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leeannmartinez's review against another edition
5.0
This book got me to read The Bell Jar! Love the “off the rails” women trope. I loved loved loved how you were there for all of the characters thoughts. I found myself eye brow raising and looking at a imaginary camera with my jaw on the floor quite often. She’s just v unhinged lol.
minttulup89's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
- 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
2.75
I read the reviews prior to reading and ultimately decided that I’d need to assess this book for myself. Well, I did. ***Sigh***
My first thought is, “WTF did I just read?!” There are parts of this book that were ok, but overall…it was odd. The main character and her friend were depressed, were codependent and yet, this book was unsettlingly relatable (This is a literary depiction of 2020 for a lot of people.)
I didn’t hate this…but I didn't have fun either. I won’t be recommending this to anyone. I look forward to forgetting about it.
My first thought is, “WTF did I just read?!” There are parts of this book that were ok, but overall…it was odd. The main character and her friend were depressed, were codependent and yet, this book was unsettlingly relatable (This is a literary depiction of 2020 for a lot of people.)
I didn’t hate this…but I didn't have fun either. I won’t be recommending this to anyone. I look forward to forgetting about it.
jeanwatts's review against another edition
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
3.0
This book, honestly, is overwhelmingly okay.
There was a lot of deep elements to this book - the idea of sleeping in order to not exist. Our narrator, unnamed, goes to great lengths to isolate herself and sleep through everything and anything. It is her way of healing, of ignoring emotions, of ignoring life. I totally understand the desire to sleep through life. To die without actually dying. To simply cease to exist. And boy, this novel nailed that. This narrator sleeps like no other. The whole novel feels fuzzy and like a dream at times, which really pairs with the themes of the story. At the same time, the message felt repetitive. Nothing amazing to me. A lot of people loved this book and raved about it when it first came out. I personally do not see the level of hype this book got. Yes, it was good. Yes, it had a creative message. Yes, the story was unique. I appreciated reading this and I loved what I gained from it. Perhaps I will stop wanting to sleep through life. At the same time...this book is never something I would reread. Nor is it a book that will haunt me forever. It was simply a book that made me go "huh, that was funky and I learned something" and I will move on now.
Maybe I am just not a Moshfegh fan. I don't know. I'll try another book from her but so far...she is not for me.
Three stars because, honestly, it was highly entertaining for a novel about a girl who hibernates for a whole year and because I support unhinged women doing unhinged women things. And this narrator is indeed an unhinged woman doing just that.
Read if you are curious but do not let the artsy tiktok or bookstagram girls overhype it for you.
There was a lot of deep elements to this book - the idea of sleeping in order to not exist. Our narrator, unnamed, goes to great lengths to isolate herself and sleep through everything and anything. It is her way of healing, of ignoring emotions, of ignoring life. I totally understand the desire to sleep through life. To die without actually dying. To simply cease to exist. And boy, this novel nailed that. This narrator sleeps like no other. The whole novel feels fuzzy and like a dream at times, which really pairs with the themes of the story. At the same time, the message felt repetitive. Nothing amazing to me. A lot of people loved this book and raved about it when it first came out. I personally do not see the level of hype this book got. Yes, it was good. Yes, it had a creative message. Yes, the story was unique. I appreciated reading this and I loved what I gained from it. Perhaps I will stop wanting to sleep through life. At the same time...this book is never something I would reread. Nor is it a book that will haunt me forever. It was simply a book that made me go "huh, that was funky and I learned something" and I will move on now.
Maybe I am just not a Moshfegh fan. I don't know. I'll try another book from her but so far...she is not for me.
Three stars because, honestly, it was highly entertaining for a novel about a girl who hibernates for a whole year and because I support unhinged women doing unhinged women things. And this narrator is indeed an unhinged woman doing just that.
Read if you are curious but do not let the artsy tiktok or bookstagram girls overhype it for you.
milliedsouza's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
plokiom's review against another edition
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.75
Actually in love but ending was kinda bleh
kitkat962's review against another edition
3.0
Plot-wise, not a lot happened, most of the book focuses on the insides of a rich, spoiled, and depressed character. Surprisingly, I don't hate it. Probably because I'm also spoiled (though not rich) and depressed. Probably because I often wonder if life is actually worth the pain, and I also secretly hope to sleep all the time and escape my responsibility. The book is slow in the beginning, then rushed through the actual "rest and relaxation", and then somehow, the ending coincided with 9/11, then that's about it.
lilysharp's review against another edition
dark
funny
reflective
tense
fast-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
3.25
msyme's review against another edition
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
jxib's review against another edition
4.0
i loved the way this book felt weirdly relatable, i’ve had similar thoughts in my life of “what if i just slept for a long time” and that it would fix everything. i finished this so quickly because i was hooked, it was less disturbing than it had been made out to be but overall i did enjoy the dark, depressing, vapid writing of the book and how vain the narrator was.
thebigemmt505's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-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
4.0
“…so I traveled more peacefully through outer space, listening to the rhythm of my respiration, each breath an echo of the breath before, softer and softer, until I was far enough away that there was no sound, there was no movement. There was no need for reassurance or directionality because I was nowhere, doing nothing. I was nothing. I was gone.”
My Year of Rest and Relaxation explores what happens when privilege and vanity meet trauma and despair. It follows our main character as she embarks on a mission to fall asleep for a full year, and slowly descends into drug abuse and desperation.
I found this book strangely comforting. I feel I’ve rated it too highly, because the whole time I questioned “why am I enjoying this?” The characters are deeply vain and unlikable, especially the main character. The most likeable character is Reva, and it takes quite awhile for her to be so. Granted, the hateability of the main character is mitigated slightly as we learn more about her, but in the end it’s quite difficult to say if she’s actually grown. Perhaps my enjoyment comes mostly from the beautiful, highly descriptive writing. Admittedly, I found the constant, excessive reliance on pop culture references annoying, but at the very least the rest of the description was usually good enough to make up for what one might not catch in terms of references. The books pacing was alright, minus some parts that dragged a bit (such as the funeral part of the book.) I like the way this author tells a unique story with unique characters, sprinkling in dark humor to the many heavy themes.
I think this book caught me at the right time. My current reality is that I’m burnt out and jaded, a teeny bit too judgmental, eternally annoyed with most things, and more and more frustrated with the world around me and with myself every day. I’m perturbed by the development of this bitterness within me. As I read the book, much as I thought the main character was cruel and superficial, I related to her pain and her desires. I want to rot in my depression and sleep a year away. Obviously, I don’t have the endless money and ressources nor the true will to do that, but the appeal is there. And, if anything, I feel the ending shows us both how much and how little the character changed. She sees beauty in the world now,but selfishly finds artistic courage in the tragic death of her friend. Also, not gonna lie, I saw the 9/11 shit coming!!! There is no grief nor any accountability. She’s stripped of the superficial part of her superficiality, but inside there’s still vanity. Each part of her world revolves around her, even if now, she appreciates it a bit more. I want to grow, to rest and to process, to see beauty in the everyday and not get caught up in symbolic gestures or appearances or useless activities, but there are pitfalls along that journey. I relate to the endeavor but I’d like to swerve away from its end, this end. Perhaps this book hit me so hard because I was able to see bits of my current self in someone I did not like. The cycle of trauma likes to sneak up on us all in new forms, I suppose, et cetera.
Anyways, one thing I do find ironic is that this novel has become part of an aesthetic associated with modern “weird” readers, and the existence of such an aesthetic, in my opinion, really strips art of its uniqueness, all to fit into one’s personal style. In other words, it’s superficial and meaningless, vain, even. I find that pretty funny. I’m being pretentious. Welp, there’s my cynical bitterness. I think it does have a point sometimes, though. Aesthetics can be fun but… oh, the irony.
I’ll stop my rambly introspection. Give My Year of Rest and Relaxation a read; be aware though, to many audiences it’ll be quite boring and unappealing (and understandably so.) I (think) that I loved it though.
My Year of Rest and Relaxation explores what happens when privilege and vanity meet trauma and despair. It follows our main character as she embarks on a mission to fall asleep for a full year, and slowly descends into drug abuse and desperation.
I found this book strangely comforting. I feel I’ve rated it too highly, because the whole time I questioned “why am I enjoying this?” The characters are deeply vain and unlikable, especially the main character. The most likeable character is Reva, and it takes quite awhile for her to be so. Granted, the hateability of the main character is mitigated slightly as we learn more about her, but in the end it’s quite difficult to say if she’s actually grown. Perhaps my enjoyment comes mostly from the beautiful, highly descriptive writing. Admittedly, I found the constant, excessive reliance on pop culture references annoying, but at the very least the rest of the description was usually good enough to make up for what one might not catch in terms of references. The books pacing was alright, minus some parts that dragged a bit (such as the funeral part of the book.) I like the way this author tells a unique story with unique characters, sprinkling in dark humor to the many heavy themes.
I think this book caught me at the right time. My current reality is that I’m burnt out and jaded, a teeny bit too judgmental, eternally annoyed with most things, and more and more frustrated with the world around me and with myself every day. I’m perturbed by the development of this bitterness within me. As I read the book, much as I thought the main character was cruel and superficial, I related to her pain and her desires. I want to rot in my depression and sleep a year away. Obviously, I don’t have the endless money and ressources nor the true will to do that, but the appeal is there. And, if anything, I feel the ending shows us both how much and how little the character changed. She sees beauty in the world now,
Anyways, one thing I do find ironic is that this novel has become part of an aesthetic associated with modern “weird” readers, and the existence of such an aesthetic, in my opinion, really strips art of its uniqueness, all to fit into one’s personal style. In other words, it’s superficial and meaningless, vain, even. I find that pretty funny. I’m being pretentious. Welp, there’s my cynical bitterness. I think it does have a point sometimes, though. Aesthetics can be fun but… oh, the irony.
I’ll stop my rambly introspection. Give My Year of Rest and Relaxation a read; be aware though, to many audiences it’ll be quite boring and unappealing (and understandably so.) I (think) that I loved it though.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Toxic friendship, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Eating disorder
Moderate: Alcoholism, Body shaming, and Fatphobia
Minor: Abortion