Reviews with content warning for Dysphoria - Eileen

Reviews tagging 'Dysphoria'

Eileen by Ottessa Moshfegh

25 reviews

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.

Content Warnings

roseknows124's review against another edition

Go to review page

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

Content Warnings

fictionandfauna's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious reflective 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

5.0

Well, Ottessa, you are "quite a gal!"

No one manages to simultaneously repulse and intrigue me quite like Ottessa Moshfegh. When I read her work, I know I'm about to be thoroughly disturbed and I am here. for. IT.

Eileen did not disappoint. The story of Eileen Dunlop's miserable life spent living with her emotional (and at times, physically) abusive, alcoholic father and working at the local Boys Prison was exactly as uncomfortable as I've come to expect from Moshfegh's work.

Moshfegh somehow manages to get right under your skin and touch nerves you never thought existed. Reading Eileen move through life selfishly and disgustingly (intentionally ripping clothes in a store, wiping her dirty mouth on scarves for sale, touching herself and then shaking hands with someone before washing them... that sort of thing) somehow had me absolutely hooked and I could not put the book down before finding out whether or not Eileen managed to find happiness or not.

Ottessa's work is not for the faint of heart.

Often the reviews are scathing of the body horror and grotesque descriptions.

But that is part of the magic in my opinion.

I read Ottessa Moshfegh when I want to be disturbed. And she never ever fails to disappoint!

Content Warnings