My Year of Rest and Relaxation
Ottessa Moshfegh
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My Year of Rest and Relaxation
Ottessa Moshfegh
A shocking, hilarious and strangely tender novel about a young woman’s experiment in narcotic hibernation, aided and abetted by one of the worst psychiatrists in the annals of literature. Our narrator has many of the advantages of life, on the surface. Young, thin, pretty, a recent Columbia graduate, she lives in an apartment on the Upper East Side of Manhattan paid for, like everything else, by her inheritance. But there is a vacuum at the heart of things, and it isn’t just the loss of her parents in college, or the way her Wall Street boyfriend treats her, or her sadomasochistic relationship with her alleged best friend. It’s the year 2000 in a city aglitter with wealth and possibility; what could be so terribly wrong? This story of a year spent under the influence of a truly mad combination of drugs, designed to heal us from our alienation from this world, shows us how reasonable, even necessary, that alienation sometimes is. Blackly funny, both merciless and compassionate – dangling its legs over the ledge of 9/11 – this novel is a showcase for the gifts of one of America’s major young writers working at the height of her powers.
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literally me coming out of my seasonal affective disorder
alexa play free by florence + the machine
05/5
This felt like Catcher in the Rye mixed with The Bell Jar plus a sprinkle of Lady Bird. In so many instances I felt like I could connect with the main character (especially with where I am currently in life) and I think that’s why I liked it so much. I can understand why people might not like it considering there’s not much action or real plot going on but since I felt personally connected to it, I enjoyed it a lot.
0There were numerous parts of this book that I found incredibly offensive, so I feel like I can't put that aside to rate the book otherwise. While the narrator is meant to be unlikeable, she isn't called out on these horrifying remarks, mainly because they tend to occur within her own mind. Even if the author herself doesn't hold these beliefs, it's harmful to use slurs and stereotypes without acknowledging the damage they do. Additionally, I thought the eating disorder representation in this book was extremely harmful and offensive as well. The book was compelling enough for me to keep reading, but these problematic aspects ruined it for me. Ultimately, I don't think there's enough good in this book to counteract any of the damaging words/representations used.
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Also, that part where the narrator calls Trevor and says she’d been r**ed and then that she’ll kill herself if he doesn’t come over… yeah that’s not being an unlikeable person, that’s being an awful person. I know this book is satirical but that shouldn’t be used as a joke. Ever. Ugh so many things that made me so angry :/
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