Reviews with content warning for Racism - Mi año de descanso y relajación

Reviews tagging 'Racism'

Mi año de descanso y relajación by Ottessa Moshfegh

124 reviews

alishamegan's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective relaxing 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? It's complicated

4.5

Super cool, absurdo read that was a page turner despite nothing really happening in terms of plot, but I am someone that often prefers a good character study over plot. Really enjoyed it.

I don't like how a character's race is only mentioned when they're poc. Not sure if intentional as book is in first privileged-white-woman but even if it is it's too subtle for most white readers and maybe even a few poc readers to pick up on imo if you're super used to all white cast or always assume that anyway. Although this behaviour/racialisation of others/centering of whiteness ofc suits MC and the critique of rich white American privilege.

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blue_is_at_sea's review against another edition

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dark emotional 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

3.0

I started reading this book because the premise sounded very, very interesting. The idea of sleeping for an entire year? Sign me right up.
I had a bit of a problem getting into the book because I did not like the main character at all. I ended up listening to the audiobook for some portions to get through these hard parts.
As the book went on and we learned more about her, instead of disliking her, I just felt sad about how judgmental she was, and the decisions she made. It was clear she was not facing any of her problems head on, which makes sense if she wants to avoid everything by sleeping for a year. I think this contributes to why I didn’t love the book. I just felt like we never really got to see her emotional state or get to know how she actually felt. This made me feel like it was just a series of events that were described to us, rather than it being something that we experienced along with the main character. It felt slightly surface level. I wish it went a little deeper.
The middle of the book drags on, but it stuck with it because I knew we were moving towards a specific event and I was curious to see how it would be handled in the end. I’m kind of glad we didn’t spend too much time on it in the ending, because that would have been a distracting emotional weight that was unearned. However, I’m still disappointed that even with such a tragic end, we still don’t really get any insight into her emotional state.
Overall, it was a fine read.

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the_mymble_daughter's review against another edition

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challenging reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

Up until the last 40 pages it was a 4.5, upon finishing it’s a 4.0

Oddly felt quite light when I finished it. It was an absorbing read, I found that the world felt very real, I could imagine it entirely. Moshfegh’s narrator was expertly crafted, the realest person I’ve ever read. I enjoyed her style of writing a lot, a fab mix of gross, gritty yet also funny, getting a few laughs out of me!

I feel I could’ve read 200 more pages of the first 240 but after that I feel like it wrapped up a bit too fast and the ending is a little… unexpected? Slightly rushed too, especially for a story where generally nothing happens. I think the message is good but after all that has happened I think if she were real that wouldn’t be the outcome as its a bit too optimistic/hopeful; for such a character as her it kind of did an injustice to the overall sense of bleakness that had previously been created. Almost feels like all the work of creating an atmosphere had been undone with no real semblance of reason or care. I do think the same conclusion could’ve been come to eventually but it needed more than 10 pages.

I did definitely enjoy it however, the moral ambiguity and absurdity of it made it gripping. There’s something very raw and cold about it, she’s absolutely horrid and I love it! I think most that read it will find unpleasant parts of her personality within themselves yet at the same time find her as a whole utterly abhorrent. It’s a reminder that as humans we cannot be the perfect people we ourselves wish others to be. Though, she is quite fiercely bigoted, which I hope no one relates to….

The notion of my future suddenly snapped into focus: it didn’t exist yet. I was making it, standing there..

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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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