, a failed first marriage, and details about her parents, sister, and current husband. It picks up where we came in (at the party) and goes forward into the next year.

The story is told in first person by Martha so the reader must be prepared to be in the head of an unreliable and often unpleasant narrator. During the early part of her illness, she is misdiagnosed and treated with ineffective medications. The point seems to be how poorly mental illness is sometimes handled, and the damaging ramifications. Other themes are love, family, loneliness, and self-accountability.

I have mixed feelings about this book. It is compelling in that I ignored other books to focus on this one. I very much enjoyed the protagonist’s relationship with her sister and her sister’s large family. But I would not recommend it to anyone who prefers a likeable main character. I think the reader needs to be in a good place mentally before embarking on this one (e.g., not suffering from depression). I am uncomfortable with the way mental health and mental health professionals are portrayed. The author admits that she is unfamiliar with this field, and it shows.

[bobbieharv · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I got this kindle book from my library because of the Ann Patchett blurb on the cover. Patchett wanted to send it to everybody she knows. I'm just glad she didn't send it to me. Some of the reviews said how funny it was. I never laughed. The narrator is a screwed up woman with zero self-awareness, who makes life miserable for the people who (unaccountably) love her. The only part that really grabbed me were the sessions with the therapist who finally diagnosed her, and how irritating is this? Her illness was only referred to as "_____" What can be the point of that? And the disclaimer at the end: the symptoms "are not consistent with a genuine mental illness." So what is the point of making it all up?One extra half star because at least it was fairly well-written

[pgchuis · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Funny and very sad. It felt real.I particularly enjoyed Ingrid's sense of humour, and the character of Patrick.

[nivramkoorb · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book showed up on a best of list and I decided that it seemed interesting so I tried it and I was very impressed. Mason is an excellent writer and the book that deals with mental illness is full of humor but deals well with a serious subject. The book takes place in London and Oxford. We meet Martha a 40 year old married woman with no children just as her husband Patrick is leaving her. From there we are told Martha's story through her first person narrative. I always have a slight problem with books in the first person because I can never trust their assessment of the other characters in the book but in this case it is best told this way. Martha has been dealing with depression and long episodes of it since she was 17 but over the years she has gone from doctor to doctor and medicine to medicine with no firm diagnosis or cure. Along the way we meet the people in her life including her husband Patrick and her sister Ingrid. Each character brings a unique voice to the book and Martha's exchanges with her sister are where most of the humor comes from. This is a serious book but one that deals with so many issues of family relationships which are always difficult but even more so given Martha's mental illness. This was an excellent book and at 330 pages it was just the right length. For anyone who has ever struggled with mental illness or has a close relationship with someone in this situation, this book is a must read.