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A review by megmccreery
My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh
dark
slow-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
1.0
1.5 stars for trying
Based on the reviews of this book, I knew I was either going to love it or hate it. One review that I read before reading this book was that it was the weirdest thing that they've ever read, and honestly, I can kind of agree.
The whole premise of the book is a mid-20s girl in NYC decides to take a whole year off and just sleep. Not naturally, of course. She finds an unhinged, character of a therapist that prescribes her copious amounts of pills, most of them for insomnia. Eventually, the MC builds up enough of a stock pile that she can make so many different kinds of cocktails to knock herself out. This is how the first half of her year break goes, and then the second half goes by in 3-day increments, only waking up for an hour after each 3-day stretch.
Based on other reviews, apparently the premise of this book is that it's supposed to be boring (you can't do a whole lot with a sleeping person), and you aren't supposed to like any of the characters. The MC is aware of her privilege as a tall, white, blonde woman who has an inheritance, and she chooses to sleep because she just can. Her supposed best friend is a try hard and wants to be a NYC elite. Her ex is horrible; her parents sucked.
I didn't feel impacted by this book in any way, but I like a solid plot with a character that has a positive direction. It also took me so long to read this short of a book because I was so bored.
Based on the reviews of this book, I knew I was either going to love it or hate it. One review that I read before reading this book was that it was the weirdest thing that they've ever read, and honestly, I can kind of agree.
The whole premise of the book is a mid-20s girl in NYC decides to take a whole year off and just sleep. Not naturally, of course. She finds an unhinged, character of a therapist that prescribes her copious amounts of pills, most of them for insomnia. Eventually, the MC builds up enough of a stock pile that she can make so many different kinds of cocktails to knock herself out. This is how the first half of her year break goes, and then the second half goes by in 3-day increments, only waking up for an hour after each 3-day stretch.
Based on other reviews, apparently the premise of this book is that it's supposed to be boring (you can't do a whole lot with a sleeping person), and you aren't supposed to like any of the characters. The MC is aware of her privilege as a tall, white, blonde woman who has an inheritance, and she chooses to sleep because she just can. Her supposed best friend is a try hard and wants to be a NYC elite. Her ex is horrible; her parents sucked.
I didn't feel impacted by this book in any way, but I like a solid plot with a character that has a positive direction. It also took me so long to read this short of a book because I was so bored.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder
Moderate: Rape