Reviews tagging 'Injury/Injury detail'

Eileen by Ottessa Moshfegh

49 reviews

preciousanand1's review against another edition

challenging 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Child death, Gun violence, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Vomit, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Injury/Injury detail

carojust's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense slow-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

1.0

This book is 90% tedious foreshadowing, with an unsurprising climax. I'm realizing that Ottessa Moshfegh's brand is bored psychotic girl inner monologue told through every trope of perversion and filth, copy paste. 

I'm okay with that premise, but a whole non-plot about incestuous rape and pedophilia and a weirdly dismissive and predatory lens on incarcerated boys? 

I wish I could erase this from my brain. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Incest, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

gralicia's review against another edition

challenging dark sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

So... I love Moshfegh's stories and writing style, but her persistent fatphobia is really unacceptable. It appears in every one of her books and really shows (and encourages) disdain towards fat people. 

I'm done. I hope she can do better in her next book. I'm sick of her fatphobic comments (that add nothing to her stories, but severely cheapen them) and I won't be reading any more of her stories unless she makes a change. It's so disappointing.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, and Sexual content

Moderate: Addiction, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail

annasorr's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

Eileen is full of writing that is beautiful, tense, strange, and scary. I enjoyed getting to know Eileen and her world and deeply related to Eileen’s lack of self-assuredness. The novel’s narrator, Eileen’s older self, turns this narrative from a self-indulgent thriller to a well-paced, mysterious puzzle of the past. As this is Moshfegh’s first novel, it lacks some of the polish that her later writing has, but it’s still very much worth a read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Incest, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

ankiaisreading's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

roseknows124's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Excrement, Vomit, Kidnapping, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

iamawesome2's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Incest, Mental illness, and Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Body shaming, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

taradoesreading's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective 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

3.75

“I often felt there was something wired weird in my brain, a problem so complicated only a lobotomy could solve it—I’d need a whole new mind or a whole new life.”

What can I say—I love Ottessa Moshfegh. As a grad student, I had a brief period of hating unlikeable narrators, but now I can’t get enough of them. Eileen is just the kind of main character I love—messy, weird, angry, and with an utter lack of self awareness. I was fascinated by her, I pitied her, and I couldn’t look away from each misstep and mistake. I didn’t even read the back of the book before I started, so I had no idea what I was getting into, but the prose and Eileen’s narration pulled me in right away.

[SPOILERS AHEAD]

The ending, though, didn’t quite do it for me. I enjoyed Rebecca as a reference to Daphne du Maurier’s book (one of my favorites), but I couldn’t quite get a handle on her character. Why did she come to X-ville in the first place? Why blow up your whole job just a few days after starting it by getting overly involved in one random child’s case? Maybe we’re meant to draw our own conclusions (especially since Eileen’s recollections can’t always be counted on), but I didn’t feel like I really connected with her motives.

Despite that, I will definitely be adding this one to my list of favorite books with unhinged female narrators. No one can do it like Ottessa Moshfegh (except maybe Mona Awad).

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Child abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Rape, Torture, Excrement, Kidnapping, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Animal death

brinnavirginia's review against another edition

tense slow-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

1.0

I'm apt to love a book in which nothing much happens and of course welcome a book rich in plot. This book is at least 50% exposition and then attempts to squeeze the rest of a plot into the final third or so--one that's just-ok and simply not worth trudging through what comes first to get there.
I'm down with an unlikable protagonist, but Eileen was not interesting enough to warrant her detestable character (and intense, over-the-top, makes-me-think-it-might-be-the-author fatphobia). I enjoyed the womanly yuckiness at first until it was just soooo much puke.
This book could have been, like, a hundred fewer pages. I had to read the Wikipedia plot summary to convince myself to just finish reading it (pulled through for book club <3). In the end, it wasn't worth the effort.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Child abuse, Incest, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Death of parent, Murder, and Alcohol

Moderate: Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Blood, Excrement, Police brutality, Lesbophobia, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

amsswim'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

4.25

I'm not sure really what to say about this. I enjoyed it. This is the second book by the author Ottessa Moshfegh I have read, the other being 'My Year of Rest and Relaxation', and just as that one this book is just unhinged. I think this one may be more based in reality but still gave me the feeling of unsettlement. If you like weird things this may be for you. 

I am now very interested in watching the movie they made recently based on this starring Anne Hathaway.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Excrement, Vomit, Dementia, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Animal death, Cursing, Eating disorder, Gun violence, Homophobia, Religious bigotry, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Child abuse, Miscarriage, and Car accident