I have no idea what I just read but I liked it a lot! Mona Awad's storytelling is dark and surreal and completely messes with my head. Much like how I felt after reading Bunny; I'm left feeling unsure if what happened to the characters actually happened or if it was all a Shakespeare-inspired fever dream.

Miranda Fitch has a LOT going on. Mona Awad crafts Miranda into someone the reader can both relate to and commiserate with, particularly in these modern times. This is a book that you'll be left thinking about long after the last page.

All's Well was a book that I was looking forward to reading, but then having read some reviews (all extremely positive), I was unsure if this was the book for me. When I received it as an EARC I was determined to go into it with an open mind.

However in the end my original assumptions were correct, the surrealist nature of the plot was too much for me. I don't tend to gravitate towards this type of novel and for that reason I struggled to get through it personally.

That being said, it is not a bad novel, I didn't outright hate it, it just wasn't personally what I tend to enjoy or gravitate towards. I originally was excited to read it solely on the concept of the lead being the director of a production of All's Well That Ends Well, which admittedly is my own fault for not looking beyond this tidbit to see the style or genre of novel it was. I saw Shakespeare and theatre and being a former classical actress I jumped.

Miranda Fitch is a former actress turned theatre professor, suffering from debilitating chronic pain. Her professional and personal life are in shambles and she's reliant on drugs and alcohol to make it through her painful days. Enter three mysterious men who seem to offer Miranda a solution to all her problems... I loved Awad's previous novel Bunny, and her latest did not disappoint. She's once again created a dark, yet deeply funny work with fascinating references to literature and myth, with a strong feminist perspective. I typically find magical realism not to my taste, but the sophistication and dark humour that Awad employs gives this book an edge that kept me reading and enjoying to the twisted end.

All's Well that ends well...isn't that the truth! I find that Mona Awad write deep books. People may say her writing is weird but it is not weird. I think she has a message that is not presented to all readers. She writes books for deep analysis and they are showing you how you can really mess. things up. This is my first book review that I don't feel like I want to speak about the book much because each book has a synopsis and that breaks down more than enough about this book that I do not have to rewrite it. Mona is just different and I think reading. this book over is needed to get a deep sense of what she is speaking about. It was a great read that I will read over. Thank you!

This was a dark one! But.. what the heck did I just read? I loved Mona Awad’s Bunny, so when I saw that All’s Well was coming out I was super excited to check it out!

The book focuses on Miranda Fitch, who is an actor who begins teaching after she falls off stage leaving her in chronic pain. There is a lot of exploration of female empowerment and the female experience with a glimpse of chronic pain that many women in reality have to deal with - their pain not being taken seriously by doctors or those around them.

This book was bizarre, disturbing, dark, a bit depressing but also had a lot of darkly comedic moments too which I always appreciate reading. I loved how Miranda becomes an unreliable narrator, with the weird dream-like sequences from the result of pill-popping. I generally really enjoy when novels dive into the surreal, creating a fine line between fantasy and real life - so this was very well done. I had a lot of fun reading it overall and I recommend this book!

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

All’s Well feels like the best and worst hallucinatory trip i’ve ever taken. Every moment was so interesting, I found when I put the book down I couldn’t stop thinking about it. The way chronic pain was written was phenomenal, Awad is great at descriptions!! The ending left me a bit confused- since the plot feels very dream like there is no final ending, no way of telling what was real or just in her mind. For some readers, this may frustrate them but personally for me, I thought the ending made sense for the novel. Overall, if you like dreamy trippy worlds with a strong cast of characters, All’s Well should definitely be on your TBR for August!

Thank you to Netgalley for an eARC copy of All’s Well.

I have admired this author since her debut and knew to expect a dark, edgy read. I really enjoyed her latest book. The unreliable narrator kept me guessing - was her condition real or all in her head? - and flipping pages. The writing was gutsy and the pacing flowed. Four stars!

I did enjoy this book. The ending is not quite what I wanted but overall it was a good read.
I would recommend this book

An intriguing story about a college theatre professor, and her struggle to live with the circumstances in life she has been dealt, and what she does to overcome her challenges. It definitely has a unique way of looking at pain, and how it is viewed in society. This book kept me guessing until the end as to what the lives of the characters would look like moving forward.

Mona Awad crafted a story that is based on a very original and promising premise. However, I found the novel to be quite confusing and ended without resolving many questions that the reader is likely to have. Overall, I liked aspects of the writing and the story, but felt it needed a bit more information in order to bring about a satisfying conclusion for the reader. If you enjoy dark stories with ambiguous endings, I would highly recommend you read this!

Thank you NetGalley, Mona Awad and Penguin Random House Canada for an advanced copy!

All's Well follows Miranda Fitch, a former stage actor, turned college theatre director who suggers from chronic back pain. A career ending stage fall left her injured with a reliance on pain killers and a lifestyle that ultimately ended her marriage. Despite a cast of students who would rather put on Macbeth, and putting her career on the line, she decides that thehy are going to put on Shakespeare's All's Well That Ends Well. She meets three mysterious stage benefactors, who somehow have an intimate knowledge of Miranda's struggles, who promise her that the show must go on. Miraculously healed, she is more determined than ever.

Mona Awad certainly captures Miranda's pain in a way that really makes the reader empathize with her. The failed treatments, the frustrations and the lack of understanding from her peers feels so real. It certainly felt like the authentic experience of someone suffering from chronic pain.

It was certainly a dark and strange story with hints of magical realism intertwined. While I was definitely enthralled in the story and finished it in two sittings over the course of 24 hours, there were some times that I was a little confused. Overall though, it took me on quite the ride through Miranda's journey. Even though she was a bit of an unlikeable character, I still found myself rooting for her.

⭐3.5/4 stars⭐

Thank you to Simon &Shuster and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review.
Expected publication date: August 3, 2021
After an accident left Miranda Fitch with a crippling injury and chronic pain, her husband, Paul, left her, and she had to give up her dream of being a stage actress. Now, physically and emotionally broken, she teaches theatre at a local college, watching young actresses live the life she once thought she’d have. Through it all though, Miranda is desperate to have her class perform “All’s Well That Ends Well”, the Shakespeare play that she fell in love with when she performed the lead role years ago. But, unknowingly, “All’s Well” will change Miranda’s life in unbelievable ways.
Mona Awad’s new novel, “All’s Well” definitely checks all the boxes for “uniquely creative”, as I can genuinely say I have never read anything like it before. It is a very odd novel, and I am still trying to come to terms with what the heck I just read.
Miranda is both sympathy-inducing and pathetic all at once, although her struggle with untreatable pain is heartbreaking. However, there were various times throughout the novel when I wondered if Miranda was having a psychological breakdown, as it wasn’t clear if she was having delusions and hallucinations, or if she was under some supernatural spell. I really enjoyed the character of Ellie, and disliked Briana, as did Miranda, and Awad definitely presented some honest, true-to-life characters. “All’s Well” is completely character-driven, and although the plot confused me and turned me off in places, I was invested in the characters’ outcome and wanted to see how the end would play out for Miranda.
Awad’s writing is chunky, with short sentences, with the occasional missing quotation mark or two. This adds to the eccentricity of her novel, but I found that this style of writing was a detriment to the novel’s flow.
Awad is an award-winning, highly educated author, so perhaps “All’s Well” was just more complicated than my mind was ready for. As a Shakespeare and theatre fan, the premise of this novel intrigued me, and I was not disappointed on that front, as the novel was full of both. But I did not enjoy this novel as much as I wanted to. It was worth reading, merely for the theatrical components, but the ending was anti-climactic and I was left with too many confusing questions.

From the mid-way point onwards I felt the same way I did when I read Bunny...like..??????? But in the best way possible?

I definitely need time to process this one, but I really liked it. I don't know why, but Mona Awad can forever make no sense to me and I will eat it up. I really dislike Shakespeare but that was not a problem here. I loved the way the play came to life in the novel and maybe even gained an appreciation for some of his works.

Somehow Awad has managed to make a weird and entertaining novel that still touches on some really interesting topics. I found myself thinking a lot about relationships, invisible disability, pain, and patriarchy. As in Bunny, she was able to strike this balance amazingly.

I found this really sad at the start and then it became funny and weird and uncomfortable and it was just a whole experience. I love books that feel like a weird trippy journey, this did not disappoint!!

I loved the story setting of a middle aged drama teacher who is not in her best form physically due to gripping pain and post surgery recovery or career wise as most her students don’t get her or the plot or characters that they have to play. My good ride ends there. The narration is not funny, there were repetitions of descriptions and pace is slow. This book may appeal to some readers but it is not for me.

I loved Bunny by Mona Awad so when the opportunity to read her new novel, All’s Well, came up I jumped on it.

Miranda, a former actor who suffered a fall off a stage, is now teaching at an unnamed theatre program in New England. She suffers from chronic pain and physiatrists, physiologists and surgeons have been unable to find any reason why Miranda limps and feels unbearable pain that is not dulled by the massive amount of pain killers and muscle relaxants she takes, often with alcohol. After having some drinks with a coworker at a local bar, Miranda decides to stay and have another drink on her own after her friend leaves. It is then she meets three men in business suits sitting at the bar. They offer her a special drink that glows golden. They know of and about her and empathize with her unsuccessful experiences in the medical realm. After having the drink Miranda begins to feel better. She can move more easily the next time she is with the students who are rehearsing for the spring play of All’s Well that Ends Well (even though they all would prefer to perform Macbeth). This is the set up and what comes next is signature Awad.

Miranda has a sharp wit with some great lines and descriptions that clearly draw the side characters in the reader’s mind. Her character’s arc could be one described as a slow descent into madness although the suggestions of psychosomatic pain in the beginning are very real.

While the story begins firmly based in reality it quickly slides into a fever dream of hallucinogenic quality.

I fought with some of the repetition in the story but see how it parallels the drawn out feelings of chronic pain. In these moments of struggle I also did not want to put the story down. It was cognitive dissonance at its’ base.

I am only somewhat familiar with Shakespearean plays but spotted some nods to Macbeth and All’s Well That Ends Well in the plot.

This won’t be a book for everyone. If you enjoyed Bunny as I did you will likely enjoy All’s Well. One thing I can say for Mona Awad’s stories that I think everyone will agree on is that they are memorable.

Thank you to @penguinrandomhouseca and @netgalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest reviews. All’s Well publishes August 3, 2021.

Hold onto your chairs everyone because this book will take you on the ride of your life!

When I first heard about Mona Awad novel All’s Well I was intrigued, not only by the cover but also by the synopsis and early praises! And oh my goodness! Is this novel FABULOUS! I was taken on the ride of a lifetime, embedded into the world that Awad created and I didn’t want to leave! I loved the Shakespeare aspect and just the pure humour that Awad brought to the novel! A fabulous job

I loved this book! It was so weird and fascinating but in all the right ways. I found the narrative voice of the main character so strong, specifically her rant about Briana near the beginning of the book. I've never wanted to be an audiobook narrator, but that section made me want to be one just so I could read it out loud. The shifts in her character were also very interesting to read, even when she became more frustrating and unlikeable. I also read All's Well that Ends Well before reading this book, and I think I gained so much more from the novel because of it. Sometimes I feel like the books I read are similar or blend together, but this one is so unique and really stands out to me.

I have not read this author before, when I choose this book to read I was intrigued by the description of the main character Miranda and her webs of pain she was dealing with, my MIL and my husband both deal everyday with chronic back, hip, neck and leg pain. I also loved the setting was around a theatrical play. I had no idea what to expect in the storyline beyond that. All I can say is wow, it started a bit slow for me but then I found myself not wanting to put it down, I’m not sure exactly how to word all that went on in Miranda’s mind and story, it was captivating and I’m left with some unanswered questions for the end. As I was reading I was thinking it would be a great book for our book club to read......would be very interesting to hear everyone’s take on how they read into everything. Would I recommend this book? Yes.
Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy, any opinions about the book are my own personal thoughts.

All's well.. now that I have finished this book. Because this was not for me.

I don't quite know what I expected from this; well, okay, this was one of those rare cases where I did read most of the blurb before requesting. So I expected the summary. Which does sound good. And yes, I had heard some strange and varied things about BUNNY, the author's previous release, and thought, of the two, this might be more my speed to test the waters on a new-to-me author.

But no.

While the commentary surrounding chronic pain and how it is treated in the medical community, particularly with women patients, was definitely frustrating, and heartbreaking, the writing was.. manic? Stream of conscious strangeness? And that was before the was-it-magic-or-delusion-who-even-knows.

This was just so strange, and often uncomfortable -- in the sense that it was visceral and I did, often, find myself in Miranda's shoes as if I, too, was haunted by her pain; at least in the beginning, before I started to check out. So I did feel things but I didn't like anything I felt and, again, the rest just felt like it went a bit off the rails. It was also a bit repetitive with the actual preparation of the play, which made it feel dragged out, and.. yeah, obviously, I didn't like this so why I'm still trying to justify the reasons, I don't know.

I can't make myself round up on this and definitely can't recommend it, either.