Reviews tagging 'Chronic illness'

My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh

82 reviews

zaraha's review

dark funny lighthearted reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Bullying, Chronic illness, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Genocide, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, Abortion, Abandonment, Alcohol, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

chickaboogawah's review against another edition

dark slow-paced

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

0.25

This book was horrible. The end epiphany that I expected didn't happen. The main character was still unlikeable. It was predictable and dumb. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Cancer, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Grief, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, and Classism

margolovie89's review

dark emotional slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Drug use, Mental illness, and Toxic friendship

morregano's review

challenging dark sad slow-paced

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

2.75

I don't know that the author needed to add as much drug use and detail about it as they did. I think it fell flat at the end of the day because it became redundant.

of course we all saw the end coming but i didn't care as much because i didn't feel for the main character or value their friendship much at all.

also. This book seems like a self lobotomy, as if we didn't learn that sedating people with mental illness doesn't actually switch psychosis off. I don't like the message of this book, and i don't find it sardonic

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Confinement, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Self harm, Grief, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Minor: Chronic illness, Cursing, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, and Dysphoria

bblanco_'s review

dark reflective sad 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

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Chronic illness, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Abortion, and Death of parent

itsmaren's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Cancer, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Abortion, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic friendship, and Abandonment

lenacamci's review

dark reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.5

First and foremost, this character is very unlikable - clearly on purpose. 
She also deals with depression and grief and pain that a life of privilege could not shield her from.

This book is so driven by its character and the way she perceives the world and copes with it and yet, she does not learn. She changes but she doesn't grow. 
It's very well written but it's not a pleasant read. It makes you reflect on how you can relate to her and yet leaves you frustrated by her decisions and just general unpleasantness. Which is fine, it's good to have bad, well written morally bad, insufferable but nuanced female characters. 

The ending was the bitter note for me, as Reva is yet another somewhat unlikable character but who at least somehow tries and loves as superficial as she could be. Struggling with mental health, I didn't expect this book who is already a dark take having such a bitter, "life is unfair", painfully real ending. 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Cancer, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Sexual content, Suicide, Terminal illness, Death of parent, and Alcohol

Minor: Alcoholism, Vomit, Abortion, and Pregnancy

brightface77's review against another edition

dark funny reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

At the heart of the book is a critique of white women feminism and the illusion of choice feminism as a guiding ethos for your life. Near the beginning of the book marriage is described as being an in home prostitute, so she enters the art world as her career. But there she sees it for what it is as well - something so shallow and fake that she might as well be working on Wall Street. She sees her two choices for what they are - an illusion. But what is her alternative?

It’s set in a time when the internet was not the information highway it is today; where people depended more on their community, professional help, books, movies and tv for support and guidance on how to face challenges. We see her wanting compassion and understanding from her sorority sisters, her parents, her aunt, Reva, her boss, her boyfriend. She turns to everyone in her life, but every time they were more repulsed by her inability to keep it together and run. No one providing any support other than platitudes. 

She turns to professional help and again she comes back empty handed except for some prescription medication. 

With all her options squashed and nothing else presenting itself she decides the best she can do is wait for something better to become magically available. In the end, she is a pick me because that’s what girls like her are told by everyone in their life that they are supposed to be. To her credit, she might not have been a pick me for just men but that life would present the solution like it does in movies. In the meantime she turns to dreams and fantasy which aren’t tied to the same corrupt rules of her reality.

You know that she is aware of the illusion in her choice of stay at home mom or career girl in her last act of rest.

She turned it into art but because she felt trapped in the patriarchal oppression of both choices, she was passive in the creation and left a man to interpret and perceive her.

Without the internet, I wouldn’t know about decentering men, decolonization, decentering capitalism and how widespread systemic oppression is and neither did she. I hope she’s having a moment now in present day, like I am.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use

Moderate: Cancer, Chronic illness, Confinement, and Death of parent

Minor: Eating disorder and Abortion

alyc00per's review

challenging dark reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Cancer, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Grief, Death of parent, and Alcohol

Minor: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Blood, Vomit, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, and Classism

ksamaine95's review against another edition

challenging dark funny slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

A good weird & rough book. 
Can’t say I didn’t enjoy it. I also wouldn’t recommend it lol 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Cursing, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Death of parent

Moderate: Excrement, Vomit, Grief, and Abortion