Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh

33 reviews

amyford'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

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Grief, Cancer, Eating disorder, Body shaming, Alcoholism, Addiction, Medical content, Suicide, Bullying, Drug abuse, Vomit, Mental illness, Self harm, Terminal illness, Confinement, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, and Excrement

caroisreading's review against another edition

dark reflective sad medium-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

3.5

This book is framed as dark comedy, but I would say it's absurd realism, if that's even a thing. It's the most beautiful, perfect piece of writing about the most mundane, depressing plot and set of characters.

I can see how purposefully crafted our narrator is -- a blonde, waify model-type with endless funds, apathetic to her loveless family and relationship. She is the beautiful container of everything nasty and mean, addicted to cocktails of prescribed pills. She seethes with hatred any time she encounters her only friend.

This is a sweeping commentary on millennial absurdities, meaningless lives, isolation from society, sexism, pharmaceuticals and other synthetic relief. The desire to be seen, even in insanity. 

You'll like this is you want something trippy, dark, that takes you out of your own self-pity and hatred just by comparison.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Eating disorder, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Bullying, Vomit, Confinement, Cancer, Abortion, Alcoholism, and Toxic friendship

mariledesma's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Chronic illness, Addiction, Classism, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Body shaming, Bullying, Drug abuse, Abortion, Death of parent, Drug use, Pregnancy, Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic friendship

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

annarchy_'s review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Toxic friendship, Vomit, Bullying, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Alcoholism, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Cursing, Toxic relationship, Infidelity, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Death, Self harm, and Violence

vampyrakiki's review against another edition

We can have a main character be obnoxious without making it feel like a waste of time. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Classism, Toxic friendship, Ableism, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, and Self harm

cara_anne's review against another edition

challenging dark 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: Emotional abuse, Bullying, Drug abuse, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Drug use, Death of parent, Cursing, Toxic friendship, Grief, Gaslighting, and Addiction

yungblonde's review against another edition

dark funny reflective 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Death of parent, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Abandonment, Drug use, Addiction, Alcohol, Classism, Cursing, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Terminal illness

Minor: Abortion and Pregnancy

theoneandonlyredrose's review against another edition

challenging dark slow-paced

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

1.75

Ghastly character and lot of designed to shock descriptions of art and sex. Tedious overall.  Implausible story. Read for book group. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Sexual content, Bullying, Mental illness, and Drug use

_bailey_reads_'s review against another edition

dark reflective 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

The writing style was good. The actual plot of the book was interesting from the stand point of observing what not to do regarding mental health. 

However this book is not in any way a good book to read for life advice or for finding a good way to cope with depression. Think of this book and everything the MC does as everything not to do. The MC is deeply troubled and in need of actual help from an actual professional which she does not get. I was very concerned with the ending of the book because it is not at all accurate to the realities of mental health and life itself. She doesn’t actually deal with anything she struggles with, she just avoids it… which is not possible in reality. 

PSA to everyone reading this: medication is not a problem solver and will not fix you. You cannot run away from your problems, that includes sleeping. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Abortion, Alcohol, Gaslighting, Confinement, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Cancer, Death of parent, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Self harm, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Suicide, Blood, Body shaming, Bullying, Drug use, and Suicidal thoughts