A review by aliciae08
My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh

dark emotional mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.0

When I first started reading My Year of Rest and Relaxation I struggled to follow a selfish and unlikable unnamed character who we are not supposed to find immediately relatable. She’s frequently described and describes herself as being gorgeous and blonde, and even as she begins to waste away she still looks unattainable. Her only friend tells her she looks like a litany of famous women who are renowned for their own beauty. On top of this, she has wealth enough that she can decide to do this experiment of sleeping for a year without having to worry about the financial repercussions of doing so. 

On the face of it, this novel seems to be telling us that if only we had money and beauty, then we, too could just check out for a year. We, too, could just sleep. 

However, as we find out more about our protagonist, it’s clear that this book is more about how we experience grief and abandonment and how we must figure out a way to cope in those issues even if we don’t care about our friend’s mundane problems.  

I really loved where the book went, even if staying in the protagonists’ head was sometimes annoying. I especially liked the last line even if it offered a bleak sense of living. 
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