Reviews with content warning for Death of parent - Mijn jaar van rust en kalmte

A very strange book. I enjoyed it, could relate to some parts, found others funny and some absurd.

I have settled on interpreting it as a parody of how your brain works when you're mentally ill. If only you had a year to catch up on sleep and change everything about yourself, then you could come back better and beautiful and rich and be fixed and have no problems or shortcomings again ever.... then you read the main character doing it and see how it doesn't actually solve anything -

then the absurd ending where she sleeps for 4 months straight as an art piece then has an epiphany on her last sleep and is fixed! And she can go out in the world and forget about the whole thing. Yes that is how it would have to happen ~ if you don't put in the work to get better you'll just stay the same unless there is some medically induced divine intervention.

The 9/11 part was weird. I don't really understand why that was included, and it was so obvious from the moment it's set in NYC in the year 2000 that 9/11 will be a plot point. Then Reva gets a job in the Twin Towers..... I didn't think that added anything

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effys's review against another edition

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This book has definitely left me in need of something a bit lighthearted after that.

This was a strange experience of a book, it definitely wasn't an enjoyable experience of a book but I liked reading it. The main character is hateable as all hell, she has one friend who is too nice for putting up with the MCs shit.

My only real issue with the book was

it was so blatantly obvious that Reva was going to die in 9/11 i figured from the get go that 9/11 was going to be involved somehow because it's New York and it starts in 2000 but I feel like if we hadn't been told WHERE Reva was going to be working it could've been more impactful

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imds's review against another edition

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Plot- or character-driven? N/A
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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malin_banalin's review against another edition

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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

Tycker den var riktigt bra, och ganska lätt att läsa (långa kapitel dock vilket inte är min favorit). Tror att jag kommer tänka på den ett tag. Det var speciellt att uppleva världen från ett berättarjag som inte bryr sig över huvudet taget produktivitet eller att vara trevlig. Den fick mig att känna mig som i ett dåsigt töcken när jag läste, konstig/off. För huvudpersoner är ju verkligen det.

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eachz's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny medium-paced

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

4.5

I need to reflect on this more to give a proper review, but I really enjoyed it. This is my second Moshfegh novel and I'm once again struck by how she crafts these characters who you love and hate and root for and want to slap all at the same time. They're simultaneously realistic and ridiculous. I guess that speaks to the satirical nature of this story. Idk there was something profoundly relatable about the core of this story.

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