‘Sorrow and Bliss’ by Meg Mason, published by Orion
Best: Overall
Rating: 10/10
Martha is approaching 40, blessed with talent but undercut by a brain that sabotages her, and has done since her late teens. Her devoted husband, Patrick, has left her, she couldn’t get pregnant even as her beloved sister keeps falling pregnant, her family is largely mad, and she has periodic waves of sadness that threaten to topple her. It sounds like a truly awful misery read, yet it’s the funniest book of the year, with the most recognisable characters.
Mason, a New Zealander journalist and writer of non-fiction, has written a debut novel of such spark that you’re aware, right from the first pages, that you’re reading something very special. Martha is a tremendous creation (as is her sweary sister Ingrid, endlessly furious at falling pregnant) and Mason gifted with one-liners of laser precision. It all feels wonderfully real, damaged goods and all, and most clever of all, Mason never lets the reader in on Martha’s diagnosis to avoid the illness becoming the star. Martha is the star, and how she learns how to live with other people is a compelling, kind, and very funny story.