Scan barcode
A review by atomic_tourist
Homesick for Another World by Ottessa Moshfegh
I was surprised to read John Waters' glowing review of Homesick for Another World (prominently featured on the back cover of the book) because this collection represents a bastardization of the spirit behind Waters' oeuvre. Moshfegh, sensing perhaps that these stories are unbearably dull, has peppered them with an absurd number of slurs, anti-semitisms, and racist remarks. (Almost half of the stories feature the "r slur"! Like... why?)
Where Waters uses fucked-up characters saying + doing messed up things, even bigoted things, to each other, his storytelling is undeniably compelling; you can't look away, even though you want to. You're just too curious. In contrast, Moshfegh's stories have neither the plot nor the craft to make them interesting. When the only noteworthy thing about your writing is that the characters say the r slur, you should re-evaluate whether to publish it. (I am really not a squeamish reader! But most of the stories were Not Good and it felt like adding slurs was a defense mechanism, allowing Moshfegh to claim that anyone who doesn't like her book is just 'too woke').
Near the end of the collection, there were a couple of stories that I did actually like (even the one where this kid from Utah has an obsession with his older Jewish landlady and says that he had "never met a Jew", LOL). And the last story was great and weird in the way that I'd come to expect from Moshfegh. But still, I walk away from this collection thinking 'how could this be the same Otessa Moshfegh who literally changed my life with My Year of Rest and Relaxation?
Where Waters uses fucked-up characters saying + doing messed up things, even bigoted things, to each other, his storytelling is undeniably compelling; you can't look away, even though you want to. You're just too curious. In contrast, Moshfegh's stories have neither the plot nor the craft to make them interesting. When the only noteworthy thing about your writing is that the characters say the r slur, you should re-evaluate whether to publish it. (I am really not a squeamish reader! But most of the stories were Not Good and it felt like adding slurs was a defense mechanism, allowing Moshfegh to claim that anyone who doesn't like her book is just 'too woke').
Near the end of the collection, there were a couple of stories that I did actually like (even the one where this kid from Utah has an obsession with his older Jewish landlady and says that he had "never met a Jew", LOL). And the last story was great and weird in the way that I'd come to expect from Moshfegh. But still, I walk away from this collection thinking 'how could this be the same Otessa Moshfegh who literally changed my life with My Year of Rest and Relaxation?