I don’t even know where to start with this one. It’s a bizarre, evocative, and propulsive ride that left my eyes wide open and my head spinning. Miranda’s stream of consciousness really allows you to get into her head and experience everything she’s going through (even when it’s so odd that it doesn’t make sense). For the first portion of the book, I felt like I was in the haze of a deep and relentless depression, whereas I felt exuberant, energized, and utterly manic during the second half. If you read and enjoyed Bunny, you will have a good idea of what you’re getting into when you pick up this book and yet somehow you will still ask yourself, “what did I just read?” after turning the final page. Now that I have had some time to process everything that’s packed into this story, I’ve come to appreciate Mona Awad’s satirical brilliance for what it is. Thank you to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for providing me with an e-galley!

This was so fun! I have been in a Shakespeare mood lately, and "All's Well" was the perfect way to get a little dose of that. I have not read "All's Well That Ends Well," but I have read "Macbeth," which was mentioned and referenced frequently in the book. I enjoyed all the references quite a bit, and I'm looking forward to reading the title reference soon to see what other connections I missed.

Characters 4/5
There are some delightfully flawed characters in this story, and I loved that. I would have loved a little more exploration of some of the side characters, but the way the story was set up, it probably would have killed the vibes this book had going for it.

Plot 3/5
This is definitely more of a character-centered book. The idea of the school play was fun, but some of the other points just didn't work for me. As a plot-driven reader, I was still very entertained by this.

Storytelling 3.5/5
This will not be everyone's cup of tea, but I really enjoyed it. If you love Shakespeare and a story with some dark themes in it, this will probably work well for you. Some of the dialogue felt repetitive after a while, but it kind of worked with the narrative style. It definitely made me excited to read more by this author.

Enjoyment 4.5/5
I had a great time with this. Great book!

Atmosphere 4/5
While I wouldn't consider this a "spooky" book (something I know I've been craving lately), I would say this will get you in the mood for some spooky books. It's got just the right mix of dark themes and pseudo-magic/magical realism that it is the perfect fall read.

This was a weird and interesting book. I was immediately drawn in and developed a quick empathy for the main character, Miranda. The description of her pain was illuminating and it was difficult to comprehend that level of pain. Her interactions with others, many who don't believe she is in chronic pain, feels authentic and raw. Miranda rarely feels validated in her level of pain, and I can imagine this as a true scenario for many people in real life. You can never really know how another person feels unless you are in their shoes. This book is full of Shakespeare, and I really enjoyed that aspect as well. This book is for those who enjoy something a bit odd and slightly dark.

Like Mona Awad’s last novel ‘Bunny’, this novel is full of wit, and teeters on a thin line between fantasy and fiction. Dark academia, Shakespearean drama and strange magic combine in this fever dream of a novel. Miranda, who runs a lackluster theatre department at a private college, suffers from chronic debilitating pain after an accident ruined her acting career. As she attempts to put on a production of “All’s Well That Ends Well” with her rebellious students, the story takes it’s weird and twisty turns. But it was Miranda’s day to day struggles that I found so heartbreaking, and grabbed me most of all. Awad brilliantly portrays the awful, dismissive way people (often women) with an ‘invisible’ condition can be treated by medical professionals, and even partners and friends.
A clever, weird and fun story, but it was this part about pain that rang so true.

What a weird and witchy ride!
Thud you want to understand everything that happens in a book, if you need a resolution, this book is not for you.

What’s great about this book:
The writing!
The descriptions of chronic pain - so intense is almost need to stop reading then I’d be sucked back in.
The sense of rising panic and mania as everything spins further outside of logic.

I’ll be checking out the author’s next book!

I really had high hopes for this novel, and at first it started out really strong! I have read Awad previously and she is such a talented writer, there's no question about it . This book, too, is extremely tight and well written, something which honestly seems hard to do so I feel I must say that that was a huge positive for me throughout the reading of this book. The first half, or just about, I really enjoyed but around the last 100ish pages it just got so confusing plot-wise. I truly had no idea what was happening--I had to stop to storyboard out what was happening, and even then I was unsure of what the narrative and plot were doing. I also think that this book is marketed way off base--It is being shelved and marketed as horror but I would argue that, at most, this book is darker magical realism, NOT horror. Because of how the book was sold to me, I think I went in with very different expectations so I am a little disappointed just because of that. I do also think the main character was a bit abrasive/hard to read about because I personally found her really annoying in parts, but overall she was an okay character. (By complain I do NOT mean in regard to her chronic illness, at all . I mean that she would complain about people constantly and everything else in her life to a degree that I found nearly insufferable.)

I've read this a month ago and STILL talking about it almost daily. Mona's style of writing is so unique, beautiful, and weird as hell. The perfect combination to tackle theater and the power of a woman's pain and mind.

DNF I got to 21% and was just so bored. I am sure others will like this book and I was really looking forward to it since this author tends to be well loved but I'm not even sure what genre this was supposed to be????

4.5 stars

Mona Awad is well known for her harrowing and twisted narratives with All's Well being no expectation. With its searing and complex portrait of the effects of chronic illness on the human psyche, it is by no means an easy book to read. However, almost like a car crash, I found it nearly impossible to look away.

As a theatre performer, I could not help but adore the Shakespearean nature of All's Well along with all of the many references to the Bard's various works. With a plot reminiscent of Dr. Faustus and Macbeth, Awad illuminates the plight of women attempting to obtain health care amidst an incredibly misogynistic medical industry. It's been hours since I finished and I am still trying to unravel all of the layers that I discovered. It may not be a particularly light read, but I would not hesitate to recommend All's Well to anyone who loves epic literary fiction, Shakespeare, or complex women.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for an ARC of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review!

My first Mona Awad! Wow this was odd and unsettling in the strangest way. I loved how full the main character was and how visceral her pain and experience was to me as the reader. The Shakespeare aspect was wonderful. This felt like a fever dream and I never knew what was or was not happening. I feel like this would work for people who enjoyed stories like the Black Swan (not in storyline but in style). I cannot wait to read more from Mona Awad!!

All's Well is a trip from start to finish, original, audacious, and fascinating. I haven't read Mona Awad's previous work, so I wasn't sure what to expect, but I was utterly sucked in by the dazzling, dizzying prose and pain-addled protagonist. I thought the ending could have been a little stronger, but I was completely absorbed from the first lines, and had a hard time coming up for air. You can drown in writing like this, and I'm excited to read more from Awad.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for sending a free review copy of this book my way!

I think I loved this?

Okay, let me start over. I loved this. But holy hell, what a mindfuck this book is. In the best sort of way. Mildly hallucinogenic, not over the top. Mona Awad pulled the rug out from under my feet just when I thought everything was safe. I liked her previous book, <i>Bunny</i>, but felt it was a bit too strange at times. <i>All’s Well</i> marries the mundane and strange rather successfully. This isn’t as gory or horror-y as her previous book, but for my money it’s more successful. Maybe I just love the drama of the theatre.

This book deals in large part with chronic pain, a topic that seems to be getting more coverage in dark fiction as of late, and I welcome it. Such a topic needs more exposure and awareness. I’m not a sufferer of chronic pain, but Awad makes the suffering of the main character come alive, feel totally real. I was almost aching with her.

And of course there’s the revenge element, as promised in the synopsis. I love a good revenge story, and this is certainly that. Awad is a master at suggesting rather than outright telling, and I respect the hell out of that. It isn’t easy.

I think this will be one of my favorite reads of the year, but I’m still mulling over those strange final chapters. A reread is almost certainly a must.

<b>Read for ‘spellbound’ in Halloween Bingo.</b>

[4 Stars]

Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review

After having some mixed feelings towards Bunny, I was not sure what to think going into All's Well. I just knew that I really enjoyed Mona Awad's writing style so I wanted to give her another shot. And I was not let down! Miranda's experience with chronic pain really pulled me in and made me frustrated for her as she interacted with doctors, physical therapists, and anyone who didn't believe her pain was real. I understood the downward spiral her life took and was fully along for the ride. Awad does an excellent job building atmosphere throughout the plot as we try to understand the story through such an unreliable narrator.
If you liked the chaos and magical realism that we got in Bunny, then I'd give this a go!

TW: suicide ideation, substance abuse, light gore, descriptions of chronic pain, medical trauma, and panic attacks/disorders (minor)

While this did have it's moments, overall I felt it made a mockery of chronic pain. Not for me.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchanged for an honest opinion.

DNF @ 24%

I am so sad about this DNF... I really loved Bunny and all it's strangeness, so I really high expectations for this next book. Unfortunately this is just a case of me not being the right audience for this book. As someone with chronic illness, I found this to be a really difficult read and was starting to dread picking it back up. While this is a satirical horror, I did not find any humor in the first quarter of this book. And it was becoming difficult to read the detailed (and detailed and detailed...) descriptions of this this woman's pain. I'm sad to let this one go, but I just don't think I'm able to continue. Maybe sometime in the future I'll return to it and love it, but for now, we're parting ways.

I’m judging the L.A. Times 2020 and 2021 fiction contest. It’d be generous to call what I’m doing upon my first cursory glance—reading. I also don’t take this task lightly. As a fellow writer and lover of words and books, I took this position—in hopes of being a good literary citizen. My heart aches for all the writers who have a debut at this time. What I can share now is the thing that held my attention and got this book from the perspective pile into the read further pile.

“Hunched in the front yard of her suburban home. Her blond children clamber around her like little jumping demons. The are oblivious to her suffering, to the red webs inside of her.

All's Well by Mona Awad is a novel about a theator professor who is always in pain. She is in the midst of planning for her students to perform a Shakespeare play when her pain suddenly goes away. That's when this book got really weird. How did her pain go away? Who are all these extra characters? Are they real or some kind of weird hallucination? How did her pain transfer to a student? The author did try to answer these questions; but it was all too strange, and I just didn't get it. Sorry, but I cannot recommend this book. Thanks to NetGalley for the free digital review copy. All opinions are my own.

Excellent short read. Paris, turn of the century. Eugenia is placed in an asylum after confiding to her grandmother. She is able to talk to and see spirits. She is befriended by the senior nurse who has long felt the loss of her sister. This is a short read that continues many messages about treatment of women and mental health. Will make a great book group read.

I have previously read the authors other book, Bunny which helped prepare me for this. We have beautiful writing and a woman struggling. Early on we see she is having some trouble deciphering what’s real and what she has imagined. Some things remain unclear throughout the book. If you enjoy this author’s writing style, especially Bunny, give it a try.

I thought that this book was a little boring for the first half, but then things really picked up. I loved the way it was written, how we got to hear Miranda’s thoughts, even when they didn’t really make any sense. I thought that the magical element was a little confusing, but added a lot of darkness and whimsy to the story. I was a little confused at the end. I think this book was a little to weird for my tastes, but I could definitely see how it would be 5 stars for a lot of people. It was unlike anything I’ve read before.