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A review by shawna_reads
My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh
dark
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
"Oh, sleep. Nothing else could ever bring me such pleasure, such freedom, the power to feel and move and think and imagine, safe from the miseries of my waking consciousness."
The unnamed narrator has it all - she's pretty, a recent Columbia graduate, has an easy job, and a luxurious apartment in Manhattan paid by her inheritance. She should be happy, but there is a dark void in her heart. She decides to go into hibernation with the help of the worst psychiatrist.
I loved everything about this book. The simplicity of it, yet the deep meaning of depression and societal norms. The obession with beauty standards and diet fads. The hatred, the envy, the absurd. It was bleak and funny and relatable.
You got an antihero you either love to hate or hate to love, a sadomasochistic relationship with her best friend, a psychiatrist with unconventional practices, crude jokes, and prescription drugs. Having read a lot of books by Chuck Palahniuk, I couldn't help but compare the writing style to his. Maybe that's why I was so drawn to this particular fiction because I've seen a lot of reviews where people just didn't get the story, which made me love it even more.
Wouldn't you love to have a year of rest? I sure would. I could use the sleep 😆
The unnamed narrator has it all - she's pretty, a recent Columbia graduate, has an easy job, and a luxurious apartment in Manhattan paid by her inheritance. She should be happy, but there is a dark void in her heart. She decides to go into hibernation with the help of the worst psychiatrist.
I loved everything about this book. The simplicity of it, yet the deep meaning of depression and societal norms. The obession with beauty standards and diet fads. The hatred, the envy, the absurd. It was bleak and funny and relatable.
You got an antihero you either love to hate or hate to love, a sadomasochistic relationship with her best friend, a psychiatrist with unconventional practices, crude jokes, and prescription drugs. Having read a lot of books by Chuck Palahniuk, I couldn't help but compare the writing style to his. Maybe that's why I was so drawn to this particular fiction because I've seen a lot of reviews where people just didn't get the story, which made me love it even more.
Wouldn't you love to have a year of rest? I sure would. I could use the sleep 😆