Reviews tagging 'Excrement'

Ett år av vila och avkoppling by Alva Dahl, Ottessa Moshfegh

97 reviews

mackenzieleighrd's review against another edition

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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

1.0

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leavemejoy's review against another edition

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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.


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abfly212's review against another edition

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challenging dark funny reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

A fascinating premise from a talented writer, but ultimately hard to get through. 
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ewicht830's review against another edition

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fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No

2.75

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ursolovelypjm's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book was such a beautiful surprise, and I am left wandering how it was always advertised to me (even if subconsciously) as a funny and weird story, of a woman trying to sleep for a full year.

Instead of a “year of rest and relaxation” the main character has to remember her hurtful past, her relationship with her parents (and her subsequent relationships with love and friendship), her past memories and present thoughts, herself as she was and the version she wants to become by the end of her hibernation period. However, this book reflects so deeply about avoidance, letting go of the past, embracing emotions regardless of them being good or bad. This woman, whose privilege felt like a curse, thinking sleeping forever and going numb would stop her from feeling anything about the irrelevant, out of our control, infinite world she lived in, being met with pure darkness, realized all she ever wanted to do was to live. 

To see things, to feel things, and to face the unpredictable yet constant challenges. Bravely. And wide awake.
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blacksails03's review against another edition

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challenging dark sad 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

4.5

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torturedreadersdept's review against another edition

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

5.0

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brittneypadilla's review against another edition

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emotional funny reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Sharp, witty, modern feminist book I needed to read and have a good laugh with.
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baielleebooks's review against another edition

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dark funny reflective 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

5.0

Wolfed this down with pleasure, a perverse kind of pleasure. Can money buy you happiness? My Year of Rest and Relaxation could be viewed as Moshfegh's fierce, ironic riposte to that question. 
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Passage after passage of punchy prose flowed in quick succession as I rapidly leafed through the novel. 
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The savagery of the narrator's put downs of Reva are bleakly funny, and one sympathises with Reva's plight to fit in, especially with the elitist snobbishness levelled against her by the narrator. Dr Tuttle in her conspiracy-theorist-psycho apothecary treatments and diatribes were wild and entertaining. The writing that framed the narrator's past was heartbreaking and her present was dizzying yet compulsively readable. 
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The novel had great thematic terrain in its coverage of rage, grief, beauty, capitalism and America, apathy and more. All of which culminate in a story that is anti-heroic in its honing in on the matters of an imperfect and embittered human heart that beats on in a cruel world. 
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obliteraturebygaytorayd's review against another edition

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challenging dark funny 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

3.25

I’d like to add a well-thought review, but I think I’ll go take a nap instead. Heard somewhere that it’s good for you. If, by some coincidence, I awake less irritable and cynical with an appreciation for birds, benches, and existential bliss, that’s an enjoyable side effect. 
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