Reviews with content warning for Lesbophobia - Eileen

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.

Content Warnings

rebeccaquinton's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective tense medium-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

3.75

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manukahoney_reads's review against another edition

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adventurous dark hopeful mysterious reflective tense 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

5.0

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alexandra13's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad tense fast-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

4.5

Eileen is filthy, and dark. Moshfegh's main character is a nobody who spends far too long living with her alcoholic father, pining over the hot woman in town who just showed up. I love the way Mosfegh writes, and how she creates dark pits for characters. But the discussion of themes such as incest and pedophilia can feel heavy handed at times, which is in line with Eileen's deplorable character, but it is very uncomfortable.

However, I don't believe Eileen's future in a beautiful house, in a beautiful town. I will give Moshfegh the benefit of the doubt and say that it is Eileen's unreliable narration, and desperation in making the reader believe that she turns into Rebecca after moving to New York, but I doubt it. The narration that describes her future feels disconnected from Eileen's past in a way that is impossible.

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brinnavirginia's review against another edition

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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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kaylanoellesims's review against another edition

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dark 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

1.75

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minimicropup's review against another edition

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dark mysterious 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

4.5

Setting the Scene: 🇺🇸 Set in a New England town in 1964

POV: We follow our main character in their fifties, recalled their childhood and early adulthood experiences from the 1960s.

Mood Reading Match-Up:

-Autobiographical character study

-Unhinged obsessive female characters with 1960s vibes that could be nostalgic

-Literary psychological horror ick and cringe

-Themes of obsession, repression, arrested development, growing up, hope, abuse, injustice, revenge, disillusionment, and anger.

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🐺 Growls, Howls, and Tail Wags 🐕

🗣️ Tale-Telling: The first-person narrative was like a direct conversation with the reader. Eileen is sharing her life story with us, complete with reflective observations and raw honesty. The audio narrator embodied Eileen perfectly. I was able to multitask without zoning out and looked forward to getting back to the story. It felt like I was listening to an actual memoir.

👥 Characters: This is my favourite kind of character study and hard to find. Eileen was not a likeable character, but she was so compelling right from the start and she feels so much like a real person. She’s an outcast living with her alcoholic and abusive father – socially anxious, self-conscious, repressed, and without much hope for the future. Even when she grossed me out or did terrible things, I couldn’t bring myself to fully dislike her.

🗺️ Ambiance: The settings are atmospheric, capturing the essence of the 1960s in a natural, cinematic way. From the cars to the work environment, it was like stepping in to a different era.

🔥 Fuel: The story is driven by a psychological slow-building suspense. As the reader we are often questioning our feelings towards Eileen. Should we sympathize, be disgusted, root for her, or root for her downfall? All four? It was the perfect mix of moral and emotional dilemmas. Gradually we get mystery surrounding a new person at her work and what's up with their strange behaviour - which we aren't sure is real or just Eileen's growing obsession making her infer meanings that aren't there.

🎬 Scenes: The pacing was steady slow burn. It kept me hooked with its introspective nature and having no idea where the story was going, as Eileen becomes increasingly agitated. The scenes are cringe-inducing in the best way. We’re a fly on the wall, witnessing all the second-hand embarrassment, but it never felt cringe-for-the-sake-of-cringe or gratuitous.

🤓 Random Thoughts: The only disappointment for me was the ending – I liked the concept of the ending making us question what we may have thought of Eileen all along, but it felt so rushed and almost random. I was glad it wasn’t a lazy or contrived ending at least. Now that I write this, I realize I may have just been disappointed that the story was over.

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Content Heads-Up: Alcoholism. Loss of a parent. Emotional abuse (familial). Loneliness, anxiety, intrusive thoughts. Sexual content (ruminating, fantasizing). Rape (fantasies, topic). Obsession. Sexual slurs. Lesbophobia (historical). Dementia. Death of a pet (on page; grief). Body fluids.

Rep: White American. Cis-gender.

👀 Format: Listened to on Everand Audio

“Reviews are my musings 💖 powered by puppy snuggles 🐶 refined by my AI bookworm bestie ✨”

Content Warnings

olive_lol's review against another edition

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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

2.5

This novel's setting over the Christmas season creates a uniquely lonely atmosphere. Each scene is packed with description of often mundane things, which, for me, at least, got old after about a hundred pages. Some topics, like alcoholism and child abuse, are explored deeply through multiple characters who experience them.

This novel obviously makes you uncomfortable and grossed out on purpose, but I honestly don't think the story benefits much from that. Most of the sensetive or gross topics feel like they were only included for shock and contributed little to any wider commentary. However, some topics are very well-explored, just not most of those included. That said, make sure you check the content warnings for this book.

Nothing much in the plot happens until about the last third; most of the book leading up to that point is a mix of anecdotes, atmosphere, and gross-out description. For most of the first third, I was really considering picking up another book instead because so little was happening or felt significant. It did create a nice payoff when, in the last third, things started happening, but that didn't outweigh the slowness of the beginning and middle for me.

This book really wasn't for me. It had some merits, like strong descriptions and atmosphere. However, I couldn't look past the overly slow pacing and the overuse of some sensetive topics seemingly for shock.

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