Sorrow and Bliss: The funny, heart-breaking, bestselling novel that became a phenomenon

This is brilliant - a very poignant, at a times a little close to home, fictional account of daily life living with mental health problems. Some of the experiences and thoughts are so accurate I can only imagine the author has had personal experience… it is beautifully written, so very true and littered with gentle humour. It’s not laugh out loud funny, but it’s acutely observant and eloquently humorous. It’s overriding tone is contemplative, resigned yet resilient, it lasts in the mind long past the pages are turned and the story concludes. I wanted to go back and reread it again just as I finished it, I will recommend it and reread and it will have a special place on my bookshelf forever. A wonderfully grounded author who has a beautiful way with words. A very special book.

I don't have particularly strong feelings about this book. It was readable and engaging although a bit scattered at times, but I think that reflects the character. I didn't love the characters but didn't hate them. I didn't get emotionally involved but I did enjoy the story.

I found this book on a recommendation and was glad i did. i loved that Martha was spiky brittle and funny and probably someone it would be difficult to like sometimes. i loved that the gritty horribly reality of mental illness shone through these pages; it is not a nice warm thing it is something that can damage however much we wish it didn't. the help she got did not resonate but then i do not mix in circles where you can choose to pay for health care. have i been like that? I don't know. i know my own illness has damaged those i love and am still awed that like her family, i am still loved by my family despite that. i like Patrick too, with all his flaws. In another life i knew what it was like to have things thrown at me until i left and yet stayed in love despite that, to nearly the bitter end. i feel for those who look out for us despite being let down again and again. this is not really a happy story but then maybe it is: because it feels real and reaches some kind conclusions despite the horror we can go through. A bit irritated that the illness/condition wasn't defined, by leaving it in the air and to our own particular understandings of what mental illness is i worry that, far from destigmatising mental illness, it added slightly to that. desite that; wonderful to read - just bought her first book - looking forward to it!

Heavy, in parts, tedious, frustrating, funny, heartwarming and a whole other slew of emotions. I struggled to rate this. Some parts I loved, others not so much. I just wanted to shake Martha, the main character. But I can see how that is the purpose of the book and that’s how those around her felt too. It’s much needed and definitely highlights the internal struggles of someone who suffers with mental health and I appreciated this aspect of the book. I’ve never read a book like it, or do I understand a great deal about mental Illnesses, so this was definitely a book I wanted to read. It reminded me of ‘Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine’ in the sense of you read so much about the main chatacter, you know every little thing about her and yet you still haven’t scratched the surface. I could not relate to any of the characters at all, but I still enjoyed it. The first 100 pages were slow, it was sending me to sleep. However, when it picked up I couldn’t put it down. I think this could be a five star for some and a two star for others, I am somewhere in the middle 🙋🏽‍♀️Read the trigger [email protected]

I had to read this book for my book group. I only persevered because of that. I was not impressed. Book group questions arrived and I realised I couldn’t remember anything about the story so I set out to read it again. This time it was as though I had been handed the key to unlock the story. A wonderful series of vignettes told by Martha a very unreliable narrator, telling her life story. A challenge to read but enjoyable nevertheless.

Martha, the main protagonist suffers from an unspecified and (for most of the book) undiagnosed mental illness. She's so desperate for a child, she pretends that a child is the last thing she wants. Her sister Ingrid on the other hand, keeps having children that she claims she doesn't need. Their mother appears to be a failed artist who is a selfish drunk. Their father seems to be a doormat. Their aunt appears to be a snob.Nothing is as it seems. Everything is seen through Martha's completely skewed perspective, from her clam-like attachment to her sister to her growing loathing of her husband. She doesn't know why she thinks as she does. She doesn't know why she behaves as she does. She does believe it's her fault, and that she ought to be able to do better. Yet she can't. It's how she is. Why can't she change into what other people want of her - of what she thinks other people want of her.This was an extremely witty read, sharply observed, with a main protagonist who is as prickly as a porcupine, deeply unlikable at times, but always heart-breakingly vulnerable. It's a highly emotional read too, a novel about mental illness, though we never do discover what particular brand - I believe because the author didn't want it branded, very cleverly. It was a difficult read, an infuriating one in places because even though you know that Martha is mentally ill you can't help but want to shake some sense into her - and you think that even though you know that you can't either. Ingrid is a brilliantly-drawn sister who loves her deeply but feels useless to help her, and the twists and turns in Martha's other close relationships are beautifully, sensitively and believably portrayed.I had no idea what to expect of this book, but I am very glad to have stumbled over it, moving, funny and heart-breaking as it was.

This tale of discontent and melancholy, told from the inside, is infuriating, hilarious, maudlin, beautiful, and self-obsessed - much like the book's protagonist, Martha. The postscript notes that some of the premises of the story are not based in fact but that does not detract from the poignance of the writing. While I found Martha to be maddening at times, she is ultimately a person grappling with herself and the things she perceives the world as having done to her. The first-person narrative feels grimly honest. Sorrow and Bliss was exquisitely executed and very moving.

It portrays precisely the feeling of having an mental disorder, but not being able to describe the reasons why you have such feelings. It’s not a perfect book, but it grips you very much. I highly recommend.

I enjoyed every minute of this and if you like a tortured love story, an infuriating heroine and very moving, hilarious relationship analysis this is for you. I'm back to see if she has any more books on Amazon.

"Sorrow and Bliss" by Meg Mason is like a beautiful painting, all wrapped up in the soothing colors of blue and yellow. It's a really pretty book that got so close to winning the Women's Prize for Fiction in 2022, and it kind of breaks my heart that it didn't take the trophy home. Let me tell you about Martha—she's just like us, dealing with her own messy life.She's got a sweet sister, a mom who's not really there, and a dad who's a bit down. Martha's a lot like that character Fleabag, you know, dealing with her own mental struggles. But there's something special about Martha—she's got this amazing husband. He stuck by her, even when she was tossing things around during her tough times. That's love, isn't it?But here's the thing, Martha's sad, and she doesn't quite know why. Nobody does. The book is like a breath of fresh air—it's funny, a bit sarcastic, and it moves really quickly, but at just the right times. I couldn't put it down, even when I had work piling up and lots of walking to do. It became my companion on the go, taking over my screen time.Trust me, give this book a read. I don't want you to miss out on the emotions packed into these pages. It's a journey through ups and downs, a story that sticks with you long after you've finished reading. Don't miss out on the feels!

I loved this book. I hadn’t read in a while as I couldn’t stick to any book. Until I started this one!