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A review by zhoujj
My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh
dark
relaxing
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
3.5
This book reads like Bling Empire. I mean... I more or less expected so – the book cover pretty much screamed "whiny depressive chick lit". I don't know if I liked it or not. I watch trash reality TV on some nights when I feel like I need some brainless entertainment that scratches a specific itch and this felt just like it. I think everyone can agree that the main character was stupidly privileged and insufferable, which was the author’s intention, although it would have been nice to add some vulnerability to her personality for some complexity.
The front part was engaging – as someone who’s actually on medications for depression and anxiety, I can fully empathise with her hatred for the world and an urgent desire to shut herself away from it all. The apathy, the feeling of wishing you were dead, but not enough to want to actively commit suicide. I have to give props to her for capturing that feeling so well. But a huge bulk from the mid to the end section felt draggy and repetitive, and didn’t serve any purpose in terms of character or plot development. I found the ending and her renewed sense of appreciation for life, feeding the squirrels in the park... to be too abrupt. Maybe if the writer had expanded a bit more on her days leading up to her healing and recovery it would have felt like a more natural and satisfying resolution.
Also the 9/11 part… I could just tell when she mentioned Reva’s transfer to World Trade Center that it was gonna come up – it felt lazy and gimmicky.
The saving factor was that it did have some parts that made me chuckle, and it was easy to read; I skimmed through some passages though, especially the parts where she's describing the messy houses/people from the art circle party. It's not entirely bad, there are just better books to read out there.
The front part was engaging – as someone who’s actually on medications for depression and anxiety, I can fully empathise with her hatred for the world and an urgent desire to shut herself away from it all. The apathy, the feeling of wishing you were dead, but not enough to want to actively commit suicide. I have to give props to her for capturing that feeling so well. But a huge bulk from the mid to the end section felt draggy and repetitive, and didn’t serve any purpose in terms of character or plot development. I found the ending and her renewed sense of appreciation for life, feeding the squirrels in the park... to be too abrupt. Maybe if the writer had expanded a bit more on her days leading up to her healing and recovery it would have felt like a more natural and satisfying resolution.
The saving factor was that it did have some parts that made me chuckle, and it was easy to read; I skimmed through some passages though, especially the parts where she's describing the messy houses/people from the art circle party. It's not entirely bad, there are just better books to read out there.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction