Reviews tagging 'Confinement'

McGlue by Ottessa Moshfegh

14 reviews

kutreen's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I picked this up because I have been hearing a lot about this author but thought that reading My Year of Rest and Relaxation would sink me deeper into depression. 

Damn! I'm really impressed by Moshfegh. She reeled me into the drunken stupor/brain damaged/denial-stage-of-grief cloudiness of McGlue's mind without getting too abstract or confusing. McGlue is in and out of consciousness as memories from his time spent with the man he allegedly killed (but had a quite vulnerable brother-like bond--which you can guess what that means when it's between two sailors in the 1850s) intermix with memories from his poor and emotionally neglected childhood, intermix with him currently trying to process his situation as he awaits trial while withdrawing from alcoholism and having a huge untreated gash in his head. We can empathize with McGlue's pain much more than he could allow himself to at that time. 

The most unpalatable parts for me were the ways McGlue referred to gay men, women, and black people, but I suppose it's true to how a man like that at that time would have referred to them.

Looking back not sure I could get through this if I was more emotionally vulnerable right now, but luckily it was a quick read.

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alexandrabelze's review against another edition

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dark mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.25

look, i love otessa moshfegh’s writing style, but i can’t looks past the recurrent use of slurs throughout the book. it would be different if they only appeared every once in a while, but there were times when there were 3+ slurs on a single page. and i didn’t fuck with that. i understand what she was trying to pull off with the narrator, but it was too extreme. i love a good unlikeable or unreliable narrator—if done right. mcglue was not done right. it could’ve been done right if it had been written as “gay pirates with internalized homophobia learn to love each other and themselves.” sadly, i would instead describe this as “the narrator drops the f slur and racist comments every ten sentences while pining for another man.” disappointment.

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directorpurry's review against another edition

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

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jp_riemersma's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective 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

3.0


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readerette's review against another edition

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challenging dark 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

4.5

The writing style made sense for the character's inner voice, but it was difficult to get a lot of meaning from it sometimes. This definitely feels intentional, and while I appreciate why the author did it, it also made the story and characters harder to follow.

I'm glad it is a novella; a whole novel of this writing style and this level of darkness would have been too much.

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nialiversuch's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective 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

3.25


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gracetrimper's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-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

3.5


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littleboatadrift's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective tense 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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maureelee's review against another edition

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dark slow-paced
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0


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labinsky's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad 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

4.5

this book felt like the way my best friend writes in the best way possible. moshfegh’s first book is literary fiction in both the most classic way and the most unconventional way. 

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