Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

Eileen by Ottessa Moshfegh

360 reviews

mcrespo's review

challenging dark mysterious reflective 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

4.25

eileen is like the quintessential girl loser. she sucks, and because of that, she can be so relatable, but she’s also deeply flawed. as a girl, i can empathize with her self loathing, insecurity, and rage. she kinda gives off the vibes of A24’s pearl meets brand new city by mitski. however,  the ending of this books feels very rushed and underdeveloped. the climax doesn’t occur until the 85% mark, and things move very quickly afterwards. i just yearned for more answers. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Rape, Incest, and Pedophilia

minacat's review

dark mysterious 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

3.5

TRIGGER WARNINGS YALL THIS IS NOT A LESBIAN LOVE STORY OMG 😭😭😭😭😭

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, and Eating disorder

lilyofmountain's review

dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Stalking, Eating disorder, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Body horror, and Toxic friendship

ankiaisreading's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-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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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcohol, Fatphobia, Medical content, Murder, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Grief, Confinement, Drug use, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Rape, Body shaming, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Stalking, Torture, Incest, Kidnapping, Miscarriage, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Violence, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Alcoholism, and Vomit

roseknows124's review

dark mysterious 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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Alcoholism, Excrement, Murder, Emotional abuse, Stalking, Domestic abuse, Dysphoria, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Kidnapping, Pedophilia, Self harm, Sexism, Gun violence, Incest, Mental illness, Torture, Death of parent, Vomit, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexual harassment, and Violence

pagesandtales's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Vomit, Sexual violence, Murder, Eating disorder, Pedophilia, Rape, Alcoholism, Incest, and Death of parent

leyfreoo's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault, Child abuse, Adult/minor relationship, and Sexual violence

katyannreads's review

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Vomit, Pedophilia, Alcoholism, Rape, and Child abuse

jnestwd's review

dark mysterious 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

5.0

Well, Ottessa, you are "quite a gal!"

No one manages to simultaneously repulse and intrigue me quite like Ottessa Moshfegh. When I read her work, I know I'm about to be thoroughly disturbed and I am here. for. IT.

Eileen did not disappoint. The story of Eileen Dunlop's miserable life spent living with her emotional (and at times, physically) abusive, alcoholic father and working at the local Boys Prison was exactly as uncomfortable as I've come to expect from Moshfegh's work.

Moshfegh somehow manages to get right under your skin and touch nerves you never thought existed. Reading Eileen move through life selfishly and disgustingly (intentionally ripping clothes in a store, wiping her dirty mouth on scarves for sale, touching herself and then shaking hands with someone before washing them... that sort of thing) somehow had me absolutely hooked and I could not put the book down before finding out whether or not Eileen managed to find happiness or not.

Ottessa's work is not for the faint of heart.

Often the reviews are scathing of the body horror and grotesque descriptions.

But that is part of the magic in my opinion.

I read Ottessa Moshfegh when I want to be disturbed. And she never ever fails to disappoint!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fatphobia, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Vomit, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Addiction, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Death of parent, Dysphoria, Eating disorder, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Gun violence, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Incest, Mental illness, Rape, and Sexual assault

cecilialau_'s review against another edition

4.0

Hard to put my experience into words this time around. But I stand by the rating. It’s a good book. An easy read as the writing keeps you turning the pages. Eileen is a very well-formed character.
Give it a read if you’re curious from the blurb! But again, I want to avoid blurbs bc they give too much away. Myself, I just read the first and maybe second line max as to not be told too much. But hey, that’s just me

I did find it a bit too much with the name-calling as the word “fat” appeared a lot imo. I know it was the sixties and a lot of what is in this, like the prison, is “glossed over” bc - as we are told - this is Eileen’s story, and her moral compass, etc. is the way it is. And that is clear and done purposefully I’m sure. I also found the setup with Mrs. Polk. a bit strange. Although it is very plausible that Rebecca went to her house and got Eileen involved, but the sentence: “This is the Polk house, and she’s downstairs” (sth along these lines), was just a bit cartoon-ish for me to read. Idk. Maybe I’ll think differently once I’ve let the book settle a bit. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape and Child abuse