Reviews tagging 'Excrement'

Eileen by Ottessa Moshfegh

94 reviews

baielleebooks'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

3.75

Ottessa Moshfegh's resounding literary talents patterns the prose in Eileen. Her descriptions of total dreariness and dilapidation, and her framing of the introspections of a pained, pitying yet manipulative narrator, made for a strong reading experience. 

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There were elements of the plot that I felt would have benefitted from some finessing (exploring the deeper motivations of Rebecca’s actions, changing what is experienced as the slight runoff of tension when Mrs Polk confesses etc.) Truthfully, I wasn't quite struck with the same electric urgency I had reading Lapvona and My Year of Rest and Relaxation. 

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All's to say that Eileen is still a novel that excited me and evidenced the power of literature to tour the minds of protagonists, who for all their unlikeability, are deeply interesting and carry cultural weight. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, and Rape

Moderate: Eating disorder, Excrement, Vomit, and Death of parent

Minor: Animal death, Fatphobia, and Suicidal thoughts

ephe16's review against another edition

dark emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Cancer, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Incest, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Excrement, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Death of parent, and Murder

torihbu's review against another edition

challenging dark sad 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

3.0

this book describes the inner world of a troubled young woman. it's a difficult line to walk, but the author focuses so much on the inner workings of the main character's mind that the book doesn't really have much of a plot until almost the very end. i suppose that's meant to be a representation of the character's own experience--nothing mattering outside of herself until something comes along to force her into reality--but it makes for a slow, boring read. while i understand the main character, she's not very likable (again, likely by the author's design), so the reader is left to spend time only with her for the majority of the book. an interesting concept in theory but falls a bit flat in practice.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Incest, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Excrement, Vomit, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Alcohol

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Eating disorder, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Ableism

daniellelikesbooks's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, and Alcohol

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Incest, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Death of parent, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Child abuse, Confinement, Physical abuse, and Excrement

tanacef's review against another edition

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

2.0

My husband heard about Eileen and thought I would like it. It wasn’t badly written. In fact, one of the problems for me is that the FMC is so well-written, I just found her to be so viscerally unlikable and gross, which made the rest of the story, which already rambles and meanders quite a bit, very hard for me to “enjoy.” I flirted with the idea of DNFing this, but it wasn’t especially long, so I finished the audiobook in a day. If I’d been reading it, I probably would not have finished. The tale and prose gave me similar vibes as some works of Chuck Palahniuck, which I’ve also wanted to DNF—crude, bleak, and brutal stylings that make you wrinkle your nose and say, eww, that’s just weird for the sake of being weird. IYKYK. The ending and the reveal about Lee, for me, was also a little predictable, since it says right there in the summary that Eileen ends up complicit in a crime that Rebecca commits, however the summary also states that “This is the story of how I disappeared.” Well, the whole story was quite literally 77% exposition. I listened and listened and listened wondering when the main conflict would reveal itself, the crime and complicity mentioned in the summary, and then the action starts at 82%, and the ending is very anti-climactic.

This story is made 1000% more interesting when you consider the theory that Rebecca is Eileen’s alter-ego/imaginary friend, but none of that occurred to me until after I had already finished. Also, supposedly the author has confirmed this theory.

I guess I’ll watch the film now and see what it reveals.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Excrement, Alcohol, and Dysphoria

Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Vomit, Kidnapping, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, and Lesbophobia

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

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

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

um_'s review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective 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

4.0

This is me expanding my reading horizons! 🤩
Diving into Ottessa Moshfegh's 'Eileen' was a journey unlike any other, not my preferred genre but was not disappointed. 

At first glance, the narrative seemed deceptively mundane – everyday routines, mundane interactions, nothing out of the ordinary. The juxtaposition of the mundane and the disturbing was jarring, yet strangely mesmerizing, like watching a trainwreck unfold in slow motion.

‘Eileen' left me feeling deeply disturbed yet utterly captivated. It's a testament to Moshfegh's talent that she could take something as mundane as daily life and turn it into something so profoundly unsettling. Eileen is definitely worth a read.

Check your trigger warnings for this book ! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body shaming, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Excrement, Vomit, Grief, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

coverslutmarie's review against another edition

dark tense slow-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Eating disorder, Gun violence, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Excrement, Vomit, Murder, and Alcohol