Reviews tagging 'Dysphoria'

My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh

50 reviews

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

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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

amelianotthepilot's review against another edition

1.5

I dont understand the hype for this book. I feel like I remember people raving about this a few years ago but I truly found this whole book horribly depressing and meaningless. It gave Holden Caulfield vibes in the worst way. 

I guess you could say its a feminist book representing women in the worst way, women can be horrible too, women contain multitudes. I'm also pretty positive it doesn't pass the reverse Bechdel test (men are rarely mentioned and only in reference to sex). Which I guess is interesting... idk overall I thought it was terribly boring and depressing.

The main character is in her 20s, both her parents have passed away which she says she has come to terms with but clearly still deeply affects her. She has decided she wants to sleep her life away. She goes to a bad therapist complaining of sleep problems so she can get prescribed increasingly wild drugs. She then takes a cocktail of drugs in efforts to fully sleep through the rest of life to varying success. Her therapist is an extremely hippie unhinged bad therapist, her best friend is extremely vain and fake, her deceased mother was an alcoholic and uncaring. Overall every single character was unbearable and annoying and I don't feel like I particularly learned or gained anything from reading it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Cancer, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Abortion, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Dysphoria

paperknotbooks's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Deeply flawed human but such a well crafted voice. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness

Moderate: Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Grief, Toxic friendship, and Dysphoria

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Abortion, and Death of parent

aoifehasnogoodname's review

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Body shaming, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Suicide, Abortion, and Dysphoria

eerikaanni's review

dark funny sad 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

4.0

I picked up this book expecting a somewhat lighthearted, character driven story with a mentally ill protagonist. What I got was a gorgeous satirical critique of white American capitalism that worked beautifully in showcasing the grotesque hypocrisy and blind privilege of rich white people in the U.S.

The main character is terrible. Her best friend is pathetic. Their dynamic is annoying at its best and completely destructive at its worst. There's little to no plot, and there's a 5-line long imagery collage of random things, names, places, activities, or thoughts like every other paragraph. That gets a bit exhausting to read at times.

But I think that's the point: materialism, the ownership and manifestation of things and more things is at the focal point of American capitalism. It is its driving force; the desire of more, until the Earth starts regurgitating everything we have consumed back up again.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cursing, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Vomit, Grief, Abortion, Death of parent, and Dysphoria

tadiwa_e's review

challenging dark emotional funny reflective sad fast-paced

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

5.0

In “My Year of Rest and Relaxation,” the MCs complex relationships, both with her best friend and toxic ex-boyfriend, create a captivating tapestry of human experience. As she seeks solace in sleep, the toxic dynamics with her ex-boyfriend expose the depths of her vulnerability and lack of self-esteem. Simultaneously, her friendship weaves through the narrative, providing moments of support and contrast to the darker aspects of her life. The author fearlessly explores the intricacies of human connections, making this a riveting journey through pleasure, pain, and self-discovery. 5 stars for its unflinching portrayal of relationships and the quest for healing. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, and Dysphoria

Moderate: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Eating disorder, Sexual content, and Sexual violence

Minor: Addiction, Emotional abuse, Abortion, and Alcohol

evelyns's review

dark sad 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? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body shaming, Confinement, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Vomit, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Dysphoria

matcharlyy's review against another edition

dark lighthearted relaxing slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Vomit, Medical content, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Moderate: Cancer, Blood, Pregnancy, and Dysphoria

kikalox's review against another edition

challenging dark hopeful reflective tense fast-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Grief, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, and Dysphoria

Minor: Abortion

kazli's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad fast-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

4.75

I never thought I'd find a someone who needs proper therapy more than me but I've been proven wrong. So much yet so little happened. It was a really accurate depiction of depression. As someone who's experienced almost exactly what the main character has, I can sympathise with her although she's not very likeable. The main star was definitely her best friend.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body shaming, Confinement, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, and Dysphoria

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Sexual content

Minor: Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment