A review by sraddheya
My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh

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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