Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

Il mio anno di riposo e oblio by Ottessa Moshfegh, Gioia Guerzoni

509 reviews

sraddheya's review against another edition

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

1.0

I think the book was meant to depict depression, grief, isolation, etc in a realistic dark way. This was achieved. But there was no character arc in my opinion, no lesson learnt by the end. Throughout the whole book the characters were seemed very shallow and unlikeable (which I believe the author did purposefully) but I was hoping for this to change by the end. Perhaps the lack of real character development (there was some change in the main character by the end but it felt very abrupt and meaningless) was also part of the point of the book, but as a reader it felt very pointless and like I wasted my time reading this. Also, as a person who has experienced depression and likes to get lost in books, I felt like I was being put back in that time of my life and it was quite an unpleasant experience. This last point in particular is why I really did not like this reading experience so my review is very biased and perhaps others who don't get as lost in books wouldn't feel this way but this was how I felt.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Toxic friendship, Addiction, Drug use, Eating disorder, and Toxic relationship

puttingwingsonwords's review against another edition

dark reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Fatphobia, Eating disorder, Toxic friendship, and Drug abuse

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Racism, Classism, Vomit, Addiction, Grief, Alcohol, Body shaming, Death, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Ableism, Excrement, Antisemitism, and Abortion

vertibravia's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective slow-paced

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

4.25

a surprisingly thrilling read for a book with few characters, few settings, and few hours spent fully conscious 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Toxic friendship, Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, and Drug use

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Addiction, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Vomit, Eating disorder, Grief, and Cursing

Minor: Suicide, Abortion, Cancer, and Pregnancy

katilh's review against another edition

slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

did you know that pretty privileged people can be depressed too?
the ending felt unearned, superficial, cheap.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Cancer, Death, Death of parent, Suicide, Drug use, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, and Sexual content

Moderate: Infidelity and Toxic relationship

thealbapoems's review against another edition

dark emotional medium-paced

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

2.75

Hm, this was… a read. I bought this book after seeing it everywhere, and because I felt like after my back surgery it could maybe resonate with me a little more? Having to stay inside, lay down, sleep, etc. But it did not resonate with me at all. I don’t know I didn’t analyze it very much, but it all just felt very sensationalist, it’s a story I feel like I’ve read before, only the main character hibernates for a year. I found it unsettling how much focus there was on the main character’s appearance, how pretty she is, how thin and blonde and rich. Maybe it was done on purpose to showcase how much she had internalized what other people thought of her upon meeting her. Not sure. I didn’t find the relationships between the characters believable, and the plot left me somewhat indifferent. That being said, if there is something that surprised me about this book is the voice. How well constructed it is, how well it carries the readers through the life of this frankly unlikeable person. It felt like a personification of intrusive thoughts. Now that I think about it I couldn't name the main character if I wanted. Might have been a bit of a Rebecca moment. Anyway, read it if you would like to explore what it would be like to give in to your intrusive thoughts. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Medical trauma, Suicide, Drug abuse, Addiction, Abortion, Eating disorder, Toxic friendship, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Death of parent, Body shaming, Alcoholism, Drug use, and Alcohol

const_elle_ations's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Drug abuse, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Eating disorder and Vomit

Minor: Abortion

mariavdl's review against another edition

dark sad

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Death of parent, Cancer, Terminal illness, Excrement, Vomit, Sexual content, Addiction, Drug abuse, Alcoholism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Grief, and Gaslighting

Minor: Abortion

skylerclaudia's review against another edition

slow-paced

1.0

I just didn’t like this. 

To me, the most interesting part was right before Reva’s mother passes away and after she passed away. I’m not sure at all what I’m supposed to have taken away from this book but I’m glad I’m finished. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Terminal illness, Addiction, Grief, Vomit, and Toxic relationship

teresarosereads's review against another edition

dark reflective sad

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Such a fascinating concept and perspective to read from! The main character is completely unrelatable considering she is very privileged and wealthy enough to spend an entire year sleeping and shutting herself away. She was often an insufferable character to read from and treated those around her poorly. Nonetheless, her experiences with depression were conveyed in such a way that glued me to the book to see what would happen next. This book was strange and dark and completely captivating. I definitely want to pick up more of Moshfegh's works!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Death of parent, Grief, Drug use, and Drug abuse

Moderate: Toxic friendship, Eating disorder, Toxic relationship, and Sexual content

Minor: Abortion

djenkin96's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body shaming, Drug use, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Drug abuse

Moderate: Toxic friendship, Suicidal thoughts, Abortion, Toxic relationship, Suicide, Death, Eating disorder, and Mental illness