{"product_id":"sorrow-and-bliss-9781460784938","title":"Sorrow and Bliss","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSpiky, sharp, intriguingly dark and tender, full of pathos, fury and wit, \u003cem\u003eSorrow and Bliss \u003c\/em\u003eby Meg Mason is a dazzling, distinctive novel from a boldly talented writer - now an instant \u003cem\u003eSunday Times\u003c\/em\u003e bestseller and shortlisted for the Women's Prize.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e'\u003cem\u003eSorrow and Bliss \u003c\/em\u003eis a brilliantly faceted and extremely funny book about depression that engulfed me in the way I'm always hoping to be to be engulfed by novels. While I was reading it, I was making a list of all the people I wanted to send it to, until I realized that I wanted to send it to everyone I know' Ann Patchett, New York Times bestselling author of \u003cem\u003eCommonwealth\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e'As soon as I finished Mason's tragically funny debut novel, I gave it to a friend, bookmark and all. I have a feeling my much-underlined paperback has changed hands a dozen times by now; \u003cem\u003eSorrow and Bliss\u003c\/em\u003e is too good to hang on to. . . . Mason navigates [Martha's challenges] with dark charm.' \u003cem\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e'\u003c\/em\u003eI am adding \u003cem\u003eSorrow and Bliss\u003c\/em\u003e to my list of the best novels of 2020.' \u003cem\u003eThe Australian\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'\u003cstrong\u003eBoth fantastically dark and almost unbearably funny ... its beautifully understated, airy style conceals the fiercest intelligence. I loved it so much that I stalked the author on social media - a first. Just read it. It's unforgettable.' India Knight, \u003cem\u003eThe Times\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e'Such a good book and so richly warrants the\u003cem\u003e Fleabag\u003c\/em\u003e reference... So funny, so devastating, it's really spiky and completely compelling, I absolutely loved it' Annabel Crabb\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis novel is about a woman called Martha. She knows there is something wrong with her but she doesn't know what it is. Her husband Patrick thinks she is fine. He says everyone has something, the thing is just to keep going.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMartha told Patrick before they got married that she didn't want to have children. He said he didn't mind either way because he has loved her since he was fourteen and making her happy is all that matters, although he does not seem able to do it.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBy the time Martha finds out what is wrong, it doesn't really matter anymore. It is too late to get the only thing she has ever wanted. Or maybe it will turn out that you can stop loving someone and start again from nothing - if you can find something else to want.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe book is set in London and Oxford. It is sad and funny.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSHORTLISTED FOR THE 2022 WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLONGLISTED FOR THE 2020 JANN MEDLICOTT ACORN PRIZE FOR FICTION in the NZ BOOK AWARDS\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'Gloriously tender and absorbing ... It is impossible to read this novel and not be moved. It is also impossible not to laugh out loud... M\u003cstrong\u003eason pulls off something extraordinary in this huge-hearted novel\u003c\/strong\u003e, alchemising an unbearable anguish into something tender and hilarious and redemptive and wise, without ever undermining its gravity or diminishing its pain.' \u003cem\u003eThe Guardian UK\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'Compulsively readable, \u003cem\u003eSorrow and Bliss \u003c\/em\u003eis one of the funniest books I've read ... It is tempting to compare Martha to other tragicomic greats, \u003cem\u003eFleabag \u003c\/em\u003ein particular. But Martha is such a brilliant, singular creation ... that it is more interesting to imagine not the characters that have inspired her but the ones she will inspire.\"\" \u003cem\u003eThe Independent\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'This is a romance, true, but a real one ... as \u003cstrong style=\"\" font-size:=\"\" letter-spacing:=\"\"\u003edevastating and sharply witty\u003c\/strong\u003e as Phoebe Waller-Bridge's Fleabag.' \u003cem style=\"\" font-size:=\"\" letter-spacing:=\"\"\u003eBooks+Publishing\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'A triumph. A brutal, hilarious, compassionate triumph.' Alison Bell, \u003cem\u003eThe Letdown\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'A \u003cstrong\u003eheartbreaking debut\u003c\/strong\u003e ... simultaneously funny and sad-and aching..Witty and stark, Martha's emotionally affecting story will delight fans of Sally Rooney' \u003cem\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/em\u003e starred review\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'\u003cem\u003eSorrow and Bliss\u003c\/em\u003e is a book you'll want to devour in one sitting ... an adult coming-of-age novel \u003cstrong\u003etold with force, breathlessness and a confessional style\u003c\/strong\u003e that makes you feel as if you're sharing intimacies with an old friend ... Mason's writing has been compared to Phoebe Waller-Bridge's \u003cem\u003eFleabag \u003c\/em\u003efor good reason ... fresh and revelatory ... \u003cstrong\u003esharp, racy and entertaining\u003c\/strong\u003e throughout.' \u003cem\u003eThe Saturday Paper\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e'\u003c\/em\u003eSharp yet humane, and jaw-droppingly funny, \u003cstrong\u003ethis is the kind of novel you will want to press into the hands of everyone you know. \u003c\/strong\u003eMason has an extraordinary talent for dialogue and character, and her understanding of how much poignancy a reader can take is profound. A masterclass on family, damage and the bonds of love: as soon as I finished it, I started again.' Jessie Burton, bestselling author of \u003cem\u003eThe Miniaturist \u003c\/em\u003eand \u003cem\u003eThe Confession\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'\u003cstrong style=\"\" font-size:=\"\" letter-spacing:=\"\"\u003eSophisticated \u003c\/strong\u003eand often \u003cstrong style=\"\" font-size:=\"\" letter-spacing:=\"\"\u003eblackly funny'\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cem style=\"\" font-size:=\"\" letter-spacing:=\"\"\u003eSydney Morning Herald\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'I just adored this book. It's timely and dark and poignant and funny. It was filled with such eviscerating compassion and rage; I couldn't get enough of it. I inhaled it in a single weekend, unable to put it down. Meg Mason is a searing talent.' Kate Leaver, \u003cem\u003eThe Friendship Cure\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Meg Mason","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46900161511573,"sku":"9781460784938","price":46.99,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0484\/3175\/9509\/files\/9781460784938.jpg?v=1776888400","url":"https:\/\/harpercollins.com.au\/products\/sorrow-and-bliss-9781460784938","provider":"HarperCollins AU","version":"1.0","type":"link"}