Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

Eileen by Ottessa Moshfegh

381 reviews

taradoesreading's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

3.75

“I often felt there was something wired weird in my brain, a problem so complicated only a lobotomy could solve it—I’d need a whole new mind or a whole new life.”

What can I say—I love Ottessa Moshfegh. As a grad student, I had a brief period of hating unlikeable narrators, but now I can’t get enough of them. Eileen is just the kind of main character I love—messy, weird, angry, and with an utter lack of self awareness. I was fascinated by her, I pitied her, and I couldn’t look away from each misstep and mistake. I didn’t even read the back of the book before I started, so I had no idea what I was getting into, but the prose and Eileen’s narration pulled me in right away.

[SPOILERS AHEAD]

The ending, though, didn’t quite do it for me. I enjoyed Rebecca as a reference to Daphne du Maurier’s book (one of my favorites), but I couldn’t quite get a handle on her character. Why did she come to X-ville in the first place? Why blow up your whole job just a few days after starting it by getting overly involved in one random child’s case? Maybe we’re meant to draw our own conclusions (especially since Eileen’s recollections can’t always be counted on), but I didn’t feel like I really connected with her motives.

Despite that, I will definitely be adding this one to my list of favorite books with unhinged female narrators. No one can do it like Ottessa Moshfegh (except maybe Mona Awad).

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Alcohol, Stalking, Drug use, Excrement, Kidnapping, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Body shaming, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Pedophilia, Torture, and Death of parent

Minor: Animal death

kay4eva's review

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense slow-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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Murder, Violence, Gore, Vomit, Confinement, Excrement, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Body horror, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Cancer, Domestic abuse, Blood, and Death of parent

kaywhiteley's review

challenging dark 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? Yes

3.5

This dragged for a solid 200 pages but the writing was good? I guess? This author is wild and I don’t know
If I’m happy I found her or not.

Big plus for a child abuser being murdered though slay

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Pedophilia, Child abuse, and Alcoholism

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Eating disorder

hannahjilll's review

dark emotional 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

the perversion of it all! i do love stories about fucked up ladies - but

i feel like the redemption arcs of a character like this is a lame and tired concept. i want a bitch to be awful and never change!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Alcoholism, Pedophilia, Rape, Vomit, and Violence

katecuthbert's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Rape, and Child abuse

addimop's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective slow-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

This book was so slow for about the first 75%. You can tell it is building up to something big, but it takes forever to get there, and when it does, its perhaps bigger for Eileen than it is for the plot. However, similar to My Year of Rest and Relaxation i think the writing truly saves it, but i definitely found myself rushing to get to the twist. Eileen is an unlikeable and unreliable narrator that allows the book to explore darkness and desire within women and what can happen when this is continually pushed down or ignored. In the end, we get to watch Eileen morph into a confident, powerful, and seemingly happy woman leaving the events of her young adulthood solidly behind.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism

Moderate: Child abuse and Rape

coolgirlfiction's review

dark mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Incest, Death of parent, Sexual assault, Alcohol, Child abuse, Death, Violence, and Emotional abuse

karmakiwi47's review

dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

3.75

Very slow burn. I switched from the physical book to the audiobook part way and it held my interest. I saw the movie trailer first, so I may have expected bigger twists along the way. Eileen is a decent book, it just wasn't my cup of tea. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Rape, Death, and Child abuse

brinnavirginia's review

tense slow-paced

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

1.0

I'm apt to love a book in which nothing much happens and of course welcome a book rich in plot. This book is at least 50% exposition and then attempts to squeeze the rest of a plot into the final third or so--one that's just-ok and simply not worth trudging through what comes first to get there.
I'm down with an unlikable protagonist, but Eileen was not interesting enough to warrant her detestable character (and intense, over-the-top, makes-me-think-it-might-be-the-author fatphobia). I enjoyed the womanly yuckiness at first until it was just soooo much puke.
This book could have been, like, a hundred fewer pages. I had to read the Wikipedia plot summary to convince myself to just finish reading it (pulled through for book club <3). In the end, it wasn't worth the effort.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Vomit, Misogyny, Incest, Rape, Physical abuse, Murder, Torture, Death of parent, Child abuse, Body shaming, Alcoholism, Forced institutionalization, Violence, Sexual violence, Pedophilia, and Alcohol

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Terminal illness, Sexual content, Drug abuse, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Excrement, Gun violence, Lesbophobia, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Classism, Homophobia, Toxic friendship, Police brutality, Blood, and Chronic illness

ricketycricket's review

dark mysterious fast-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fatphobia, Body shaming, Death of parent, Child abuse, Grief, Alcoholism, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Sexual content, Violence, and Vomit