Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason, published by Weidenfeld & Nicholson
Upon its release last year, Meg Mason’s Sorrow and Bliss became a staple of the poolside and the morning commute. As well as being nominated for this year’s Women’s Prize for Fiction, it also secured the top spot in our round-up of the best fiction books of 2021. The story centres around Martha who, as she is approaching 40, is left by her husband, unable to get pregnant, surrounded by a largely mad family and worse of all, is beset by an often debilitating mental illness.
“It sounds like a truly awful misery read, yet it’s the funniest book of the year, with the most recognisable characters,” said our reviewer. Dark, funny and moving in equal measures, Mason “has written a debut novel of such spark that you’re aware, right from the first pages, that you’re reading something very special.”