ALL'S WELL (2021)

All's Well by Mona Awad
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
On sale: August 3, 2021

Why, yes, I do often judge a book by its cover, and Mona Awad's "All's Well" has a stunning one - a comedy mask decorated with a variety of colored pills. How could I not read a book concerning chronic illness and theatre?

FIRST SENTENCE: "I'm lying on the floor watching, against my will, a bad actress in a drug commercial tell me about her fake pain."

THE STORY: Miranda Fitch, a once promising young actress, has watched her enchanted life disappear after a fall from the stage. Now burdened with chronic pain, she is reduced to accepting a teaching position at a community college where theater is merely part of the English Department. Determined that "All's Well That Ends Well" will be the fall production, Miranda has to convince her mutinying students who expected to be performing The Scottish Play. How she does that, and all that follows, is fascinating, confusing, and disturbing but in a good way. Am I right?

WHAT I THOUGHT: Although referred to as funny, a dark comedy, it is also painful, a tragedy or perhaps somewhere in between. I was often amused and once brought to tears. Going on this journey with an unreliable narrator is disconcerting and disturbing but also exciting and fascinating. After a straightforward opening narrative, the plot blossoms into magical realism leaving the reader questioning what is real.

BOTTOM LINE: If you want to read something different, something unique; if you've felt alone suffering from chronic pain; if you love Shakespeare and theatre, this might be just the escape you are looking for.

DISCLAIMER: Thank you to the author, NetGalley, and Simon & Schuster for the review copy for an honest review.

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