Reviews tagging 'Body shaming'

My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh

415 reviews

zaraha's review against another edition

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dark funny lighthearted 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

4.25


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jessiphillips's review against another edition

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dark emotional 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? It's complicated

2.0

This book could have been really good if the protagonist had actually dealt with her trauma and if there had been real consequences for her substance abuse. Instead, this books gives the dangerous idea that substance abuse can solve your problems. There are no consequences for any of her actions or incredibly selfish and cruel behavior. 

Despite that, she is incredibly relatable (a year is sleep sounds so nice) it was almost a comfort to read someone’s thoughts who had no filter. All the bad thoughts that would cause me to pause and retract, she would carry on with. Unashamedly. She makes no effort at being kind. Her depression was overwhelming and her grief all consuming and if we saw her at a different point in life, maybe she would be different. 

Had there been real consequences for her behavior and actions and had her drug abuse been addressed in any manner at the end, this would probably have been a five star read. 

Also, Reva deserved better

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rionstorm's review against another edition

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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

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chickaboogawah's review against another edition

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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. 

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elenival's review against another edition

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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? 

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leafy_literature's review against another edition

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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.

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morregano's review against another edition

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challenging dark sad 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

2.75

I don't know that the author needed to add as much drug use and detail about it as they did. I think it fell flat at the end of the day because it became redundant.
of course we all saw the end coming but i didn't care as much because i didn't feel for the main character or value their friendship much at all.
also. This book seems like a self lobotomy, as if we didn't learn that sedating people with mental illness doesn't actually switch psychosis off. I don't like the message of this book, and i don't find it sardonic

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potatereader's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad fast-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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bblanco_'s review against another edition

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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

3.5


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liz_rath's review against another edition

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reflective fast-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

Could have been an e-mail.
If this had just been the last chapter I'd have given it a much higher rating, but the way it is I feel like it's just very deeply mid. Don't read this if you don't like unlikeable protagonists though or it will feel like torture.

Honestly the book seemed deeply confused about it's themes becauee unless the intended take away was "If you're unhappy with your life and suffer from depression Jus continue being a shitty person refusing to cope with your issues abouse a bunch of drugs and your attitude and life will magically fix themselves eventually" then it was lost. If that was supposed to be the take away then "Uh weird message bro, but sure". I liked the whole disaffected Millenial stick but it did not carry a whole book. At times it felt more like I was reading a character bible instead of a story. And with how it ends, her plan just working no real twists or curveballs, I was just left wondering what the point was.
Like I'm not one to demand a classic american story structure. You just had a cool quick idea and protagonist doesn't change substatially or learn anything by the end - fine by me. But we did not need so many words to tell this story (and I am using the term very liberally here) and the thing doesn't have that many words to begin with.

But whatever the prose was competent and it was a very quick read.

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