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grunbean's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
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
3.0
I love Mosfegh’s writing, and this is by no means a bad book. I can only describe is lacking in a way, but I can’t put my figure on what it is exactly.
Definitely for you if you like mystery, as every part of it feels like a mystery in some way. It just seems to lack something that ties it all together, I finished it feeling confused.
Definitely for you if you like mystery, as every part of it feels like a mystery in some way. It just seems to lack something that ties it all together, I finished it feeling confused.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Alcohol, Animal death, Body shaming, Cancer, Cursing, Abortion, Death, Emotional abuse, Adult/minor relationship, and Suicidal thoughts
parsnipsnap's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia
Moderate: Animal death, Cancer, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Excrement, Blood, Domestic abuse, and Animal cruelty
isaarusilor's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Mental illness
erinbarton's review
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
5.0
first tried to read this back in dec 2021, got 50 pages in and gave up because i was bored and worried about going into a reading slump and not reaching my reading goal for the year
over a year later, i gave this another go after reading the rest of moshfegh’s work and enjoying all of them, especially eileen. the timing for giving this another go was just right - i read the whole book in one day and so didn’t mind the slow pace and just allowed myself to get swept up in the character’s inner monologue and imagined mystery.
this was such an interesting read with so many clues peppered throughout. the main character was such an unreliable narrator, while following her “investigation” you also come across more questions of your own, the main one being — how much of this is actually real?
over a year later, i gave this another go after reading the rest of moshfegh’s work and enjoying all of them, especially eileen. the timing for giving this another go was just right - i read the whole book in one day and so didn’t mind the slow pace and just allowed myself to get swept up in the character’s inner monologue and imagined mystery.
this was such an interesting read with so many clues peppered throughout. the main character was such an unreliable narrator, while following her “investigation” you also come across more questions of your own, the main one being — how much of this is actually real?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty and Mental illness
Moderate: Toxic relationship and Murder
lycaenide's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
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
1.5
I struggled to get into this, then at the half way mark I raced to the end only to be left literally saying "what the f*" out loud. I'm thoroughly confused, unsatisfied and left with a disgusting taste in my mouth. I read this as someone I follow online said it was a favourite of the last year, but I must be really missing something.
Full breakdown under spoilers:
Characters: 5/10
The narrator was both likeable and unlikeable, and really well crafted. It felt like you were inside someone's head. I liked the fact that the narrator was elderly.
Atmosphere: 6/10
Really atmospheric descriptions of the woods, and by the end I was on edge just from the setting.
Writing style: 6/10
The writing itself was wonderful. It felt like this character had just unloaded her unconscious mind onto the page in a way that was engaging, if wildly confusing.
Plot: 1/10
Absolutely what the f*. What was that ending. I had to skim it because that is my most hated trope and I'm so bitter that that's how this story ended and I wasn't forewarned. I'm not a stranger to endings that aren't neatly wrapped up, and this reminded me of Earthlings, how you didn't know what was real or not. But I must be missing something because I have no clue what happened.
Intrigue: 5/10
The first half was relatively boring but then it really picked up in intrigue.
Logic: 1/10
I think we can all agree that there was no logic here.
Enjoyment: 1/10
The little spark of enjoyment I felt once the story picked up was squashed by the ending. This is obviously not the book for me. Honestly I wish I could throw it across the room but my copy is from the library.
Overall rating: 3.57/10
I'm ignoring the balanced CAWPILE rating for this one and going off vibes. Basically, out of 5, it gets a point to acknowledge the writing ability and a half point for having an elderly protagonist and that's it.
Full breakdown under spoilers:
Characters: 5/10
The narrator was both likeable and unlikeable, and really well crafted. It felt like you were inside someone's head. I liked the fact that the narrator was elderly.
Atmosphere: 6/10
Really atmospheric descriptions of the woods, and by the end I was on edge just from the setting.
Writing style: 6/10
The writing itself was wonderful. It felt like this character had just unloaded her unconscious mind onto the page in a way that was engaging, if wildly confusing.
Plot: 1/10
Absolutely what the f*. What was that ending. I had to skim it because that is my most hated trope and I'm so bitter that that's how this story ended and I wasn't forewarned. I'm not a stranger to endings that aren't neatly wrapped up, and this reminded me of Earthlings, how you didn't know what was real or not. But I must be missing something because I have no clue what happened.
Intrigue: 5/10
The first half was relatively boring but then it really picked up in intrigue.
Logic: 1/10
I think we can all agree that there was no logic here.
Enjoyment: 1/10
The little spark of enjoyment I felt once the story picked up was squashed by the ending. This is obviously not the book for me. Honestly I wish I could throw it across the room but my copy is from the library.
Overall rating: 3.57/10
I'm ignoring the balanced CAWPILE rating for this one and going off vibes. Basically, out of 5, it gets a point to acknowledge the writing ability and a half point for having an elderly protagonist and that's it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death and Animal cruelty
Moderate: Body shaming, Cancer, Classism, Fatphobia, Vomit, and Excrement
Minor: Abortion, Homophobia, Terminal illness, and Addiction
remytherat's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
2.75
There were a lot of questionable moments that felt less like "this is an unlikeable character/bad choice on the character's part" and more a Choice by the author that was definitely unnecessary. I'm talking about the fatphobia. It stopped being a character thing and became an author thing pretty early on, so do be aware of that going in.
The weirdness of it isn't what turned me off from this book, instead it was some of the narrative decisions that I just didn't vibe with. It's easy to see what Ottessa Moshfegh is so popular, but equally easy to see why people find her books hard to like. The way this is written feels very stream of consciousness, which works for this narrative.
Pacing wise, there was a chunk near the final third that I just did not care about. I got bored of the repetitiveness (which was intentional), and coupled with everything else, I nearly checked out entirely.
oh, and the dog dies at the end.
The weirdness of it isn't what turned me off from this book, instead it was some of the narrative decisions that I just didn't vibe with. It's easy to see what Ottessa Moshfegh is so popular, but equally easy to see why people find her books hard to like. The way this is written feels very stream of consciousness, which works for this narrative.
Pacing wise, there was a chunk near the final third that I just did not care about. I got bored of the repetitiveness (which was intentional), and coupled with everything else, I nearly checked out entirely.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia, Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Blood
Moderate: Cancer and Death
readrabbitwrite's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Fatphobia, and Animal cruelty
adventuresofabibliophile's review against another edition
dark
reflective
slow-paced
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death
Moderate: Fatphobia
Minor: Animal cruelty
beanwa's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Wow. This book is actually a bit different from Moshfegh's other work in that Vesta is actually quite sympathetic imo. And, this is the only one of her books that's made me cry - I had to pace myself with the last chapter because otherwise it would have been too much. I feel like this story was a really accurate depiction of life post-abusive relationship, and Vesta's loneliness and slow descent into madness was beautifully written and heart wrenching. I just loved it - but fucking ouch man.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty and Animal death
Moderate: Cancer and Emotional abuse
kaitsarago's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
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
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death and Animal cruelty
Moderate: Fatphobia