My Year of Rest and Relaxation: A Novel Paperback – June 25, 2019

First, props to the Audible reader. Best I've ever heard. Second, just because a story's characters are negative doesn't mean the story is bad. (Shirley Jackson's THE LOTTERY is one of the best ever.) This story was very good and is salted throughout with wonderfully sardonic humor. The protagonist says things that most people probably think but don't admit, and does things I suspect many people would do if they thought they could get away with it. The pace is also great. I would have liked the book to be a little shorter; that would have been perfection. Respect for uber honesty, and for not trying to hide the level of suffering people can experience. I think the end, especially, is a sort of slow burn resolution. Think about it.

I was looking for a dark humor fiction book, and this one certainly didn't disappoint. I loved the story. Loved the humor. Loved the writing. Loved how the main character's parents were described. They seemed A LOT like mine: didn't know how to be parents, didn't even bother acting like they cared sometimes. If you like dark humor, you should like this book. I am sorry that I waited so long to order it. I will be looking into other books from this author.

This book was entertaining and well written. Dark humor and sarcastic are always fun...But I will say about halfway through, it felt like the story was dragging out. The ended didn't make me happy, nor did it make angry. It just was. I suppose that's the energy of the book as well. I don't regret reading it necessarily. But it's depressing. So I'd suggest trying to have an alternate book to switch with to keep your spirits up. I say this as a person who relates to feeling quiet, sluggish and misunderstood often.

Oh, how I love Ottessa Moshfegh’s bold and subversive mind. In her latest novel, she explores the relatable modern themes of ennui, apathy, alienation and depression with dark humor and merciless commentary.In an attempt to become a better person and live a more meaningful life, our unnamed narrator embarks on a year of self-induced hibernation, convinced that she’ll come out on the other side transformed and better adjusted. With the help of a horrifically unethical psychiatrist, she begins her year of rest and relaxation, desperate for the perfect combination of pills to significantly limit her consciousness.It’s an outrageous premise that plays out in stream-of-consciousness prose, including flashbacks to the formative events in her life that may helped contribute to her current state. The narrator is highly unlikeable: misanthropic, shallow, vain, selfish. Like a caricature of a miserable young rich woman.Most stories like this would be a scathing indictment of medication and unhealthy coping methods, but Moshfegh suggests that sometimes transformation and healing can come from the unlikeliest places. On the other hand, this also feels very much like a satire of privileged self-care: the narrator is beautiful, independently wealthy and able to indulge in a full year of idleness—even potentially come out okay on the other end. The concept of being able to sleep away one’s misery and emerge transformed is covetous indeed, but so unrealistic for most that its straight up absurd.There’s a lot of redundancy in this book and not much of a plot. This may deter some readers. But Moshfegh’s voice is so brutal, uncompromising and compelling that none of that mattered to me.Moshfegh makes you cringe and shake your head all while having you root for this unlikable character’s twisted metamorphosis.

I enjoyed this book but I wouldn’t give it the glowing reviews I’ve read. It is well written but there’s nothing ground breaking about it. It is very relatable for people who’ve experienced bouts of depression. You’ll find yourself smiling as you read because she does the exact things you do when in that state of mind.If you can’t relate to depression, you’ll most likely feel you’re reading page after page about a girl who makes pill cocktails, dwells on an emotionally unavailable man and tolerates a friend she wouldn’t otherwise hang out with if she were happier. You’ll just want to get off the loop.

So, I'm not an avid reader. Nor am I a big 'chick lit' fan. I rarely finish books, but I was looking for something to sink my teeth into after a long spell without anything decent to read (by 'decent' I mean nothing I cared about after 20 pages). Well, this book really hit the spot for me.Its a very easy read. Just crack it open and you'll be swept away. The book is written in first person perspective of the main character. I wouldn't say I liked her, nor did I especially dislike her. But I can empathize with her plight.The core concept that drives the plot is pretty provocative - go to sleep for a year and erase your trauma, wake up refreshed and ready to resume life as you were meant to live it, without baggage, without hangups, just living as yourself. Who wouldn't want that?But the way she goes about it, absolutely brilliant.If you can allow yourself to be led down on a journey without constantly pointing out, nitpicking and tearing apart each seemingly unrealistic proposition, you'll be rewarded with an experience that ultimately feels cathartic.I'll admit, there were times that I felt it droned on and on and ....But just speedread beyond that and keep going. The end comes before you know it, and it comes right when you're ready for it.Worth the read.