A review by erinlgreads
Eileen by Ottessa Moshfegh

4.0

Eileen is a 24 year old woman in 1964 that hasn't quite become woman yet. She is responsible for the care of her alcoholic father, toils daily as a secretary at a prison for young men and has never known true love. A few days before Christmas, the prison gets a new employee by the name of Rebecca whose job is to ensure the inmates all receive a proper education. Eileen is captivated by Rebecca, for she is everything Eileen isn't: beautiful, sophisticated, worldly and plays by her own rules. The two women forge a unique if not odd friendship that, during the course of a few hours on Christmas Day, will change Eileen's life forever.

The story is narrated by a 70-something Eileen looking back on the few days leading up to her decision to leave her old life behind. At some moments, she admits that her memory fails her so her narration can be considered somewhat unreliable.

In reading this, I could not help but be enthralled with how real and fully formed a character like Eileen is. There are moments where I wondered if she suffered from (what we would call today) bi-polar disorder or some sort of mental instability, but after careful consideration, she seems to be no different than anyone else in her shifting moods, lack of empathy and low self esteem.

Until you reach the last act of the book, the story seems to be the ramblings of a troubled young woman, but well worth the wait.