Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

Mein Jahr der Ruhe und Entspannung by Anke Caroline Burger, Ottessa Moshfegh

451 reviews

cheyison's review against another edition

dark 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Self harm, Grief, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Moderate: Cancer, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Vomit, and Abortion

marissanbullis's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Alcoholism and Abortion

baielleebooks's review against another edition

dark funny reflective 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

5.0

Wolfed this down with pleasure, a perverse kind of pleasure. Can money buy you happiness? My Year of Rest and Relaxation could be viewed as Moshfegh's fierce, ironic riposte to that question. 

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Passage after passage of punchy prose flowed in quick succession as I rapidly leafed through the novel. 

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The savagery of the narrator's put downs of Reva are bleakly funny, and sympathise with Reva's plight to fit in, made glaringly obvious by the narrator's elitist snobbishness against her. Dr Tuttle in her conspiracy-theorist-psycho apothecary treatments and diatribes were wild and entertaining. The writing that framed the narrator's past was heartbreaking and her present was dizzying yet compulsively readable. 

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The novel had great thematic terrain in its coverage of rage, grief, beauty, capitalism and America, apathy and more. All of which culminate in a story that is anti-heroic in its honing in on the matters of an imperfect and embittered human heart that beats on in a cruel world. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, and Mental illness

Moderate: Alcoholism, Cancer, Eating disorder, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Excrement, and Vomit

todrick_the_tree's review against another edition

challenging dark slow-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Eating disorder, Sexual content, Vomit, Medical content, and Death of parent

Moderate: Alcoholism, Cancer, Confinement, and Suicide

ams5x9's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective 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

2.5

This was hard to get through…The main character is pretty miserable. The last 1% of the book had the smallest redemption/semblance of humanity. And holy depression (pills) and drug use, Batman! This book had more normal, everyday villains than any other book that comes to mind. An interesting look into the mind of a brain I’m very glad not to inhabit. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse and Drug use

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Cancer, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Abortion, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

ameliebouchermalloy's review against another edition

emotional funny inspiring mysterious fast-paced

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

5.0

Changed my little 16 year old self’s life 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic relationship

refrejarator's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective medium-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

1.5

This came highly recommended to me, but I found it really underwhelming. I didn't really feel a point to any of it, and everything felt rather predictable. 

I personally love dark and unhinged female characters, but this character lacked depth. Everything felt overdone and shallow, and the ending (which I saw coming from very early on) was so rushed, but it made me grateful because it meant it was the end. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Confinement, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Vomit, Death of parent, and Alcohol

Minor: Abortion

One mention of the slur "retard" referring to an autistic child.

estheresr's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

2.5

Look…this just wasn’t for me. The main character is supposed to be unlovable and bitter, but, yikes. Interesting depictions of depression, grief, and drug addiction. 
There’s something morbidly fascinating about the wealth and privilege of it all. You’re both repulsed and maybe a tiny bit jealous. However there’s very little in terms of plot, character development, or meaning.  I could see a different reader really enjoying this, but the crux of the problem for me was she wasn’t even fun to hate.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism and Drug use

Minor: Suicide

dmackreads's review against another edition

slow-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

I didn’t find the humor in this and it was so unrealistic, yes I get it’s fiction, but come on. I kept waiting for there to be a point, some added plot, but there was none. I really thought I’d love this so I’m a little disappointed. I did enjoy the first half, but it just fell off for me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Mental illness, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Toxic friendship

cowboylikestoread43's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Vomit, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, and Dysphoria