Reviews with content warning for Emotional abuse - 내 휴식과 이완의 해

Ottessa Moshfegh has a hand in concretizing on pages the feeling of emptiness. That incomprehensible, unfathomable, undecipherable feeling. This book consumed me (like MC did with those pills). But honestly, though, the blurb says it all. Don’t expect butterflies and rainbows going into this book. Don’t expect rest and relaxation afterward. Don’t expect a cathartic moment. With every rotting woman is another rotting woman next to her (me). It can never be me though! The pathological people pleaser (Swift 2023) in me cannot handle losing that much control and man did she lose control.

There’s so much to say about MYORAR. The social commentary it touches but it’s not in your face, so it doesn’t sound pretentious. The way our narrator adhered to the very things she criticized. How telling her toxic relationships are, especially with men, about her experiences.

So, I took my time considering if I liked that we readers can predict what will happen to Reva, and I settled on the notion that I do. Maybe it became predictable the moment she had that change, but what matters more is how the narrator reacted in the last chapter which arguably is not predictable. Reva is a star though. Something about her demise juxtaposed with MC’s plan b is poetic in a way.

Moshfegh makes me want to go all “you just don’t get it” type of insufferable. Now my friends and I can be miserable and insufferable together. As if we’re not already doing that.

Content Warnings

smacey's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

5.0

*TW: suicide*
I also swear a bit, just a heads up.

Overall, I genuinely enjoyed My Year of Rest and Relaxation. I know a lot of those who have read this book and had a negative view of it tend to list the characters all being unlikeable as a main reason, but I personally loved focusing on unlikeable characters. I enjoy reading about the life of a truly selfish person who, if we're being honest about the main character, really doesn't contribute pretty much anything to society, especially with it coming from their own point of view. I like that even her one and only friend is an unlikeable person, obsessed with looks and status and reputation. I like that the one artist she meets and agrees to her plan is also an unlikeable person (because he agreed to her completely unhealthy, somewhat disturbing plan). It's kind of nice to read about awful people on occasion, but of course that's a personal preference.

That being said, I do think part of my positive reaction towards this book stems from the fact that I have a depression diagnosis, and at my absolute worst, my "depressive fantasy" (as I like to call it) was sleeping my life away. (*TW*) In my mind, it always felt like the perfect way to kill yourself without the commitment. Like, I could be dead for however long I was able to sleep. Like, the closest way I could get to a self-induced coma. It's like temporarily dying and bypassing the consequences of suicide for the people who know you... In that regard, I had this weird sort of connection to the main character. There have been times (way) in the past where I have cared so little about my life or just life in general that I don't think about other people and don't put any effort in towards living or being happy and just give up on everything, including feeling. I have this odd understanding of the way this character thought and behaved. If I hadn't gotten help when I did (GO SEE A THERAPIST AND/OR PSYCHIATRIST IF YOU NEED HELP AND HAVE THE RESOURCES, IT'S SO WORTH IT), I think I could have eventually spiraled to a point where I stooped to the main character's level: apathetic, bored, selfish, ignorant, numb, and reckless (granted, I was a teen and didn't have the privilege to sit in an apartment all day, have no job, and still afford rent (and also lived with my parents)) Thankfully, my life was able to move in the opposite direction and I am able to read something like this and feel grateful for my life now.

While I have a weird adoration for My Year of Rest, I do find that, in my opinion, it didn't add anything to hide the main character's name. I guess it didn't take away anything either - I don't think I would have benefitted from knowing her name if it had been included - but it didn't seem too significant for me. I get that it's kind of alluding to how anonymous and secluded she was, but it just didn't feel like it was necessary.

One other thing is that I wish the date of the book might have been more hidden or not so blatant? I don't remember if it's right away or not, but as soon as I knew the date and location (and especially once I found out Reva's work location), I knew what was going to happen. That being said, I enjoy how a major event like that was incorporated into a book rather than completely ignoring that it even happened. I just wish it had come as more of a surprise to me in the end, as I predicted it almost right away based on setting.

Along with the predictability of the ending, I don't like how quickly it felt like the main character got "better". While I am glad that Moshfegh ended the book on a note of hope and purpose, I wish there was more of a look into what happened between the end of her year and the moments that end the book. It feels like it gives off the impression that doing something like this could actually help someone??? When in reality the main character wasted an entire year of her life and doesn't seem to fully grasp how monumentally useless it was.

A couple last criticisms include the fact that it's fairly unrealistic to have a psychiatrist like Tuttle, at least to that degree of incompetence and negligence, which added to the character's privilege in getting exactly what she wanted. Also, I didn't like how often Moshfegh described the main character's and Reva's appearances, especially their body/weight. It felt very weird to keep bringing up the fact that the main character was beautiful no matter what she did and how obsessed Reva was with achieving the societal standard of beauty yet not achieving it and describing exactly what about her looks and body didn't meet that standard.

These criticisms are the only reason I gave it 4 stars instead of 5. I really enjoyed Moshfegh's writing, and I am excited (albeit a little scared knowing the premises) to read some of her other works.

Sidenote: While I do not have a Tik Tok, I have been informed that there were many people on that platform praising this book as having "girl boss energy", as if the main character is a hero or someone to look up to? Which is just so beyond fucked up that this is something young girls aspire to do. What irritates me even more is that I didn't feel like it gave off the impression that this is something that anyone should ever do, but obviously that wasn't a universal feeling. PLEASE, please, please do not look up to the main character. Do not use her as inspiration to "girl boss" or whatever. This is an extremely bleak, depressing story with unlikeable, shitty characters; there is nothing in this book that should be replicated in real life.

Edit (1/12/2024): It's been 1.5 years since I read this book, and I literally still think about it all the time. My criticisms still stand, but this book means so much to me as an individual that I have to bump it up to 5 stars. It's not a perfect book, but what book is? I just have so many feelings about this story and hold it so close to me that I can't not rate it 5 stars. I love it, and it crosses my mind all the time, especially lately (I've been depressed lol).

Content Warnings

janineledet's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective 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

A dive into the life of a troubled woman looking to hard-reset her life and outlook through medicated sleep. You watch her progress into full pill addiction and then turn herself back to her ultimate goal for self-preservation: sleep. Surprisingly hopeful ending and left me thoughtful on her journey.

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tezariah's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

This is a very complicated book and story. The main character who remains unnamed throughout the whole novel is extremely complicated. She is incredibly unlikeable and we are given no reason to like her as a person at all. However, from many reviews I have read and heard, there are people who want to like the main character to make up for the lack of plot. I think that’s understandable and also foolish. As readers, we aren’t supposed to love and idolize every character we read. Sometimes, we are supposed to dislike them but try and understand their story. At least, that’s my philosophy and what I presume to be true.

This novel is incredibly well written. This is my first read from Ottessa Moshfegh and I plan to read her other works.

I did love this character because of how real and relatable she was, and I’m not some white, rich, woman who lives in New York City or had some upperclass life with parents who seemed of high status or whatever. I am pretty much far below that bar and rank, but that doesn’t mean she should be erased and neglected from minds because she doesn’t have that relation, connection, or tie… she is relatable in the sense of having given up and wanting a fresh start and being so done with life. She was depressed and didn’t know how to manage and chose an option that seemed better to her and we read that play out.

I don’t think the purpose was to get us to sympathize, especially with how twisted, cruel, and menacing she was with her words and some of her actions, but we could sympathize and understand without liking her. I enjoyed that.

Considering a lot of reviews that I have read and heard, I do think this book is for a specific and small group of people, but I don’t exactly know that group.

Content Warnings