Reviews tagging 'Drug abuse'

My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh

1457 reviews

marymayne's review against another edition

4.0

A very strange book. I enjoyed it, could relate to some parts, found others funny and some absurd.

I have settled on interpreting it as a parody of how your brain works when you're mentally ill. If only you had a year to catch up on sleep and change everything about yourself, then you could come back better and beautiful and rich and be fixed and have no problems or shortcomings again ever.... then you read the main character doing it and see how it doesn't actually solve anything -

then the absurd ending where she sleeps for 4 months straight as an art piece then has an epiphany on her last sleep and is fixed! And she can go out in the world and forget about the whole thing. Yes that is how it would have to happen ~ if you don't put in the work to get better you'll just stay the same unless there is some medically induced divine intervention.

The 9/11 part was weird. I don't really understand why that was included, and it was so obvious from the moment it's set in NYC in the year 2000 that 9/11 will be a plot point. Then Reva gets a job in the Twin Towers..... I didn't think that added anything

.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Death of parent, Drug abuse, and Mental illness

Moderate: Suicide

Minor: Abortion

effys's review against another edition

This book has definitely left me in need of something a bit lighthearted after that. 

This was a strange experience of a book, it definitely wasn't an enjoyable experience of a book but I liked reading it. The main character is hateable as all hell, she has one friend who is too nice for putting up with the MCs shit. 

My only real issue with the book was

it was so blatantly obvious that Reva was going to die in 9/11 i figured from the get go that 9/11 was going to be involved somehow because it's New York and it starts in 2000 but I feel like if we hadn't been told WHERE Reva was going to be working it could've been more impactful

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Eating disorder, Vomit, Alcohol, Drug abuse, and Death of parent

Moderate: Body shaming

Minor: Abortion

jneverland's review against another edition

dark emotional tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic relationship, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Body shaming, and Suicide

Minor: Abandonment and Abortion

graecus_'s review against another edition

dark funny 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

3.25

i love to watch a woman go insane. overall i found the ending much more intriguing than the middle of the book, which was slow to get though because there isn’t much of a plot. i really liked the writing style, so i probably will read more of moshfegh’s books though. would recommend if you like to watch a woman be unhinged and okay with a book with no plot.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse and Eating disorder

ashleyyyyreads7's review against another edition

challenging funny reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

I was certainly enthralled, disturbed, captivated, worried, weirded out, but also very impressed. I get why it’s popular and I would recommend

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Self harm, Grief, Mental illness, and Alcoholism

imds's review against another edition

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Body shaming, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Vomit, Alcohol, Death of parent, Grief, Abortion, Confinement, Death, Eating disorder, Misogyny, Self harm, Sexual harassment, Adult/minor relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, Terminal illness, Infidelity, and Mental illness

lsteele's review against another edition

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse

Moderate: Body horror

eachz's review against another edition

dark emotional funny medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I need to reflect on this more to give a proper review, but I really enjoyed it. This is my second Moshfegh novel and I'm once again struck by how she crafts these characters who you love and hate and root for and want to slap all at the same time. They're simultaneously realistic and ridiculous. I guess that speaks to the satirical nature of this story. Idk there was something profoundly relatable about the core of this story.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Mental illness, Body shaming, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, Cancer, Alcoholism, Eating disorder, Drug abuse, Drug use, Toxic friendship, Self harm, Death of parent, Suicide, Fatphobia, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Infidelity, Abortion, Animal cruelty, Vomit, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Antisemitism and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

themadmadmadeline's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.25

Good quality writing but VERY dark materials and doesn’t put you in the best place if you’re easily triggered. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Death, Eating disorder, Death of parent, and Addiction

marmorienkeli's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

If you read a book about someone sleeping and popping pills for an entire year, very surprisingly it is not going to be interesting. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse and Eating disorder

Moderate: Alcohol, Death of parent, and Animal death