Reviews tagging 'Cancer'

Mijn jaar van rust en kalmte by Ottessa Moshfegh

438 reviews

bookluvr222_'s review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny reflective sad tense slow-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Mental illness, Drug abuse, Toxic friendship, Death, Addiction, Drug use, Vomit, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Classism, Body shaming, and Cancer

Minor: Abortion and Confinement

erikalv97's review against another edition

fast-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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Toxic friendship, Terminal illness, Drug use, Addiction, Body horror, Cancer, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Panic attacks/disorders, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Fatphobia, Death of parent, Infidelity, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Vomit, and Sexual content

Moderate: Abortion and Violence

beatrizdizon_'s review against another edition

dark emotional 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

5.0

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. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Drug use, Addiction, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Drug abuse, Medical content, Mental illness, and Alcohol

Moderate: Vomit, Grief, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Toxic friendship, Death of parent, Infidelity, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, and Sexual content

Minor: Blood, Classism, Confinement, Death, Pregnancy, Racism, Body shaming, Cancer, Abortion, and Self harm

anna_brabazon's review against another edition

fast-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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Eating disorder, and Death of parent

Minor: Alcoholism, Abortion, Cancer, Classism, Homophobia, and Racism

cephala's review against another edition

dark medium-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: Drug abuse and Addiction

Moderate: Death of parent, Eating disorder, Self harm, Suicide, Body shaming, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Sexual assault, Animal death, Cancer, Fatphobia, Mental illness, and Alcoholism

chrysanthxmum's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Alcohol, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Eating disorder, Drug use, Infidelity, Addiction, and Death of parent

Moderate: Abortion and Cancer

janineledet's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Drug abuse, Sexual violence, Emotional abuse, and Sexual content

Moderate: Addiction, Death of parent, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Body shaming, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Cancer, Drug use, Fatphobia, Grief, and Sexual content

Minor: Animal death

radicaledwardiv's review against another edition

dark sad tense 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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcohol, Body shaming, Sexual content, Self harm, Emotional abuse, Grief, Abortion, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Toxic friendship, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Racism, Mental illness, Alcoholism, Cancer, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, and Fatphobia

elybakouche's review against another edition

dark 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

What a weird read. Some reviews said Sally Rooney fans would enjoy it but I am one and there is honestly nothing that reminded me of SR’s books in this work, not in the story or character development, not in the writing.

This book should be called “My Year of Drugging Myself Thanks to My Psychiatrist and Hiding From My Problems”, the title was misleading. The character just sleeps and goes on hallucination trips. I do not recommend it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Drug use, and Death of parent

Moderate: Abandonment, Cancer, and Eating disorder

readbydej's review against another edition

dark emotional funny sad medium-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

This book was sad but oddly refreshing. Who wouldn’t want to take a year off and just sleep with the expectation that when you wake up you’ll be made anew? Now, it’s very faulty and numerous red flags plague the storyline as well as the characters (I honestly don’t like any of them) but it does include little gems that force you to think about the world around you and how you view your place in it. I also view the main character as an unreliable narrator for numerous reasons but I understood her plight. It’s a pretty quick read and it doesn’t take itself too seriously but it does make you think. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Cancer, and Death