Reviews tagging 'Fatphobia'

My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh

331 reviews

leavemejoy's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark reflective sad slow-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

3.75

quite the odd book. the unnamed narrator’s goal to essentially hibernate for an entire year is an intriguing concept for a novel. the “plot” itself is a bit boring and repetitive in the beginning, but it picks up towards the middle. slow, but well-paced. outlandish stories like this can easily turn me off, but there was a point to be made with all the chaos, so it worked. the narrator is as compelling as she is insufferable. i see why a lot of people like and don’t like this book; being a character driven narrative, it hinges on you finding her and her relationships enjoyable to read about. her unlikeable personality worked for me as there was a clear purpose to it, but i can see why it did not work for others. the relationship between the narrator and reva was the heart of the novel. i kept reading just to get to more scenes of them together. i liked picking up on the several ways they foil each other and how their dynamic portrays the novel’s more interesting themes.

some (glaring) issues that keep this from being a full 4 stars: the majority of the comedy fell flat for me, apart from two bits that i remember laughing at. the narrator’s tangents about whoopi goldberg were especially unfunny and a little uncomfortable to read at times. as this was advertised as a “dark comedy”, i was disappointed. i also HATED the psychiatrist (i don’t even remember her name). i understand her purpose and why she’s necessary, but her character and dialogue irritated me. lastly, the ending was surprisingly underwhelming given what happens and all the foreshadowing that leads up to it. perhaps this was the point, but my thoughts remain the same.

a cool idea executed somewhat successfully, and it was an enjoyable and entertaining read overall.


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

bunnoid's review against another edition

Go to review page

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

3.0

my year of sedation and being a shitty friend and person
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

krosebooks's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark funny mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Majority of the book is kinda a sleep haze. The writing style is uniquely weird like a dream that doesn’t make any sense. She transforms her self harm into a form of meditation, letting her subconscious do the work. 

The ending is amazingly dark and beautiful. 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

roshnimc's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Very well written. The characters are not meant to be liked but are drawn so three-dimensional that we could identify them if we met them.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

kris_55's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

Very interesting book. A wild ride indeed. And as a person who has issues with my sleep, her descriptions of sleepiness and just wanting to enjoy her sleep felt very accurate and I could definitely empathize. I mean who doesn’t wish the world could just pause for a while so you can get yourself together. 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

tpwreads's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark 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

1.0

All I can muster to say after enduring this soulless afterbirth of a book is-

Fuck all the way off, Moshfegh (insert middle finger emoji here). 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

arcanediaries's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

hollywatson's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark reflective sad medium-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

4.0

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

mimidelrey's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional funny sad slow-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

3.75

hated it while reading it, realised I loved it after due to It's deep accuracy
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

littleseal's review against another edition

Go to review page

- My dumbass thinking Infermiterol was really a medication (I am a therapist that knows some medications but clearly was "tricked" to think this was, lol)
- There is something so interesting about the writing that it was hard to put down sometimes
- I knew, <i>knew</i> what the ending was going to be;
The book was set in 2000, and knew it'd go into 2001 and it would relate back to 9/11
Expand filter menu Content Warnings