“I did crave attention, but I refused to humiliate myself by asking for it.”
The cover is fierce and I had to pick it up… and it did not disappoint. Ottessa Moshfegh’s writing is bold and daring, and I’d 100% give it a five stars for being beautifully disturbing.
The story is about a young woman who has it all—wealth, youth, beauty, and a cool apartment. Despite this, she decides to spend an entire year in a state of induced sleep, hoping to wake up as a new person. She turns to a rather dodgy therapist who keeps upping her medication dosage whenever she claims she still can’t sleep. Most of the book is a deep dive into her thoughts, with limited interactions beyond her strained relationship with her best friend. The plot is pretty straightforward, with few dramatic twists, but through flashbacks, we get to understand why she’s in this state—her family issues, failed romances, and overall disillusionment with life.
The protagonist is intriguing because she’s so cold and unlikable. It’s not arrogance; she’s just distant and brutally honest – which I loved. Her narcissism and lack of a filter might turn some readers off, but I found it refreshing. I’m someone who values raw honesty, so her directness really resonated with me. Even though her confidence in her harsh feelings can seem off-putting, it’s also what makes her so compelling.
Moshfegh’s writing is daring and unconventional. The plot is risky, but she makes it works perfectly. The book is easy to read, mainly because of the smooth flow of the narration and the engaging voice of the main character. I found it hard to put down, partly because I really connected with the protagonist’s dark humor and sarcasm. It’s a blend of depressing and funny that really works.
The narrator also critiques the protagonist’s best friend Reva for trying too hard to fit in – trying to lose weight, trying to get the latest trendy pieces, being careful with her words, reading Cosmo… In contrast, the narrator, even at her lowest, describes herself looking like a “model off duty”. That she’s got all the nice tasteful things because she could really afford them. At some point in the book, there’s a dialogue that stroke me where her friends tells her how the world is here to judge – your body, your style, your actions etc. Reva says she wants to fit in, and she wants to fit in to have a nice life. The narrator says “she’s pretty too of course. But she’d be prettier if she knew how to relax”. Throughout the book, despite her “trying hard”, Reva is more and more depicted as having her health decline, both physical and mental.
I came across a review of a reader saying she was “feeling either bereft or relieved when the book ended”, and I totally get that. You’re never quite sure where it’s going, which definitely does to the intrigue but also makes it confusing on to how the author will be concluding that story.
The ending of My Year of Rest and Relaxation really is unexpected and ambiguous. I had to read the last page twice to fully understand it. Without spoiling, here’s my take: the ending explores the idea of living versus not living.
Reva’s character might represent the pitfalls of chasing external validation and how that obsession can lead to self-destruction. On the flip side, the protagonist actively chooses to escape reality through sleep and drugs, highlighting a different approach to disengagement.
My Year of Rest and Relaxation is a masterpiece, and I’m excited to check out Moshfegh’s other acclaimed book, Eileen. Highly recommend for a read that’s both thought-provoking and strangely enjoyable.