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amayakodi's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
medical misogyny will make you so much of a shell that vindication consumes you whole and you will do everything in your power to make them rue the day. pain must be performed to be taken seriously, but simultaneously, they will accuse you of overperformance, of putting on too much of a show.
ending is ambiguous, but i think it deserves to be as such. it would not be a problem play without it. on the topic of problem plays, i think deeply about the representation of disability media, in which disabled peoples are relegated to tragic storylines for able bodied characters or as comic relief characters in which viewers are meant to laugh at their pain. forced into the binary of tragedy or comedy, awad asks us (through the conceit of the problem play) to criticize what we see and know of disabled peoples; that maybe, able bodied people need to get the fuck off the stage for once!
Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, and Chronic illness
lifeofchrstnlvly's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This book confirmed my suspicion that Mona Awad will be an auto-buy author for me. Awad has indeed made it to my list of favorite authors because I have an affinity for the peculiar.
Articulating my thoughts on Awad's books is always a challenge, despite the excellence of her prose and storytelling. Rating All's Well was difficult as I found the ending slightly underwhelming. I sought more rage and a more unhinged narrative.
While I rate Bunny higher (I wish I could read that book for the first time again), All's Well is still a good read. It's just so frustrating for me to still not know what Miranda's, the main character of All's Well, mental health issue is, unlike in Bunny when it was clearly schizophrenia. However, maybe I'm overanalyzing and All's Well is merely about the dismissal of women's pain coupled with misogyny, even from women themselves.
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Chronic illness, Drug abuse, Misogyny, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Minor: Sexual content
xbernadette's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Chronic illness, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
orlagal's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Body shaming, Chronic illness, Death, Drug use, Mental illness, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
sakisreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Very bizarre, very intriguing storyline! I didn’t know Shakespeare’s ‘All’s Well’ play at all but could still read Awad’s story. It wasn’t my favourite out of her stories, however I was still HOOKED into this Faver/Miranda dynamic and the way in which women’s pain is always belittled and ignored 😳 ‘Maybe it’s all in your brain’ lit a fire under my ass and made me rage 🔥
3.5 out of 5 stars for me on this one 🥹 Thank you!
Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Drug use, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Toxic friendship
marissab's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Mental illness and Medical trauma
Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Body horror, Chronic illness, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Drug use, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, and Grief
decie's review against another edition
1.0
I am literally begging authors to stop using the magically disabled and tragically disabled tropes in their books. it really shouldn't be this hard.
I also felt like Awad was trying to have an unreliable narrator but made her so unreliable that half of the story was lost. we only needed one sentence from a onlooker's pov to make the entire book make sense, but we didn't get that. instead, we got a bizarre ableist fever dream without any clear messaging. wild.
Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Chronic illness, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death, Misogyny, and Sexual content
Minor: Physical abuse, Rape, and Alcohol
astronut's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Chronic illness, Drug abuse, Medical content, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Addiction, Body horror, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Death
wrestleacademic's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Body horror and Chronic illness
eisenbuns's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I'm so glad I was able to put aside all of my concerns and preconceptions, and dive into this work. 'All's Well' is a story of magic, of witches, of the fantastical and the mundane. It's also, primarily, a story about living with chronic pain. How it feels to be rendered invisible to professionals and loved ones alike. How it transforms you.
I think this book is an absolute masterpiece. I loved it even as I hated it.
Graphic: Body horror, Chronic illness, Cursing, and Medical trauma
Minor: Body shaming, Bullying, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment