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3.48 AVERAGE
3.48 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I get what some people are saying about the stories in this dark, perverse collection - that Moshfegh is begin weird for the sake of being weird. After the first few stories I was thinking the same thing, but now that I've finished the entire collection I disagree. Like any short story collection, some stories are better than others, but the best stories in this collection (A Dark and Winding Road, Slumming, The Beach Boy) are brilliant. Even the weaker stories gave me something to mull over for days after reading.
if you've read one of these stories, you've read them all
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
If you intend to read this, I genuinely suggest you skip to the very last story in the collection -- A Better Place. It's good.
Actually, it's so good that the rest of the collection feels like a waste of time. The narrative voices all melt into each other to the point where they're completely indistinguishable. They all end in a way that is flat and downright infuriating. They have no point, no purpose. Which is a shame, because Ottessa Moshfegh is a talented and skilled writer, I just wish she had put all that energy to better use.
Actually, it's so good that the rest of the collection feels like a waste of time. The narrative voices all melt into each other to the point where they're completely indistinguishable. They all end in a way that is flat and downright infuriating. They have no point, no purpose. Which is a shame, because Ottessa Moshfegh is a talented and skilled writer, I just wish she had put all that energy to better use.
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
I can respect that the author thinks that people are awful and only sees the worst in everyone. But, towards the end the stories just felt repetitive, like I was reading the same narrator in each one with a slightly different avatar. It was interesting, but not as compelling as I wish it would have been.
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
boo! i think the racism, body shaming, and drug abuse isn’t a joke anymore! each story is basically the same terrible person living life terribly. i do like her writing style and think she is better suited for short stories and i enjoyed the drama but reading all of this was draining.
Wasn’t in the mood for short stories, would go back
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced