Reviews with content warning for Sexual harassment - Eileen

i have mixed feelings about this book. i imagine i’ll like the movie more. eileen is a horrible character, and i’m not sure ottessa moshfegh wrote her in a way that was ethical. for example, eileen has tendencies that some would say are fully pedophilic. she is also fatphobic, which stood out to me a lot, as mrs. polk’s fatness seems to be used as a symbol for cowardice in eileen’s head. her own thinness is thought to redeem her. some parts of eileen are extremely relatable, but others aren’t. i don’t think all virginal 24 year olds drool over young boys.

there is also the fact that nothing happened in the book until the last 20% of it. i could have just read THAT part and been satisfied. literally the several page fucking soliloquy after THAT part was so useless.

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amsswim's review against another edition

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dark mysterious 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

4.25

I'm not sure really what to say about this. I enjoyed it. This is the second book by the author Ottessa Moshfegh I have read, the other being 'My Year of Rest and Relaxation', and just as that one this book is just unhinged. I think this one may be more based in reality but still gave me the feeling of unsettlement. If you like weird things this may be for you.

I am now very interested in watching the movie they made recently based on this starring Anne Hathaway.

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gaeliloveweiss's review

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dark funny 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? Yes

4.75

Don’t read this unless you love an awful person character study.

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leelu55's review

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challenging dark tense fast-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

3.25

The writing starts off impressively, with skillful narration that penetrates deeply, making the reader vividly feel and smell the humiliating and devastating aspects of Eileen's life. Decay, rot, dirt, and deep unhappiness seep from the pages into the reader's mind. The future Eileen's tone, oscillating between indulgence, self-loathing, and dry humor, combined with short, precise sentences, makes the story an easy read, hurtling towards its inevitably dark and disastrous conclusion.

However, the ending disappoints, presenting a tragic and hopeless fate, and the most horrible crimes imaginable are exploited for Eileen's personal development in an unbearably nonchalant and casual manner. I found the conclusion truly annoying, with the profane way the events were wrapped up, the plot falling apart, and all the characters being cast aside after their stories were used to create the necessary effects.

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jennaweston's review

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dark funny tense

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

This book was tough...in a lot of ways.

I think it's safe to say I'm just not an Ottessa fan because as this is the second book I've read of hers that I didn't enjoy, I'm thinking it's just that we don't click as an author/reader pair, and that's okay!

Here is what I didn't like:

I'm not a fan of characters who are as difficult to like as Eileen and similar characters that Ottessa has crafted.
I think the subject matter at the end of the book was graphic for graphic's sake. It was too much that it took away from the story
I felt disconnected from Eileen because of her lack of character development.
It took SO LONG to get to the plot twist.
The end was riddled with plot holes.

Here's what I liked:

The last fourth of the book was interesting as soon as she got together with Rebecca on Christmas Eve.
I liked Eileen's POV looking back at herself from an older age.

It was just too graphic and too slow for my taste. Wouldn't really recommend to anyone who is has similar reading tastes to me. We tried, Ottessa, we really tried!

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