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A review by samarakroeger
My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh
challenging
dark
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
1.5
let the record show that I HATED this book. And I generally like plotless books about sad, somewhat unlikeable women in their 20s...
This book was such a slog to get through, especially the middle. It truly put me to sleep better than any of the myriad of sleeping pills featured in (and weirdly endorsed by) this book and put me in a reading slump.
I got the sense that Ottessa Moshfegh was trying to make this book as provocative as possible (which it definitely was, I just don't really vibe with that approach). The casual racism, ableism, sexism, and homophobia served no purpose except to solidify my intense dislike for both Moshfegh and our vile, unfeeling narrator. I've never read a book before where I hated every single character with every fiber of my being. Reva did deserve a better friend despite her personal flaws.
This book was such a slog to get through, especially the middle. It truly put me to sleep better than any of the myriad of sleeping pills featured in (and weirdly endorsed by) this book and put me in a reading slump.
I got the sense that Ottessa Moshfegh was trying to make this book as provocative as possible (which it definitely was, I just don't really vibe with that approach). The casual racism, ableism, sexism, and homophobia served no purpose except to solidify my intense dislike for both Moshfegh and our vile, unfeeling narrator. I've never read a book before where I hated every single character with every fiber of my being. Reva did deserve a better friend despite her personal flaws.
The reason I gave this 1.5 stars instead of 1 is because Dr. Tuttle is so ridiculous and unhinged she became funny to me - i.e. "I've heard from several esteemed colleagues in Brazil that regular Infermiterol use can activate a profound tectonic displacement. Followed up with some filigree work using low doses of aspirin and astral projecting, it's proven to be quite effective in curing solipsistic terror...". After slogging through the 70 page middle chapter (ugh), the last two real chapters (can't count that cheap last paragraph) were alright (in comparison).
This was so incredibly privileged and pretentious and filled with so many triggers for mental illness I have no idea why people liked this book. I was even more disappointed in this book due to all the positive hype I'd seen about it, so I'd definitely recommend reading the trigger warnings and thinking about why you want to read this absurd, pointless book before you pick it up.
This was so incredibly privileged and pretentious and filled with so many triggers for mental illness I have no idea why people liked this book. I was even more disappointed in this book due to all the positive hype I'd seen about it, so I'd definitely recommend reading the trigger warnings and thinking about why you want to read this absurd, pointless book before you pick it up.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Dysphoria, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Grief, Infidelity, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Vomit
Moderate: Ableism, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Antisemitism, Blood, Cancer, Excrement, Homophobia, Medical content, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Suicide, and Terminal illness
Minor: Abortion and Pregnancy