{"product_id":"import-34b275be-bf28-48f8-a5f9-46a8ad68d6b7","title":"Sorrow and Bliss: The funny, heart-breaking, bestselling novel that became a phenomenon","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eTHE PHENOMENAL \u003ci\u003eSUNDAY TIMES\u003c\/i\u003e BESTSELLER AND UNIVERSALLY BELOVED WORD-OF-MOUTH SENSATION\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Completely brilliant. I think every girl and woman should read it'\u003cbr\u003eGillian Anderson\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Exactly the book to read right now, when you need a laugh, but want to cry'\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eObserver\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e'A raucously funny, beautifully written, emotion-bashing book'\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eEveryone tells Martha Friel she is clever and beautiful, a brilliant writer who has been loved every day of her adult life by one man, her husband Patrick. A gift, her mother once said, not everybody gets.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSo why is everything broken? Why is Martha - on the edge of forty - friendless, practically jobless and so often sad? And why did Patrick decide to leave?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMaybe she is just too sensitive, someone who finds it harder to be alive than most people. Or maybe - as she has long believed - there is something wrong with her. Something that broke when a little bomb went off in her brain, at seventeen, and left her changed in a way that no doctor or therapist has ever been able to explain.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eForced to return to her childhood home to live with her dysfunctional, bohemian parents (but without the help of her devoted, foul-mouthed sister Ingrid), Martha has one last chance to find out whether a life is ever too broken to fix - or whether, maybe, by starting over, she will get to write a better ending for herself.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eSHORTLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWINNER OF THE BRITISH BOOK AWARDS FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Just read it. It's unforgettable'\u003cbr\u003eIndia Knight, \u003ci\u003eSunday Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e'The most wonderful, heartbreakingly gorgeous novel of the year'\u003cbr\u003eElizabeth Day\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e'It is impossible to read this novel and not be moved. It is also impossible not to laugh out loud'\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eGuardian\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'I wanted to send it to everyone I know'\u003cbr\u003eAnn Patchett\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e'One of those \"read it in one sitting and tell all your friends\" kind of books\u003ci\u003e'\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eEvening Standard\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e'\u003c\/i\u003eA sharply observed, darkly hilarious and merciless portrait of a thoroughly messed-up family'\u003cbr\u003eClare Chambers\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Compulsively readable, \u003ci\u003eSorrow and Bliss\u003c\/i\u003e is one of the funniest books I've read'\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003ei Paper\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Funny and as endearing as a good friend'\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBarbara Kingsolver\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Fiercely intelligent and absolutely sublime'\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eIrish Independent  \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAn instant \u003ci\u003eSunday Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestseller and a book of the year for the \u003ci\u003eTimes \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eSunday Times\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eGuardian\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eObserver\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eIndependent\u003c\/i\u003e,\u003ci\u003e Mail on Sunday\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eEvening Standard\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eSpectator, Daily Express\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eIrish Times\u003c\/i\u003e,\u003ci\u003e Irish Examiner, Irish Daily Mail, Metro, Critic, Sydney Morning Herald\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eLos Angeles Times\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eStylist, Red\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eGood Housekeeping\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePaperback \/ softback | 368 pages | Published April 2022\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"GARDNERS","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":66049239286028,"sku":"9781474622998","price":13.99,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0978\/3459\/8749\/files\/9781474622998.jpg?v=1793194567","url":"https:\/\/www.thebookmark.ie\/products\/import-34b275be-bf28-48f8-a5f9-46a8ad68d6b7","provider":"The Bookmark ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}