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3.64 AVERAGE
3.64 AVERAGE
I don’t really have much to say on this book. I didn’t enjoy it, but I also don’t think you’re supposed to necessarily enjoy it. I mean it’s about depression and unhealthy ways of coping with it and the protagonist isn’t necessarily the most likeable.
In some parts I thought it accurately encapsulated what it feels like to be in this state of absolute lethargy, considering I often deal with really bad episodes by excessive sleeping as well.
I do feel though, that toward the end, the book kind of fell short. There were a few opportunities I felt were missed and it was all wrapped up a little too quickly for my liking.
Other than that, it’s not a bad book. Just very heavy.
In some parts I thought it accurately encapsulated what it feels like to be in this state of absolute lethargy, considering I often deal with really bad episodes by excessive sleeping as well.
I do feel though, that toward the end, the book kind of fell short. There were a few opportunities I felt were missed and it was all wrapped up a little too quickly for my liking.
Other than that, it’s not a bad book. Just very heavy.
interesting style of writing but i wish there would’ve been more character growth. any serious growth elements of the plot basically take place in the last 50 pages.
dark
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
God bless dirtbag fiction. It is clearly not for everyone, but Moshfegh is so good at writing hateable characters that this book really works. In all of its depravity, there is still heart, and I felt the balance between the two was pretty perfect.
dark
funny
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
funny
reflective
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
This book is equal parts hilarious, horrifying, and existentially unsettling—a satire wrapped in a tragedy, dipped in pharmaceuticals. Ottessa Moshfegh takes heavy topics like grief, privilege, and self-destruction and presents them in a way that is so absurd, so deadpan, that I found myself laughing, cringing, and occasionally thinking, “wait… but that actually sounds kinda nice?”
The premise is simple: Our unnamed narrator is a young, hot, obscenely wealthy New Yorker who has decided that life is just too much. Her solution? Medically assisted hibernation. Armed with an arsenal of prescription drugs (courtesy of the world’s worst psychiatrist, who prescribes meds like she’s hosting an Oprah giveaway), our protagonist embarks on a one-year, self-imposed coma. The idea is that she’ll emerge a brand-new person—like a butterfly, if the butterfly had spent 12 months blackout shopping and drooling on itself.
Meanwhile, in the land of actual human emotions, we have:
Reva, her best friend,
Trevor, her Wall Street ex,
An art world subplot
Over the course of a year, she:
Commits petty crimes (maybe?), but doesn’t remember them.
Develops a spiritual connection to Whoopi Goldberg movies.
Perfects the art of avoiding all responsibilities while still maintaining a functioning bank account.
And then, just when you think maybe she’ll wake up and learn something, she literally wakes up to 9/11. The first real human emotion she experiences is watching New York burn, which is just… stunningly on-brand for her.
It’s a solid three-star read. The satire is razor-sharp, the writing is brilliant, and the humor is so deadpan it could be legally classified as a hazard. But the protagonist is so emotionally detached that, at times, it’s exhausting. There’s no real character growth - which adds to the satire and theme of the book, sure - but it leaves us with just an endless cycle of privilege, avoidance, and pharmaceutical roulette. It’s hilarious, tragic, and painfully relatable in ways I wasn’t expecting.
Would I want to sleep for a year if given the chance when things are tough? Probably.
Would I read this book again? Probably not.
The premise is simple: Our unnamed narrator is a young, hot, obscenely wealthy New Yorker who has decided that life is just too much. Her solution? Medically assisted hibernation. Armed with an arsenal of prescription drugs (courtesy of the world’s worst psychiatrist, who prescribes meds like she’s hosting an Oprah giveaway), our protagonist embarks on a one-year, self-imposed coma. The idea is that she’ll emerge a brand-new person—like a butterfly, if the butterfly had spent 12 months blackout shopping and drooling on itself.
Meanwhile, in the land of actual human emotions, we have:
Reva, her best friend,
Spoiler
who is desperately seeking validation, emotional connection, and, you know, basic human kindness. The narrator responds to this by treating her like an annoying gnat.Trevor, her Wall Street ex,
Spoiler
who ghosts her with the precision of a NASA launch schedule and whose presence exists solely to fuel her spiraling self-loathing.An art world subplot
Spoiler
where she accidentally becomes part of a pretentious performance piece, which is honestly the least weird thing happening in her life.Over the course of a year, she:
Spoiler
Blacks out repeatedly and wakes up in strange places.Commits petty crimes (maybe?), but doesn’t remember them.
Develops a spiritual connection to Whoopi Goldberg movies.
Perfects the art of avoiding all responsibilities while still maintaining a functioning bank account.
And then, just when you think maybe she’ll wake up and learn something, she literally wakes up to 9/11. The first real human emotion she experiences is watching New York burn, which is just… stunningly on-brand for her.
It’s a solid three-star read. The satire is razor-sharp, the writing is brilliant, and the humor is so deadpan it could be legally classified as a hazard. But the protagonist is so emotionally detached that, at times, it’s exhausting. There’s no real character growth - which adds to the satire and theme of the book, sure - but it leaves us with just an endless cycle of privilege, avoidance, and pharmaceutical roulette. It’s hilarious, tragic, and painfully relatable in ways I wasn’t expecting.
Would I want to sleep for a year if given the chance when things are tough? Probably.
Would I read this book again? Probably not.
slow-paced