All’s Well by Mona Awad is stunning, dark story that incorporates magical realism and lyrical storytelling. So well written. So intriguing in the plot and connection with Shakespeare. This novel took me places and I genuinely liked being taken on this ride. It made me confused and reread a few of the passages since I thoughts “what just happened?!” It was a story filled with brilliant, smart, creative writings. An incredible read that I’ll be thinking for quite a while.
In the starting of All’s Well we are introduced to our tragic heroine Miranda Fitch and her world full of pain. once she was a promising young actress. She watched her enchanted life disappear after a fall from the stage. Everything hurts and she can scarcely move or do her work. Presently burdened with chronic agony, she is reduced to accepting a teaching position at a junior college where theatre is only essential for the English Department. As she wants to organize the super disliked play All’s Well that Ends Well. Miranda should battle with her mutinous cast that is dead set on doing Macbeth instead. While all this and suffering from the pain she meets 3 odd men at the bar who consent to fund her adaptation of All’s Well while giving her a mysterious and somewhat sinister feeling of restored health. Turmoil follows.
You might like this one! As a kind of retelling of All’s Well, there are lot of references to Shakespearean archetypes and diverse plot focuses throughout a portion of his works (not simply All’s Well!). As somebody who hasn’t read lots of his stuff, some of this was lost on me (however that didn’t damper my pleasure in the story by any means). Even then, I was able to sense these elements coming together in what feels like a superbly created story loaded with hidden meaning that welcomes different readings with different interpretations.
Part 1 and 2 can feel a bit slow and bloated at certain points, Part 3 truly increases the craziness and it lasted till the end. I was unable to put it down! The climactic scene was really intense and certainly welcomes some extra theory concerning what’s truly going on here.
All in all, All’s Well by Mona Awad is a great book and an intense read. If you like Shakespeare, Mona Awad’s other books, dark stories, or just a different kind of storytelling, this one’s for you!
Also Read: The Last Chance Library By Freya Sampson
Book Review Podcast (All’s Well By Mona Awad Is Stunning, Dark Story)
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