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A review by atomic_tourist
Eileen by Ottessa Moshfegh
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Oh, Ottessa, how I love to hate you...
Eileen showed some potential (unlike McGlue or Homesick for Another World, which I really resented wasting time on). But in between Moshfesgh's masterful prose - listen, the girl can write! - was tucked a story that fell flat for me. It was also really crass! Which can be fun in a novel. It's just that her crassness disgusted me but without leading to some revelation. She's no John Waters. Sometimes it feels like she just wants to be nasty and the literature is collateral to that.
I think, at this point, I've read all of Moshfegh's oeuvre. (Please clap!) I'm hesitant to reread My Year of Rest and Relaxation because I loved it so much when I first read it, but none of her other works have clicked for me. I'm scared a reread will ruin it for me. Which would be sad; I have an intense memory of reading it for the first time, when it felt like everything in my life was falling apart, and finding solace & purpose in its pages.
Eileen showed some potential (unlike McGlue or Homesick for Another World, which I really resented wasting time on). But in between Moshfesgh's masterful prose - listen, the girl can write! - was tucked a story that fell flat for me. It was also really crass! Which can be fun in a novel. It's just that her crassness disgusted me but without leading to some revelation. She's no John Waters. Sometimes it feels like she just wants to be nasty and the literature is collateral to that.
I think, at this point, I've read all of Moshfegh's oeuvre. (Please clap!) I'm hesitant to reread My Year of Rest and Relaxation because I loved it so much when I first read it, but none of her other works have clicked for me. I'm scared a reread will ruin it for me. Which would be sad; I have an intense memory of reading it for the first time, when it felt like everything in my life was falling apart, and finding solace & purpose in its pages.