Reviews tagging 'Drug abuse'

My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh

1443 reviews

emmapaigereads's review against another edition

dark emotional sad 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

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, and Mental illness

rionstorm's review against another edition

slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

0.25

This book sucks so bad... she was clearly trying to be ironic and failed... literally everything about it is irritating... the casual racism, the repetitiveness, her constantly talking about how pretty she is, how every character is cartoonish and one dimensional, the incredibly silly (and distasteful) ending... awful

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Addiction, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Bullying, Confinement, and Death of parent

Moderate: Cancer, Racism, Alcoholism, Vomit, and Terminal illness

Minor: Abortion, Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Pregnancy

annanas's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad 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

3.0

I'm glad I've read this, but I didn't exactly enjoy most of it. The protagonist was very hard to like and to root for. But I guess that was the point. For some reason I enjoyed the last part the most.

However, I don't know how I feel about her plan to sleep and her heavy drug use actually ended up being beneficial to her in the end. Maybe allowing herself to rest was what she actually needed, but overall I was just worried about her going through withdrawl and needing to go to hospital, but that never happened. Then It hurt how badly she treated her friend and how she didn't seem to even like her. Her friend clearly was codependent with her own issues, but it still wasn't nice to for example throw the Christmas card, where Reva expressed her gratitude to her as a friend, in the trash. And in the end she seemed to want Reva back in her life again as soon as Reva had become more independent and more content with her life. Then  all of a sudden she wasn't annoyed with her anymore and she told her that she loved her. It was sweet but it just annoyed me that she couldn't have figured that out sooner. I also didn't like the way she judged her ex's new partner's son who was autistic. As an autistic person myself I was very hurt by that and I almost didn't want to finish the book after that.

In conclusion I liked a lof of it, and I also didn't like some parts. Mostly because I wasn't prepared for how dark and sad the entire book was going to be. But I'm very curious to hear other people's interpretations of the book since I do think that there are a lot of interesting things to discuss about it. And I think Ottessa Moshfegh's writing was often beautiful and I enjoyed  how she portrayed the early 2000's. 

For example how heartbroken I felt after Reva was excited about starting a new job in the Twin Towers in early 2001, because I instantly knew she was probably going to die. That was just so sad, but aslo a very effective way to pull at my heartstrings since I probably cared more about Reva than the actual protagonist.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Grief

Moderate: Death and Death of parent

Minor: Ableism

chickaboogawah's review against another edition

dark 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

0.25

This book was horrible. The end epiphany that I expected didn't happen. The main character was still unlikeable. It was predictable and dumb. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Dysphoria, Grief, Infertility, Infidelity, Terminal illness, Vomit, Alcoholism, Eating disorder, Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Drug use, Pregnancy, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Suicide, Addiction, Death, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Cancer, Fatphobia, Toxic relationship, Abortion, Drug abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide attempt, Ableism, Chronic illness, Classism, Confinement, Death of parent, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Sexual assault, and Suicidal thoughts

kirkspockreads's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad 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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Eating disorder, Child abuse, Toxic friendship, Grief, Drug use, Fatphobia, Drug abuse, Death of parent, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Sexual content, Alcohol, Adult/minor relationship, Vomit, Sexual assault, and Racism

Minor: Rape, Pregnancy, and Abortion

elenival's review against another edition

dark 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

3.5

3.5 stars… ? Nothing really happens, but it’s also a wild ride? A very unlikable/unreliable narrator, very "entertaining" for lack of a better word. So over-the-top that it works? 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Drug abuse, and Drug use

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Body shaming, Eating disorder, Cancer, and Death of parent

Minor: Abortion and Racism

leafy_literature's review against another edition

dark emotional sad 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

1.5

What was the point of this book? What was the plot? The main character is a horrible person with no redeeming qualities. Her friend tried so hard, just to always get crapped on. Don't waste your time.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Death, Eating disorder, Self harm, Mental illness, Cancer, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Body horror, Death of parent, Drug use, Fatphobia, Suicide, Terminal illness, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Addiction, Bullying, Grief, Toxic friendship, Drug abuse, and Medical content

misssleepy's review against another edition

dark reflective 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

This book has been on my tbr for a while. It’s the first Otessa Moshfegh read.

This book is all vibes, no plot. So of course I loved it lol.

The book is really dark and I simultaneously loved and hated the narrator. This book is definitely satirical, I think that the story could only be written as a satire because only very specific conditions could make the plot (what little of it there is) possible. 

I am still trying to figure out the ending. When Reva was transferred to the twin towers, I kind of saw the ending coming. It was different than I predicted, but I did think that Reva would die in 9/11. I can’t tell how that makes me feel though.

I am absolutely a girly that has dreamed of my own version of a year of rest and relaxation. After reading this story, I can say I’m still not put off on the idea. It’s just such a fascinating idea to explore and get inside of.

I did think that the explorations of the main characters grief were interesting. I think there is something to be said about having a perfect life and still longing for the numbness our narrators seeks. Her grief makes the narrators desire a bit less insufferable and is one of the more relatable aspects of the narrators personality.

Reva is the light of the book. Her longing for companionship contrasted with the narrators longing for solitude were interesting parallels to explore. 

I would recommend this book to someone looking for a character driven weird girl story that explores themes of mental illness, depression, grief, and isolation. It is a mood reas and probably isn’t for everybody.

I really want to read Eileen and Lapvona next.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse

Moderate: Death of parent

_eleanorgreen8_'s review against another edition

dark reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I found this book really interesting in the end. I love Moshfegh's writing: she captures very specific thoughts, feelings and atmospheres so well. The main character was definitely "unlikeable", but in a way I found that refreshing and less limiting. In terms of the plot - though there arguably isn't one - I found the beginning slightly too depressing and the end kind of abrupt and confusing, but around the middle of the book I was completely hooked. This book is relatable in so many ways, but also made me feel grateful for my own life at times too. There were also several moments that made me laugh out loud - such is the deep cynicism of the narrator. Would recommend. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse

Moderate: Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Addiction, Death of parent, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Classism, Eating disorder, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, and Misogyny

thisgirlreads_yay's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad 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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Sexual content