Sorrow and Bliss
By Meg Mason ★★★★★★★★★☆ 9/10 "“It had been nearly a month, hours and hours of every day, and as though it was now her turn, my mother said, ‘Martha, no marriage makes sense. Especially not to the outside world. A marriage is..."
By Meg Mason
★★★★★★★★★☆ 9/10
337 pages
What’s it about?
Martha Friel has just turned forty and struggles with her life and her relationships. She often hurts those she loves, including her husband Patrick. When Patrick walks out, she looks back at what has brought them to this juncture.
What did it make me think about?
Mental illness and all those that are affected.
Should I read it?
This novel was funny and heartbreaking at the same time. Although I did not laugh out loud- I found Martha and her observation’s dryly humorous. When talking about her sister, Ingrid, she tells us, “Mostly, Ingrid rings me when she is driving somewhere with the children because, she says, she can only talk properly when everyone is restrained and, in a perfect world, asleep; the car is basically a giant pram at this point.” We learn early on that Martha suffers from a mental illness. This story brings home how difficult this is, for not only Martha, but also for all those that love Martha.
A passage I marked
“It had been nearly a month, hours and hours of every day, and as though it was now her turn, my mother said, ‘Martha, no marriage makes sense. Especially not to the outside world. A marriage is its own world.”
