"Everything is broken and messed up and completely fine. That is what life is. It's only the ratios that change."
" 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 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."- Goodreads Summary.
My Thoughts
This book looks at mental illness in an important way- it looks not only at the person suffering from it, but how it affects the people around such person. It looks at the potential mental illness can have in destroying relationships, and the journey it can take to repair them. We also see the importance of getting a proper diagnosis and treatment plan for mental illness. This isn't a perfect book, but it's an important one because whether you loved it or not, there are themes and events in this book that will make for great discussion pieces.
The main character, Martha, has family and a husband who are mostly sympathetic towards her condition, and, while not perfect themselves, they genuinely love and care for her. But Martha didn't always treat the people in her life in the best way, she can be selfish and ungrateful. What I loved about the book is the conversations surrounding how she treated the people around her. They held her accountable in a way that I thought was perfectIy executed by the author. I got SO annoyed with Martha, she isn't a likeable main character to me, and I don't think she's meant to be.
The author didn't name her illness, which I understand the rationale for. At first I thought it was a cop out but I can understand not wanting to pigeonhole certain characteristics and symptoms to one mental illness.
Overall I thought that this was a great read that made me really emotional. The writing was straightforward and I found this to be a very quotable book.
“Things do happen. Terrible things. The only thing any of us get to do is decide whether they happen to us or if, at least in part, they happen for us.”
Comments