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desired_moon's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
maybe i expected to much ?? it was just a really slow read. the ending not as surprising as I thought. it was okay, But not worth the hype.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Murder, Violence, Vomit, and Death of parent
Moderate: Rape and Gun violence
ariana3's review
challenging
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
2.0
I was not a fan of this at all. It was recommended by a friend and I can see why she liked it, but it was not my cup of tea. The book was slow and ambling, it just felt like it was stream-of-consciousness writing, like the author was supposed to be telling a story but then would get themselves down a different rabbit hole. It was just odd, the timeline, the story, everything. Only in the last half of the last chapter did it kind of get good. And even when it ended I was confused and was just left with a "that's it?" feeling. Like the entire book was a waste.
Plot summary:The main character, Eileen, lives with her dad who used to be a renowned police officer. After her mom died, he became a terrible drunk and was emotionally abusive. Eileen herself is a slob, gross, frumpy, doesn't care about her appearances and yet is utterly obsessed. As a young adult, she thinks she's the only "higher being" in her small Massachusetts town. She's a secretary at a youth prison and has been for several years since she was pulled out of school to care for her sick mom. Her childhood sucked, her parents sucked, her life sucks. Then this mysterious woman starts at the prison. She's obsessed with her and wants to be her lover or friend? It's confusing what she wants, she just wants attention and admiration from this woman, Rebecca. Rebecca reads a case file from one of the boys at the prison that disturbs her (a father was raping his son, so the son killed him). The mom did nothing about it and would help facilitate it. So in the last half of the last chapter, you find out that Rebecca has tied up this mom to elicit the confession. Eileen gets it and Rebecca is pissed but doesn't know what else to do. Eileen comes up with a plan to frame her dad for the mom's murder, since he's a drunk, but they would kill her. She knows Rebecca won't join her, so she says "bye" to her dad, gets her money, drives north to a pretty part of the forest, and leaves her beat up old truck running with the mom inside (passed out from pain pills) to die from carbon monoxide poisoning while she hitches a ride back south to NYC to start a new life. That's it. Literally nothing else happens...
Plot summary:
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Rape, Vomit, Grief, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Eating disorder, Incest, Death of parent, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Child abuse, Kidnapping, Murder, Physical abuse, and Terminal illness
Minor: Animal death, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Body shaming
risemini's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence, Alcoholism, Vomit, Kidnapping, Rape, Gore, Domestic abuse, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Animal death, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Eating disorder, Murder, Violence, Child abuse, and Sexual content
zoraleigh's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
medium-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
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Murder, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, Alcoholism, and Death of parent
annasorr's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Eileen is full of writing that is beautiful, tense, strange, and scary. I enjoyed getting to know Eileen and her world and deeply related to Eileen’s lack of self-assuredness. The novel’s narrator, Eileen’s older self, turns this narrative from a self-indulgent thriller to a well-paced, mysterious puzzle of the past. As this is Moshfegh’s first novel, it lacks some of the polish that her later writing has, but it’s still very much worth a read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Incest, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Abandonment, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Blood, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Excrement, Forced institutionalization, Body shaming, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Rape, Sexual assault, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Eating disorder, Drug abuse, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Murder, Addiction, Grief, Vomit, and Violence
hannnah_besss's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
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
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Incest, Murder, Rape, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Death of parent and Eating disorder
misssleepy's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I listened to this book after listening to My Year of Rest and Relaxation.
Eileen was a slow burn. It was mostly vibes, the plot doesn’t actually start until the last probably 30% of the book. Because of this, I think at times this book felt a little boring. I couldn’t really figure out what it was building towards.
I was actually starting to guess that the big reveal was that Rebecca was a pedo, so I was oddly relieved that she was quite the opposite. I don’t really know how I feel about the ending though. Did Rita deserve was happened to her? Idk, it’s complicated. Her confession was sad. She seemed almost dumb and naive, like she didn’t really understand the impact of her action (and lack of action). I kind of wonder if she truly died, I assume she did from carbon monoxide poisoning but this is a chance for her survival.
Again. Moshfegh presents a narrator that at times I loved and at times hated. She does a good job of writing characters that are deeply flawed by their pasts but still choose to victims to their circumstances. Eileen could have left at any point and spent a lot of time contemplating leaving, but it took necessity to get her to act.
Eileen was such a gross character. Her choices were questionable throughout the story. Her self-consciousness and self hatred were visceral. Her behavior was so strange but still kind of mundane. I liked being in the mind of such an unsettled person, though at times I was completely grossed out by her. I think the grossness is what made her as a character so believable and human.
It was easy to see why Eileen was so captivated by Rebecca. I couldn’t really tell if Rebecca was playing Eileen all along, I like to believe that was something genuine between them. I can’t wait to see Ann Hathaway’s interpretation in the movie.
Tbh I was really hoping for a but if romance between them.
Overall, I did like the book and was satisfied with it. I wish it would’ve captivated me a bit earlier on than it did.
Eileen’s reflections at the end were some of my favorite passages of the novel. I will leave this quote below, which demonstrates the growth of Eileen as she reflects on her life as a much older woman:
“Here is how I spend my days now. I live in a beautiful place. I sleep in a beautiful bed, I eat beautiful food. I go for walks through beautiful places. I care for people deeply. At night, my bed is full of love because I alone am in it. I cry easily from pain and pleasure and I don’t apologize for that. In the mornings I step outside and am thankful for another day. It took me many years to arrive at such a life.”
While this novel covers a few short days, they are the most meaningful of this woman’s life. We see glimpses of how these days and the events at occurred within them transformed the trajectory of her life. It still leaves a bit of mystery.
Overall, a very atmospheric, gross, and weird tale of the choices that change a woman’s life. Who is to say if it was for better or worse, but I think that Eileen would argue for the better.
Eileen was a slow burn. It was mostly vibes, the plot doesn’t actually start until the last probably 30% of the book. Because of this, I think at times this book felt a little boring. I couldn’t really figure out what it was building towards.
I was actually starting to guess that the big reveal was that Rebecca was a pedo, so I was oddly relieved that she was quite the opposite. I don’t really know how I feel about the ending though. Did Rita deserve was happened to her? Idk, it’s complicated. Her confession was sad. She seemed almost dumb and naive, like she didn’t really understand the impact of her action (and lack of action). I kind of wonder if she truly died, I assume she did from carbon monoxide poisoning but this is a chance for her survival.
Again. Moshfegh presents a narrator that at times I loved and at times hated. She does a good job of writing characters that are deeply flawed by their pasts but still choose to victims to their circumstances. Eileen could have left at any point and spent a lot of time contemplating leaving, but it took necessity to get her to act.
Eileen was such a gross character. Her choices were questionable throughout the story. Her self-consciousness and self hatred were visceral. Her behavior was so strange but still kind of mundane. I liked being in the mind of such an unsettled person, though at times I was completely grossed out by her. I think the grossness is what made her as a character so believable and human.
It was easy to see why Eileen was so captivated by Rebecca. I couldn’t really tell if Rebecca was playing Eileen all along, I like to believe that was something genuine between them. I can’t wait to see Ann Hathaway’s interpretation in the movie.
Tbh I was really hoping for a but if romance between them.
Overall, I did like the book and was satisfied with it. I wish it would’ve captivated me a bit earlier on than it did.
Eileen’s reflections at the end were some of my favorite passages of the novel. I will leave this quote below, which demonstrates the growth of Eileen as she reflects on her life as a much older woman:
“Here is how I spend my days now. I live in a beautiful place. I sleep in a beautiful bed, I eat beautiful food. I go for walks through beautiful places. I care for people deeply. At night, my bed is full of love because I alone am in it. I cry easily from pain and pleasure and I don’t apologize for that. In the mornings I step outside and am thankful for another day. It took me many years to arrive at such a life.”
While this novel covers a few short days, they are the most meaningful of this woman’s life. We see glimpses of how these days and the events at occurred within them transformed the trajectory of her life. It still leaves a bit of mystery.
Overall, a very atmospheric, gross, and weird tale of the choices that change a woman’s life. Who is to say if it was for better or worse, but I think that Eileen would argue for the better.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Vomit
Moderate: Fatphobia and Murder
leafygreens1's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Violence
Moderate: Emotional abuse
mccalab's review
dark
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism
Moderate: Child abuse, Incest, Rape, Pedophilia, and Confinement
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Fatphobia, Murder, and Vomit
slowreadersam's review against another edition
dark
tense
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? It's complicated
4.0
I am a fan of Moshfeghs writing Style and characterisation of her female protagonists (or antagonists depending on who you ask).
I like exploring the mind of Eileen and just wished that at times there was a deeper exploration into things like her relationship with her mother, her relationship with men, her as a child etc.
Nonetheless I enjoyed the book and really did not see the ending coming and the change of pace in the narrative.
I like exploring the mind of Eileen and just wished that at times there was a deeper exploration into things like her relationship with her mother, her relationship with men, her as a child etc.
Nonetheless I enjoyed the book and really did not see the ending coming and the change of pace in the narrative.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape and Murder
Minor: Vomit