My Year of Rest and Relaxation (by Ottessa Moshfegh)
I read Eileen, one of Ottessa Moshfegh’s earlier novels, years ago and loved it. I remember it being strange, perplexing, and kind of frightening—all in a good way. As her subsequent books were published, I stayed interested, but their titles and descriptions never grabbed me the way Eileen did. As a result, it’s taken me a long time to circle back to her work.
At some point I purchased My Year of Rest and Relaxation on Audible. A Goodreads summer challenge finally gave me the nudge I needed to try another of her novels. Julia Whelan narrates the audiobook, and I really enjoy her voice.
The novel follows an unnamed, privileged young woman in New York City who, after the deaths of her parents and a growing dissatisfaction with her life, decides to spend a year mostly asleep. With the help of an eccentric psychiatrist who freely prescribes an escalating cocktail of pills, she attempts to “hibernate” through 2000–2001, numbing herself against the world while her only friend, Reva, keeps interrupting her isolation.
This book was a complete disappointment. I read to learn something or to be entertained. This book offered neither. I am not entertained by an unnamed protagonist who is self-destructive, manipulative, selfish, and toxic to the people around her. I realize that may sound judgmental, especially as a retired therapist, but I’ve learned that you can’t help people who don’t want to change their behavior.
I had a brief glimmer of interest when the story touched on her relationship with her parents and their deaths. In those moments I actually felt some compassion for the narrator. (And while I’m on the subject—the decision not to name the protagonist is also annoying. I assume Moshfegh was trying to be unique or creative. It doesn’t work when the book is this bad.)
The more I listened, the more icky I felt. It’s no fun spending hours with a character who sleeps constantly, watches an insane amount of television and movies, and downs loads of prescription medication she obtains by manipulating her irresponsible and unethical psychiatrist.
What is even the point of this book? I’m glad my book blog gives me an outlet to express my frustrations with books like this one—though these are exactly the kinds of books I try to avoid. I’d much rather write about books I love.
Why did I finish it? I should have bailed early. One, it’s short—around five and a half hours once I increased the playback speed. Two, it’s been sitting in my Audible library for years, so I paid for it. Most significantly, I was curious where the story was headed. I kept hoping there would be some dramatic or profound reason for the protagonist’s behavior. There wasn’t—at least nothing productive or healthy.
I will likely not read any more of Moshfegh’s books, unless I discover one already buried in my Audible library. Other readers I’ve spoken with recently either DNFed this one or had a poor experience with another of her novels and never tried this one. A quick look at Goodreads suggests her other books don’t fare particularly well either.
I’m generally cautious of books with an average three-star rating. To me, that signals “average,” and I want to read books that are above average. Of course I make exceptions when a book seems like a strong fit or when I’ve had good experiences with the author. For example, I recently read and loved It Could Have Been Her by Lisa Jewell, even though it currently sits at a 3.75 on Goodreads. My rating was much higher.
I’m so glad I finally finished this book and can move on to something better. One more reading lesson learned: even a short book can feel twice as long when you’re not engaged with it.
This book may have been a disappointment, but my Amber Mystique gladiolus are the highlight of this blog post. Their bright pink perfectly matches the lettering on the book cover. And honestly, the woman's facial expression on the cover pretty much sums up how I felt reading this one. Lol.
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