Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

Mon année de repos et de détente by Ottessa Moshfegh

21 reviews

amelianotthepilot's review against another edition

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1.5

I dont understand the hype for this book. I feel like I remember people raving about this a few years ago but I truly found this whole book horribly depressing and meaningless. It gave Holden Caulfield vibes in the worst way. 

I guess you could say its a feminist book representing women in the worst way, women can be horrible too, women contain multitudes. I'm also pretty positive it doesn't pass the reverse Bechdel test (men are rarely mentioned and only in reference to sex). Which I guess is interesting... idk overall I thought it was terribly boring and depressing.

The main character is in her 20s, both her parents have passed away which she says she has come to terms with but clearly still deeply affects her. She has decided she wants to sleep her life away. She goes to a bad therapist complaining of sleep problems so she can get prescribed increasingly wild drugs. She then takes a cocktail of drugs in efforts to fully sleep through the rest of life to varying success. Her therapist is an extremely hippie unhinged bad therapist, her best friend is extremely vain and fake, her deceased mother was an alcoholic and uncaring. Overall every single character was unbearable and annoying and I don't feel like I particularly learned or gained anything from reading it. 

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erikalv97's review against another edition

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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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annarchy_'s review against another edition

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

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taylorgc721's review against another edition

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challenging 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? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0


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lipstickitotheman's review against another edition

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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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cosy_crow's review against another edition

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challenging dark sad 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

3.0


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redefiningrachel's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0


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asrino's review against another edition

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dark sad tense medium-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

4.0


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kt2e56's review against another edition

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dark fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

Ugh. First of all, it’s not hard to “get” what’s happening with this book. Just like American Psycho, which this book reminded me of quite a bit, My Year of Rest & Relaxation is unbelievably shallow. So me not liking it doesn’t mean it went over my head. I just didn’t like the book.

I know the author has been on a crusade about how it’s sexist to not like a book with unlikable female characters but it’s not that I don’t like books about unlikable women, I like well-written books about unlikable women. The nameless main character is boring. She just is. She’s racist and nasty and cruel but above all, just so fucking boring. And the author is boring. We get it: somehow despite not showering for weeks, having crusted up eyes, toothpaste all over her face, and god knows what else…everyone is bending over backwards to let the main character know that she’s still just so beautiful and perfect and nobody could ever be thinner or prettier. My god. Find something less cliche.

What was I’m assuming supposed to be some big shocking reveal at the end about Reva dying in 9/11, I literally predicted when I was 22% of the way into the book. So not really that shocking. Just another cliched attempt at controversy.

I did give this one whole extra star for the spot on critiques about the art world. I thought that was genuinely funny and satirical. Ditto for the author’s description of Long Island (I live one town over from Farmingdale in Massapequa. Lol.) which I found pretty funny. Otherwise? Meh. I don’t take Infermiterol but I’m sure I’ll forget this book in three days.

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jo_lzr's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad tense 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

3.25


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