Reviews with content warning for Sexual assault - Death in Her Hands

as always, moshfegh’s writing as absolutely beautiful and devastating. I am really glad I read this book, but it was a tough read. The main character is not particularly likable but (slight spoiler) <the reason for unpleasantness is based in a lot of anti-immigrant and sexist sentiment she seems to have received throughout her life. you can’t totally recognize how much this has impacted her and left her scared and alone until the end.> the end is quite depressing, but so is life sometimes.

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seawarrior's review against another edition

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4.0

Death in Her Hands is an eerie, winding novel that introduces you to the spiraling mind of an unreliable narrator. By the end of the book we are left with more questions than answers, though I still enjoyed reading it and would recommend it to others looking to get lost in something strange.

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sydexo's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No

3.75

Death in Her Hands is a complicated story about a complicated character, maybe two: Vesta, our main character, and Magda, our murder victim.

You stay with Vesta the whole time after she discovers a note reading:

“Her name was Magda. Nobody will ever know who killed her. It wasn’t me. Here is her dead body.”

You follow along with her action and inner monologue as she uncovers what happened to this girl who was potentially murdered.

A story with touching quotes, a lovable dog named Charlie, plus themes of grief, madness, murder, and more.

I always have mixed feelings with Ottessa Moshfegh’s work because she has a way of writing unlikable, unreliable, and unattractive characters. However, I don’t think it’s as effective when she writes about “fat” characters. It just usually rubs me personally the wrong way…idk.

It took me soooo long to finally finish this book. Also not sure why, but maybe the pacing or plot wasn’t as pleasing to me as past books?? I enjoyed the second half quite a bit and finally felt myself feeling more intrigued/hooked.

Still searching for my fav Ottessa book

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hannahlouise_'s review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.75

i thought i’d like this book a lot more than i did coming to it after reading my year of rest and relaxation but honestly it was slightly underwhelming? i felt that the ending only happened as a way to end it, and as much as i love a no plot just vibes read i wasn’t really connected to this book in any way

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v1rgo's review against another edition

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4.0

yassified and depressionpilled

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alisha247's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

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