Reviews tagging 'Infidelity'

Mi año de descanso y relajación by Ottessa Moshfegh

107 reviews

archerisonline's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

after hearing lots of mixed opinions about this book, i was ready to dislike it. but i loved it. so sharp and oddly satisfying, ‘my year of rest and relaxation’ is by far the most compelling book i’ve read in a while. our central character is awful but so so interesting. i loved the way the book slipped in and out of her present and her reminiscing about the past. i loved the descriptions and the metaphors. i thought the ending was satisfying and vague and beautiful and twisted all at the same time. moshfegh stirs up so much unease throughout this book so deftly. i would thoroughly recommend it!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fatphobia, Suicidal thoughts, Eating disorder, Toxic friendship, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, and Drug use

Moderate: Body shaming and Animal death

Minor: Infidelity, Alcohol, and Abortion

mary's review against another edition

hopeful lighthearted sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Vomit, Terminal illness, Mental illness, Eating disorder, Drug use, Death of parent, Alcohol, Infidelity, Grief, and Cancer

lovelymisanthrope's review against another edition

dark emotional funny reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I picked up this book after hearing so many things about it on social media.
"My Year of Rest and Relaxation" follows a young woman who seems to have it all. She has a great apartment on the upper East Side of Manhattan, she recently graduated from Columbia, she comes from a wealthy family, she is beautiful and thin, and she has an easy job at an art gallery. However, she does not feel lucky, and after losing both her parents, she does not care to live her life any longer. She decides she needs a break; all she needs is to sleep for a year and then she can get her life back on track. So, she sets out on a drug-induced sleep to cure all of her problems.
I did not have super high expectations going into this book because I felt like the premise might be boring to read at times. However, even though I think the main character is unlikable most of the time because she is struggling so deeply with her depression, I really empathized with her and wanted to give her a hug. This book is highly pretentious, and it is definitely not for everyone, but it hit a chord with me, and I have not stopped thinking about it since I finished it.
The main character's attitude towards life and the narrative about how monotonous her days are really highlights someone's mindset who is struggling with depression. I think she provides an excellent example of someone who seems to have it all and people around her do not understand how she can be depressed. Depression is not "earned" by those with the hardest struggles.
She is a pretty horrible friend to Reva throughout the story, but Reva is not necessarily better towards her. Their friendship seems to be because they have been friends for so long and neither one wants to let go, but honestly neither does much for the other. I did really enjoy seeing Reva poised against the main character to highlight how two people with similar lives can turn out so very different.
This book ends with a mention of 9/11. I cannot think of many other fictitious titles that I have read that mention 9/11, let alone one set in New York. It was heartbreaking and interesting to read about a character witnessing the violence firsthand.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book, and I am curious to pick up more from Ottessa Moshfegh.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Grief, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Mental illness, Drug use, Drug abuse, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Sexual content, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Terminal illness, and Death

lauchpferd's review against another edition

dark slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.5

!Spoilers!

I don't know why this book exists, this should've been a short story and even then the plot is extremely flimsy. It took me 6 months to finally finish because of how much it drags it's feet. Most of the characters are completely unlikable and don't change or develop at all over the course of the story.

The main character does a 180 in her personality once the author realises the book is almost over but there are no in-story justifications for it. Reva dying is cliché, of course the best friend has to die for the betterment of the main character. Using 9/11 and her subsequently buying a new DVR to record it as a metaphor just seems crass, as does the very last line: "There she is, a human being, diving into the unknown, and she is wide awake."

While the occasional sentence or image might be interesting, (the arctic fox freezing to death) it's immediately undermined by whatever comparison to genitals the author can come up with.

The book was recommended to me for being "deep" and "real" but I'd say it's the exact opposite.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, Drug abuse, and Mental illness

Moderate: Death of parent, Death, Domestic abuse, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Pregnancy, Abortion, Toxic friendship, Alcoholism, Eating disorder, and Animal cruelty

Minor: Terminal illness, Vomit, Infidelity, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Grief

motleybooksandtea's review against another edition

challenging tense

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Eating disorder, Grief, Body shaming, Cancer, Drug abuse, Medical content, Addiction, and Mental illness

Moderate: Chronic illness, Pregnancy, Infidelity, and Abortion

Minor: Animal cruelty and Animal death

stwriter92's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This book was lent to me by a student at the school I teach at and it was definitely a surprising read. I don't think I've read such a raw depiction of grief and depression before. At first I strongly disliked the main character, who remained unnamed throughout, which I think was a good thing because it removed a barrier between her as a narrator and myself as a reader. Watching her spiral more and more, becoming more and more dependent on sleep medication (an echo of the sort of thing that killed her mother) to keep all feelings, relationships, and truths away. 

I know that we were supposed to see her friend Reva as a pathetic person, but I think she was a better character than the narrator. Was she pushy and overbearing? Yes. However, she seemed to also be going through a similar thing to our narrator. Instead of burying herself, she reaches out. Her story, I think, was the real tragedy of the book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Drug abuse, and Drug use

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Infidelity

Minor: Abortion, Death of parent, and Suicide

lipstickitotheman's review against another edition

dark emotional sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This is a really really well written book--I just didn't have a great time. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Addiction, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Racism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Drug abuse, Fatphobia, Medical content, Drug use, Antisemitism, Body horror, Cancer, Confinement, Death, Vomit, Classism, Death of parent, and Grief

Minor: Toxic friendship, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Blood, Sexual content, Alcohol, and Alcoholism

nesxreads's review against another edition

dark emotional funny reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Grief, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Vomit, Toxic relationship, Suicide, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Toxic friendship, Addiction, Alcohol, and Drug abuse

kia_y_k's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective relaxing sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Sexual content, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Cancer, Child abuse, Ableism, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Mental illness, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Death of parent, Eating disorder, Classism, Toxic friendship, Vomit, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Toxic relationship

Minor: Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Vomit, Pregnancy, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Body shaming, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Gaslighting, Grief, and Mental illness

reneeandreea's review against another edition

dark slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

Honestly, I don’t get the hype. The best parts were the

“Infermiterol” experiment and the visit to Reva’s family home.

This was fully sitting at 3 stars until the very end. I think Moshfegh ruined it all in the last page. Nothing negative to be said for the quality of writing. This was just boring.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Addiction, Eating disorder, Drug abuse, Fatphobia, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Alcohol, Drug use, and Mental illness

Moderate: Cancer, Vomit, Blood, Death of parent, Infidelity, Death, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Excrement, Chronic illness, and Suicide

Minor: Sexual content, Pregnancy, and Abortion