A review by _jaybee_
Death in Her Hands by Ottessa Moshfegh

dark funny sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

If you're looking for a creepy/dark plot-driven mystery this is *not it* and absolutely DO NOT ENGAGE lol. This is 100% character driven and written in the stream-of-conciousness style. The narrator is completely unreliable, objectively a pretty terrible person (fatphobic, classist, neglectful), and as we find out later, traumatized as well.

The first 60-70% read like a dark satire on the power of the stories we tell ourselves. The last bit documented the unraveling of a mind from within that very mind. By the end, any clarity you thought you had between reality and imagination is very fuzzy. 

I've seen other reviews that interpreted the book as a bleak meditation on loneliness, and that is definitely a theme, just not the one that jumped out at me the most. It's incredibly well-written and thought provoking, but I can see how it would annoy readers if it's not their thing or if they expected something different. 
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