A review by davidbaker2025
Eileen by Ottessa Moshfegh

3.0

Hmmm... Not sure. The writing is certainly clever and taut and well done. But... the narrator is not someone you will like, and to be candid, the "story" doesn't really get going until about page 200 out of 250 or so pages - the event described on the back cover which you assume will form the substance of the story in fact only happens pretty much towards the end, so there's a long lead-up, albeit well-written, with frankly not much happening. It's pretty bleak. It is not quite clear at the end what happens to one of the main characters - I can't say anything without giving it away, but I wasn't sure whether one line was meant to represent either the narrator's day-dream or actual actions within the story. All in all, four stars for the writing, two for the "story" and one for likeability. On balance, a miss. And leaves a rather unpleasant aftertaste.