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y separately published work icon Sorrow and Bliss single work   novel  
Issue Details: First known date: 2020... 2020 Sorrow and Bliss
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'This 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.

'Martha 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.

'By 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.' (Publication summary)

Notes

  • The film and television rights to Sorrow and Bliss were sold to US production company New Regency in 2021. (Source: Books + Publishing)
  • Sorrow and Bliss was read on BBC Radio 4 (abridged version by Antonia Hodgson) by Hattie Morahan, from 22 November to 3 December 2021. Produced by Justine Willett.

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • London,
      c
      England,
      c
      c
      United Kingdom (UK),
      c
      Western Europe, Europe,
      :
      Fourth Estate ,
      2020 .
      image of person or book cover 9100569718910990884.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Extent: 352p.
      Note/s:
      • Published 2 September 2020
      ISBN: 9781460757222
    • London,
      c
      England,
      c
      c
      United Kingdom (UK),
      c
      Western Europe, Europe,
      :
      Weidenfeld and Nicolson ,
      2021 .
      image of person or book cover 1941789953644418921.png
      Image courtesy of publisher's website.
      Extent: 1v.p.
      Note/s:
      • Published 10 June 2021.
      ISBN: 9781474622974
    • Toronto, Ontario,
      c
      Canada,
      c
      Americas,
      :
      Harper Perennial ,
      2022 .
      image of person or book cover 3616501574140256747.jpg
      Image courtesy of publisher's website.
      Extent: 352p.p.
      Note/s:
      • Published 1 March 2022.
      ISBN: 9780063049598, 0063049597
    • London,
      c
      England,
      c
      c
      United Kingdom (UK),
      c
      Western Europe, Europe,
      :
      Fourth Estate ,
      2024 .
      image of person or book cover 106249747858791490.jpg
      This image has been sourced from Amazon
      Extent: 352p.
      Note/s:
      • Published 3 January 2024
      ISBN: 9781460765234
Alternative title: Was wir wollen
Language: German
    • Hamburg,
      c
      Germany,
      c
      Western Europe, Europe,
      :
      Ecco Verlag ,
      2021 .
      image of person or book cover 5868171616166161420.jpg
      Image courtesy of publisher's website.
      Extent: 432p.p.
      Note/s:
      • Published 23 March 2021.
      ISBN: 9783753000039, 3753000035

Other Formats

  • Sound recording.
  • Large print.

Works about this Work

Well-dressed and Distressed : Why Sad Young Women Are the Latest Book Cover Trend Rafqa Touma , 2022 single work column
— Appears in: The Guardian Australia , 5 February 2022;

'Their lives are tough. Their clothes are stylish. Their faces are hidden. The cover girls of today’s book have a lot in common – but are they here to stay?' 

A Pair of Ragged Claws Stephen Romei , 2021 single work review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 6 February 2021; (p. 15)

— Review of Sorrow and Bliss Meg Mason , 2020 single work novel
Kate Grenville, Sofie Laguna, Julia Baird and Others : The 20 Best Australian Books of 2020 2020 single work column
— Appears in: The Guardian Australia , 17 December 2020;
Martha’s Voice : Meg Mason’s New Novel Alexandra Philp , 2020 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , December no. 427 2020;

— Review of Sorrow and Bliss Meg Mason , 2020 single work novel

'For a protagonist that is self-professedly unlikeable, Martha commands attention – and is likeable. In Meg Mason’s tragicomedy Sorrow and Bliss, Martha navigates living with an undiagnosed mental illness. The novel solidifies Mason’s thematic preoccupations by revisiting those of her previous works: as in her memoir Say It Again in a Nice Voice (2012) and her first novel, You Be Mother (2017), the power of female relationships, loneliness, and the bleak humour of motherhood are apparent.' (Introduction)

Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason Review – An Incredibly Funny and Devastating Debut Fiona Wright , 2020 single work review
— Appears in: The Guardian Australia , 9 October 2020;

— Review of Sorrow and Bliss Meg Mason , 2020 single work novel

'In the hands of its acerbic narrator – dealing with a crushing mental illness – even the darkest material is handled lightly, and is all the more powerful for it.' 

Meg Mason, Sorrow and Bliss Jemma Birrell , 2020 single work review
— Appears in: The Saturday Paper , 5-11 September 2020;

— Review of Sorrow and Bliss Meg Mason , 2020 single work novel

'Sorrow and Bliss is a book you’ll want to devour in a sitting. Meg Mason has written an adult coming-of-age novel told with force, breathlessness and a confessional style that makes you feel as if you’re sharing intimacies with a close friend. It may be read as a story of an unhappy marriage, or a story of a dysfunctional family, or perhaps most of all a story of mental illness – and it is all those things – but at its core this book is about a woman trying to understand herself and find a way to live.'  (Introduction)

Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason Review – An Incredibly Funny and Devastating Debut Fiona Wright , 2020 single work review
— Appears in: The Guardian Australia , 9 October 2020;

— Review of Sorrow and Bliss Meg Mason , 2020 single work novel

'In the hands of its acerbic narrator – dealing with a crushing mental illness – even the darkest material is handled lightly, and is all the more powerful for it.' 

Martha’s Voice : Meg Mason’s New Novel Alexandra Philp , 2020 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , December no. 427 2020;

— Review of Sorrow and Bliss Meg Mason , 2020 single work novel

'For a protagonist that is self-professedly unlikeable, Martha commands attention – and is likeable. In Meg Mason’s tragicomedy Sorrow and Bliss, Martha navigates living with an undiagnosed mental illness. The novel solidifies Mason’s thematic preoccupations by revisiting those of her previous works: as in her memoir Say It Again in a Nice Voice (2012) and her first novel, You Be Mother (2017), the power of female relationships, loneliness, and the bleak humour of motherhood are apparent.' (Introduction)

A Pair of Ragged Claws Stephen Romei , 2021 single work review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 6 February 2021; (p. 15)

— Review of Sorrow and Bliss Meg Mason , 2020 single work novel
Kate Grenville, Sofie Laguna, Julia Baird and Others : The 20 Best Australian Books of 2020 2020 single work column
— Appears in: The Guardian Australia , 17 December 2020;
Well-dressed and Distressed : Why Sad Young Women Are the Latest Book Cover Trend Rafqa Touma , 2022 single work column
— Appears in: The Guardian Australia , 5 February 2022;

'Their lives are tough. Their clothes are stylish. Their faces are hidden. The cover girls of today’s book have a lot in common – but are they here to stay?' 

Last amended 29 Jan 2024 09:32:56
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