My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Otessa Moshfegh
should you have a fear of missing out
or is there nothing to worry about?
I’ve read it, so let me tell you my thoughts
these ramblings will all be spoiler free
so don’t panic if you do wanna read it
I ended up giving this book 4⭐️
and I actually think for the right audience
this may be a fear of missing out kind of book
I think this is for the girls that get it
and I can’t even put my finger on why I got it
but I seem to have got it
my first experience of Moshfegh was Lapvona
if you know you know
and after reading that I was so scared to read any more of her work
but this was very tame in a lot of ways
it’s definitely a book for the sad and slightly weird litfic babes
who like very character driven books with a lot of internal chaos
it was actually quite sad
balanced out with some very clever, biting humour that I really enjoyed
as I found with Lapvona
there were some scenes in here that were extremely vulgar and disgusting
and you sit there thinking
number one – why would she write that?
and number two – why did I have to read that?!
but I do think she’s such a brilliant writer
and she’s not afraid to be bold and honest and frank
and kind of disgusting with people
but as human beings we are disgusting, right?
we just- maybe it’s my British prudishness
but we just don’t say it out loud
but we are absolutely revolting
her talent became even more apparent in this book to me
and I get why everybody had so much to say about it
I think on the surface
I thought it was quite a wacky and abstract portrayal of grief
addiction and depression
but when I actually looked closer at what she was saying
it was just so spot on and frank
very much a slow burner and plot wise
it’s nothing too crazy or too exciting
so if you’re looking for that in your literary fiction
this may not land well with you
our main character is scathing and unlikeable and infuriating to read about
and at times she’s an absolutely terrible friend
and it really puts you through it
to try and empathize with her and read about her
she was such a fascinating character study
she was so complex and three dimensional
she was fascinating and multifaceted
and I found that the commentary that Moshfegh was having in this book
the dialogues she was creating
the character kind of battling her own internalized thoughts
was really interesting
I’m not saying I’m intelligent enough
to understand even half of what is going on in this
and all of the layers
but the bits that I did pick out to comprehend were really good
absolutely nothing could have prepared me for those final few paragraphs also
I felt like I was punched in the gut – anyone else?
this book gave me chills unexpectedly
I have no idea what I was anticipating
because I went in with no expectations
but it pleasantly surprised me
it was an experience and I definitely think it’s gonna be a Marmite book
but if it’s already got your curiosity and you wanna know more
I’d say just give it a go and see what happens you might like it
alternatively you might never listen to my opinions about books again
it’s fine