Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

Byłam Eileen by Ottessa Moshfegh

68 reviews

amharless417's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Incest, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

bananastasia's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense 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

I have read two other Otessa Moshfegh books (Lapvona and My Year of Rest and Relaxation) before this one, so I had a good idea of what I was getting into when picking up Eileen. I imagine her other books are similar in writing style, so if you like dark, moody and primarily character-driven stories, I would highly recommend this book!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Incest, Pedophilia, Rape, Vomit, and Alcohol

libellumartinae's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad 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? Yes

2.5

My main problem with this book is the pace. Nothing - LITERALLY NOTHING - happens through the first page and in the last two chapters everything goes down, which might have been interesting as the previous chapters depict Eileen's life but ugh, was it just plain boring. and the plot-twist? not that impressive. Certainly doesn't make up for the whole waiting.

Still, I love the way that Moshfeg just write something like so unhinged and yet so close to the truth. She hangs onto the line of 'what if we just listened and did what that dark part in us tell us so?'. And it's strangely cathartic. STILL, it was plain boring and badly paced.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Death of parent, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Drug abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Vomit, and Stalking

lunablch's review against another edition

dark tense slow-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

2.75

Wow this book is so depressing. I'm a little glad I read it but I also feel like I have grown more cynical as a result.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Forced institutionalization, Antisemitism, and Grief

Moderate: Death, Vomit, and Death of parent

scoutgreimel's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual content, and Alcohol

ellxnmcgrxth's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense slow-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

2.5

The absolute misery of the protagonist's POV is very difficult to put up with considering not much else really happens. The ending is beautiful, but not beautiful enough to offset the bleakness of the rest of the book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Incest, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

mreisen's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-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

3.75

Major trigger warning for multiple types of abuse and addiction. Read if you like introspective character studies and enjoy a winding, convoluted, sometimes unclear plot.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Excrement, Vomit, Dementia, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

lameura's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Incest, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Excrement, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Alcohol, and Dysphoria

karenvol6's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

All throughout this book I kept wishing I’d read the content warnings before starting it. I kept reading because I wanted to know more about Eileen’s story but it’s such a rough read :/ The author’s other books are comedies compared to this one so maybe either skip this one or just go in prepared! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Incest, Pedophilia, and Rape

Moderate: Addiction, Violence, Vomit, Police brutality, and Murder

Minor: Fatphobia and Homophobia

aeamanda's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Incest, Pedophilia, Rape, Death of parent, and Alcohol

Moderate: Body shaming and Eating disorder