Sorrow and Bliss

Sorrow and Bliss - A novel
by Meg Mason
Copyright 2021 HarperCollins Publisher

Purchased after phone call with a friend on 6.22.21. Finished before a big storm at 2:22 pm 9.13.21. The sky grew darker by the minute so much so that I had to put the lights on to finish the final pages.

Sitting here at the round table in the sunroom with the light on during the daytime, reflecting on this book … perhaps it was like a person I didn’t know if I wanted to be friends with just yet. The beginning felt like fake drama - something I couldn’t articulate was being forced. Then, somewhere, it became real. How many chapters in? I’m not quite sure. It felt like I just “fell into” the rhythm of the book - like we became committed friends without defining the relationship.

The author’s description of the interior world is phenomenal. She captures language for emotions in a way that makes the experience so real and “normal”. The reader is left to sit with the awkwardness of the characters, yet the story still moves forward with strength and necessity.

I appreciated how the characters work through life’s issues. But the issues aren’t their differences like today’s focus on politics, religion, or the nonsense that’s so pervasive in culture. Rather, it’s what we have in common, our humanity - what makes people tick - love, needs, understanding ourselves and those we love… seeing past, seeing into, and seeing through hurts enough to continue.

The book digs into the mental health issues of the protagonist, Martha, and the way the author divulges threads of the inner worlds of the additional characters around her is quite brilliant. For those sensitive to the F-word, this might not be for you, but I’m really glad I read this book. I feel challenged, encouraged, slightly changed, and once again thankful to my friend for her recommendation.