Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

내 휴식과 이완의 해 by Ottessa Moshfegh

333 reviews

_rowan_'s review against another edition

dark reflective medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Vomit, Alcohol, Body shaming, Cancer, Confinement, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Death of parent, Self harm, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Terminal illness

eerikaanni's review against another edition

dark funny 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

I picked up this book expecting a somewhat lighthearted, character driven story with a mentally ill protagonist. What I got was a gorgeous satirical critique of white American capitalism that worked beautifully in showcasing the grotesque hypocrisy and blind privilege of rich white people in the U.S.

The main character is terrible. Her best friend is pathetic. Their dynamic is annoying at its best and completely destructive at its worst. There's little to no plot, and there's a 5-line long imagery collage of random things, names, places, activities, or thoughts like every other paragraph. That gets a bit exhausting to read at times.

But I think that's the point: materialism, the ownership and manifestation of things and more things is at the focal point of American capitalism. It is its driving force; the desire of more, until the Earth starts regurgitating everything we have consumed back up again.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Toxic friendship, Mental illness, Drug abuse, Addiction, Alcohol, Eating disorder, and Cursing

Moderate: Vomit, Bullying, Body shaming, Cancer, Abortion, Dysphoria, Grief, Infidelity, Death of parent, Fatphobia, and Child abuse

gmtietz's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

it was, in fact, not a year of rest and relaxation, but rather a year of turmoil and taxidermy dogs. this was as apathetic and disturbing as it was tender and emotional. this novel held my attention from start to finish, and i’m so excited to explore more from moshfegh. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Addiction, Body shaming, Child abuse, Ableism, Drug abuse, Sexual content, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Eating disorder, Mental illness, and Toxic friendship

pil4r's review against another edition

dark reflective 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

3.75

Creo que Mi año de descanso y relajación es un buen libro tanto así como creo que no es una lectura para cualquiera.
Su sinopsis es bizarra y los lugares a los que la prosa nos va llevando se sostienen igualmente bizarros -y siempre distintos a los que yo esperaba o imaginaba-. Al mismo tiempo, Moshfegh construye personajes, en especial aquellos femeninos, tan irritables y deprimentes como complejos e interesantes. La construcción de sus voces y sus cuestionables e intrincadas acciones se consolida a lo largo de toda la novela como el fuerte de la autora, como el elemento clave que alimenta y atraca las ganas de continuar leyendo.
No puedo decir que la obra me encantó pero creo que porque, principalmente, no es mi tipo de lectura predilecta. El existencialismo y la depresión se retroalimentan, estructuran y pintan de gris toda la narrativa. Esto, por momentos, erige un tono de tristeza y vacío que me resultó un poco díficil de digerir a través de una protagonista con la que la identificación sólo se posibilita a partir de lugares oscuros y desagradables. 
De todas formas, este libro despierta muchos sentimientos, genera muchas preguntas y continua resonando; y, aunque no necesariamente lo hace dentro del campo de lo agradable, el impacto lo hace una obra, al menos, atractiva.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Abortion, Eating disorder, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Terminal illness, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Drug use, Death, Cancer, Drug abuse, Sexual content, Mental illness, and Death of parent

catsandbeets's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad 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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Alcohol, and Mental illness

tadiwa_e's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny reflective sad fast-paced

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

5.0

In “My Year of Rest and Relaxation,” the MCs complex relationships, both with her best friend and toxic ex-boyfriend, create a captivating tapestry of human experience. As she seeks solace in sleep, the toxic dynamics with her ex-boyfriend expose the depths of her vulnerability and lack of self-esteem. Simultaneously, her friendship weaves through the narrative, providing moments of support and contrast to the darker aspects of her life. The author fearlessly explores the intricacies of human connections, making this a riveting journey through pleasure, pain, and self-discovery. 5 stars for its unflinching portrayal of relationships and the quest for healing. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fatphobia, Suicidal thoughts, Dysphoria, Mental illness, Sexual violence, Cursing, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Toxic friendship, Addiction, Drug abuse, Death of parent, Grief, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Alcoholism, Eating disorder, Body shaming, Sexual content, and Sexual violence

Minor: Alcohol, Abortion, Addiction, and Emotional abuse

baylee_grace's review against another edition

dark emotional funny lighthearted reflective relaxing medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Unreliable narrator who isn't really a good person yet you sympathize with her. The descriptions of her thoughts and feelings are extremely raw and honest, you can't help but relate to them.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Eating disorder, Sexual content, Drug abuse, Fatphobia, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Addiction, Drug use, Sexual assault, Classism, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, and Body shaming

Moderate: Medical content, Grief, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Cursing, Death, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide

Minor: Abortion

aywebster's review against another edition

dark reflective 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

2.5

My official rating of this book would be 2 1/2 stars out of 5 because I did not actively hate or dislike reading it, but I also did not find myself actually enjoying it until around the last 100 pages. While I haven’t read or watched a lot of reviews for the book (to avoid what was a terribly predictable spoiler that I’d guessed upon starting it); I can totally understand why readers would deem the “payoff” unworthy of persevering through the boredom and un-like-ability of the main character. 

Would I recommend this? I guess so, if you don’t mind an unlikeable, unreliable, almost Patrick Bateman-type of main character (without the murder and with the satire level turned way down). Around the two-thirds mark, I had a realization which I had to stop and say to myself- this is very similar to the movie Donnie Darko! If you like that movie, read this book and get back to me about my loose comparison.

:::::::::::::::SPOILERS AHEAD:::::::::::::::

This brings me to my next point- I knew this would be a 9/11 book from the moment I read that it takes place in 2000-2001. I pointed it out to my husband every time the World Trade Center was mentioned and every time, I was met with “that’s just a red herring- the author can’t be that lazy.” To be clear, I don’t believe this was a completely lazy direction to take- but I can’t help but think about Remember Me’s twist 9/11 ending. I will say that I wasn’t completely correct in my predictions, though- I assumed Trevor would die too, MC would lose all hope and die the same way her mother did.

I guess I’m glad that I didn’t give up on this book because I always like to see even the least sympathetic characters find redemption, though it was in the most rich, white, fictional way possible. I’m still unsure of whether I believe that was satirical or not.

I’m just glad I got to see what all the hype/hate was about. I’ve seen this on a list of “red flag books” and I’ve yet to figure out why it’s a red flag- there’s nothing terribly shocking or gut wrenching- to me it’s mostly boring rich white people stuff.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Addiction, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Self harm, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, and Grief

Moderate: Sexual content

scarfires's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Vomit, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Alcohol, Cancer, Grief, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Animal death, and Eating disorder

Minor: Terminal illness, Abortion, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide

evelyns's review against another edition

dark sad slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Eating disorder, Confinement, Alcohol, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Dysphoria, Body shaming, and Addiction