Ratings42
Average rating3.3
3.5/5
This was definitely a weird one and I can see why people wouldn't like it much. I personally liked it due to how introspective it was, especially in talking about loneliness and I also just really love Ottessa Moshfegh's writing overall, so it's a good one for me :)
*wrinkles forehead, scratches head” my literal reaction after closing the book.
This is the second of Moshfegh's books that I read, and while good, it does not grip like her magnum opus My Year of Rest and Relaxation. The writing is still excellent; while Vesta's mind races, the story itself feels slower and leaves you feeling unsettled, in a good way. Vesta is an unreliable narrator, and people morph into the images she creates. You are never sure if she is simply imagining the story or if she truly is being stalked by a killer. The conclusion, of course, is unsatisfying because we don't receive any answers, leaving you wondering what really happened.
3.25 stars ⭐
This was an odd novel. It follows an old woman after she finds a note that says a woman has been killed. She then spirals into madness, making a backstory for the deceased woman, a whole lore for the poor girl. It was quite bland in its execution, dull in general. It's very stream of consciousness which I usually enjoy, but this was over the top and draining. I got nothing from this book. Overall futile.
This book is super dark, weird and unnerving. But entirely engrossing. I think Moshfegh is a genius. Her books defy explanation. She is so creative within the confines of the written novel form, often stretching its limits and boundaries. If you get Moshfegh's writing, you cannot fail to be impressed by her sheer talent.
It was good, slow for the first 120 pages but it seems that's the point, the slow burn. You never really know where it's going, something pleasing in that yet extremely frustrating. Classic Moshfegh.
a widowed elderly woman deludes herself into solving a murder and kills her dog in the process. didn't exactly see the point of it all but hey serbian rep !!
There are certain disappointments in reading that sting, and one of them is discovering that you dislike the new book by an author you loved before ([b:My Year of Rest and Relaxation 44279110 My Year of Rest and Relaxation Ottessa Moshfegh https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1553096683l/44279110.SY75.jpg 55508660] was one of my favorite reads in 2018). In addition to that, it's impossible NOT to draw parallels between this book and [b:Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead 42983724 Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead Olga Tokarczuk https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1547225640l/42983724.SY75.jpg 8099373]: An elderly lady, a newly settled recluse, living alone in a nature-heavy sparsely populated area, with a dog, stumbling upon a murder mystery, that dissolves into a psychological mind game. So these extra disappointments piled up may make me judge the book harsher than necessary. The writing is still good. But Vesta really wasn't very interesting.
Not at all what I expected. #bookclub4m psychological horror genre (existential horror maybe)
This one is polarising, huh? I'm seeing people who have never read O.M. before just slaughtering it (I get the feeling they were looking for a cozy mystery) and long time fans just losing patience with it. Maybe because I went in expecting not to like it, it tripped me up and I fell in love with the damned thing. I don't think I have read anything else lately that has made me think so much. Not about the book, per se, but by the questions it raises.
At first, it was like listening to a master musician just mess around. Moshfegh is a literary genius. She sinks her teeth into the idea of a note found laying in the woods, “Her name was Magda” and then she just jumps off on it in this direction, then that direction. We have a whole, invented biography of Magda, Magda's lovers, her parents, her landlady, and her son. In the meantime, we have Vesta and her daily movements through life. A life that, at first, seems almost idyllic. A cabin by the lake, an adorable dog, and complete freedom from obligations and family.
Then, the novel becomes about Vesta. And loneliness. And isolation. I found myself really thinking about things...are we meant to live alone? Who is our support network? What is life like when you choose not to have one?
Because Moshfegh shows and doesn't tell her readers (and I do LOVE that about her) we can see something is going on. Maybe. At least, Vesta sees it. Has someone ripped out every seed she planted? Why is every single townsperson so incredibly ice cold toward her? Is it because she is a stranger in a small town or is it bigger than that? Is this how we treat our old? (OK, Greatest Generation). Even the librarian seemed to be put off by Vesta. What is real? What is being filtered by Vesta's “mind space”? Was Walter a Nazi hiding in the US?
I need to stop. I could talk about this all day. And that, right there, is the mark of a 5 star read for me.