Book Review- Mona Awad's All's Well

Thank you to Simon and Schuster for providing me with a copy of Mona Awad’s novel, All’s Well, in exchange for an honest review.

Miranda Fitch’s life has been on a downward spiral ever since her promising thespian career was cut short by trauma suffered from a fall off of a stage during a performance. She suffers from chronic pain that no mainstream doctor or alternative form of therapy can cure. Miranda is addicted to pain pills and it doesn’t help that she drinks to excess. Her husband has left her and her job as a drama teacher at a small college is in jeopardy.

Against the wishes of her students, including Briana, a queen bee type who is always given the lead roles due to her rich parent’s donations, Miranda goes forward with mounting a spring production of Shakespeare’s All’s Well That Ends Well, rather than MacBeth. All’s Well That Ends Well was the play that ended Miranda’s career, and despite the continued escalation of her misfortunes, Miranda is hell-bent on making it work.

Just when it seems that all is lost and Miranda might have to cave to the wishes of her students, she meets three unusual men in a bar. After a night of heavy drinking, where she isn’t sure what exactly transpired, Miranda is seemingly cured of her ailments. Her boss announces that anonymous benefactors have donated a large sum of money to the theatre department, contingent on Miranda continuing with her production. And in a final bizarre twist, Miranda’s pain seems to have mysteriously transferred to Briana, who is now in such bad shape that the lead role must be recast. Miranda is elated, but in the back of her mind she fears that she might be mixed up in something quite sinister.

I love the theatre and even graduated from a performing arts high school. For these reasons, the premise of Awad’s novel carried a high appeal for me. One of the strongest elements is Miranda’s character voice. She’s punchy and sarcastic with off-beat observations both about herself and the world around her. I laughed out loud many times. The humor is excellent.

It has been a long time since I have read All’s Well That Ends Well and I felt like my lack of memory of the Shakespeare play might have led to me missing out on some of the jokes or other nods. I’m not sure if I actually missed anything, but I wish I had the play fresher in my mind.

Miranda is a highly unreliable narrator, which makes for a fascinating read. I was never sure if she was actually experiencing the events, if it was a dream, or if she was imagining them due to her injuries and/or drugged state. I suspect she had head trauma, in addition to her addition and other pain.

The flip side of this, is it meant that we spent the entire book living her nightmare, and personally, I found it occasionally difficult to keep engaged. I wasn’t very interested in her continued dive into an increasingly odd situation. The story turns eccentric fast. Towards the end, her journey turns into a hellish performance art piece, which made me tune out. I was trying to figure out why I felt this way and I think it’s kind of like when someone tells you about a dream they had and the way the actual dream is nowhere near as intriguing as the reasons behind the dream in the first place. I found the reason for Miranda’s mental decline far more interesting, than witnessing the decline play out.

This said, I would definitely recommend All’s Well. Awad created a unique premise with strong characters. Miranda’s dry humor is really fabulous. All’s Well is a wild ride for theatre and Shakespeare lovers.

Book Review: Jenny Lawson's Broken (in the best possible way)

Thank you to Henry Holt & Company for providing me with a copy of Jenny Lawson’s essay collection, Broken ( in the best possible way), in exchange for an honest review.

I’m a huge fan of Jenny Lawson. She's hilarious. I often find myself in the awkward position of “snorting with laughter” while reading Lawson’s writing, which usually happens in public, but not this year, Thank you, pandemic! Broken ( in the best possible way) was no exception, however, many essays in this collection took a serious look at mental and physical health issues.

Lawson is candid about her health struggles, including a look at a relatively new therapy option to combat severe depression, which involved Lawson wearing a special head device that doled out repeated mini-punches to areas of her brain in efforts to stimulate them. The results of the therapy were not perfect, but they did pull Lawson out of a long-lasting depression, and gave her the ability to enjoy aspects of her life again, including a family vacation to Europe.

I’ve never struggled with depression, but I know many people who have, including both of my parents (my father died from suicide and my mom struggled in the aftermath.) After reading Broken ( in the best possible way) I finally have a small idea of how depression impacted their lives. It not only gave me a better sense of understanding, but also more compassion. Lawson’s revelations have allowed me the opportunity to rethink and reframe certain aspects of my childhood. I did not pick up Broken ( in the best possible away) expecting such an impactful reading experience, but I appreciate it.

I’m also happy to report that Lawson’s unique outlook and brand of humor is still present throughout this collection. I got the biggest kick out of all of the animal names.

The next time I cook chicken, I will surely be reminded of Lawson’s rural Texas high school making the kids process chickens if they want to attend prom. As a city kid, I found this horrifying. I stopped reading to share this tidbit with my step kids who are visiting us from Sweden. They were equally shocked. I also have realized that I am the type of functioning introvert that Lawson finds the most troubling! Make sure to check out Lawson’s social media at “thebloggess” for more of her quirkiness and humor.

Book Review: Donna Florio's Growing up Bank Street

Thank you to NYU Press for providing me with a copy of Donna Florio’s memoir, Growing up Bank Street, in exchange for an honest review.

In the mid-1950’s, Donna Florio’s theatrical, opera singing parents moved into a small apartment on Bank Street in New York City. Shortly after, Florio was born, and spent her childhood performing opera and navigating her diverse neighborhood.

In Growing up Bank Street Florio details the colorful characters who have lived in her neighborhood. Her exploration goes back to the turn of the century with the early families of Bank Street continuing to the present day. Florio herself spent her entire childhood on Bank Street, and after spending years abroad, returned to live in her neighborhood as an adult. Bank Street has been home to people of all economic walks of life, from street vendors and factory workers, to John Lennon and disgraced movie mogul, Harvey Weinstein. Florio was babysat by the real-life Auntie Mame, and was neighbors with the girlfriend of punk rocker Sid Vicious. Florio was even a neighbor interviewed by the press, making headline news, when Vicious overdosed in their building.

Celebrity aside, Florio spends much of her memoir talking about the normal neighbors on Bank Street who lived extraordinary lives. One of the most memorable was a friend who fearlessly helped other during the early days of the Aids crisis, a time when how the virus was transmitted was still unknown. Florio admits that his actions gave her courage to reach out to friends who were dying. Their neighborhood had always been welcoming towards the gay community, and the Aids epidemic hit Bank Street particularly hard.

Bank Street could be a rough and dangerous neighborhood, but I also took away the feeling that it was populated with neighbors who looked after each other. Later, when she was an adult, Florio learned that the seemingly well-timed intrusions from her neighbors, were actually planned to rescue Florio from her parent’s intense fighting. The neighbors could hear the arguments through the thin walls, and they would make an excuse to take Florio to their house, yet do it in a way that as a child, Florio did not realize the true reason and her parents were allowed to escape embarrassment. Growing up Bank Street is filled with examples of community pride, kindness, and neighbors helping neighbors. In some small way, it reminded me of my own childhood townhouse complex.

If you love New York, quirky characters, and fascinating history, you should definitely add Growing up Bank Street to your TBR list.