From one of our boldest, most celebrated new literary voices, a novel about a young woman's efforts to duck the ills of the world by embarking on an extended hibernation with the help of one of the worst psychiatrists in the annals of literature and the battery of medicines she prescribes.
I'd heard this frequently hailed as a bit of a modern classic, somewhat of a present-day Bell Jar, and that I think is a fair assessment even if Rest and Relaxation's anonymous protagonist has more in common with Holden Caulfield than Esther Greenwood. One of those books that really works on the basis of just how much the main character is designed to test your patience. Repeatedly, [anonymous] is just kind of an unreasonably mean-spirited and harsh character, something that's highlighted by her friendship with Reva, someone who in essence is the Rowley to her Greg Heffley- a very inoffensively kind character, or at least in comparison to the main one. However, why her character works so well is because you get a complete understanding of her worldview and why she is the way she is. Moshfegh's writing style to me is one of the clear highlights of this book as well, it's almost Kerouac-esque in its constant bursts of ranting, listing, writing hypnotically long/short sentences that are easy to get lost in. +It's a decently funny book, albeit usually in a very cruel and morbid way lol
Comments