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

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

4.0

This book was not what I was expecting having read a few reviews. It was much darker than I anticipated and funny at times. I was compelled to read it in nearly a day, as I was hooked in wanting to know where it was going! I enjoyed the narrators weaving of past and present where it felt like we were in a gray half-waking half-sleeping state with them. 

It was a very different perspective on mental health and prescription drugs than I was expecting. I think it commented on whiteness, access to healthcare and privilege in a way I haven't seen before. 

Something about it reminded me of The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath, and the novel Rebecca. A woman's spiral and untrustworthy narration. Do we ever learn the narrators name? 

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