Reviews with content warning for Sexual violence - Eileen

Dark is the only word that comes to mind when describing Moshfegh's writing and choices of subject matter. Never shying away from the gross, the violent, the disturbing, she delves deeply into the parts of life we often become wilfully blind to. And this novel is no exception.

What I liked most was Eileen herself, which is hardly surprising given how central she is to the novel. Profoundly unlikeable yet heartbreakingly relatable, I feel that Eileen's character really speaks to the darkness of growing up a woman. The sense of continual stagnation, of self-disgust and constant insecurity, the fear of intimacy and of one's own body imposed by the rampant purity culture around her, the desperate need to be loved, to feel liked at any cost — all of it speaks to an experience of womanhood that goes far beyond the peculiarities of Eileen's situation.

Beyond Eileen herself, the twist of the novel is simple, but still excellent. It works. It hits and the novel runs with it. The conclusion feels a little abrupt, but it is fitting — it's something the readers always knew was coming, that was being built up from the beginning, and so it makes total sense for it to end the way it did. It tied things up nicely, despite the huge open-endedness it leaves behind. I really enjoyed this one.

Content Warnings

zara89's review against another edition

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challenging dark 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

2.0

Content Warnings

tacochelle's review against another edition

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challenging dark tense medium-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

Oh Eileen, you nasty bitch.

This is primarily a character study of a young woman in 50s Massachusetts, who works as a secretary at a youth correctional facility. While there is some commentary on the state of these places, how the young men are treated, that statement is almost heightened by the fact that as the narrator, Eileen doesn't linger on it. She simply doesn't care about them, and that's kinda the point. Eileen is passionate, lonely, pathetic, and disgusting. She is both self-loathing and self-centered. The way she describes herself in extreme detail, hyper-focused on every bodily function, whether anyone else notices her in that way- it's very gross, but somewhat relatable? Like I get it, as someone who spent a long time feeling absolutely digusted with my physical existence, those parts got to me. Eileen also latches on to the tiniest bit of affection shown to her, which leads to an obsession with her new coworker and getting caught up in a crime. Eileen doesn't do any of this because she gives a shit. She is just chasing that high of feeling loved.

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