Self-indulgent drivel aimed at wealthy neurotic women. A waste of time.

After reading Eileen and Homesick for another World I couldn't wait for Moshfegh's next work. In this novel the protagonist decides to medically hibernate for a year. Throughout this year we find out more about the character and her history. Bla bla bla... This book will exhaust you. It's a surreal exploration of depression, art, friendship, and love.

When I finished this I was like, "What did I just read? Is this a memoir?" It’s being called a black comedy, but there is nothing funny here. Weird, quirky, existential — some readers will find it all too relatable. Love the author’s writing style and went on a Otessa Moshfegh reading binge directly afterwards.

What an odd book. I will say that this book is not for everyone but I found it entertaining and intriguing, perhaps in a voyeuristic way. The main character/narrator is depressed, although she wouldn't put it that way, after suffering big losses in her life. She decides to take a year off from reality and life via lots and lots of pills in the hopes of being reborn. It's narrated in the first person so the reader is exposed to her inner thoughts, many of which are vulgar or mean but also often hilarious, snarky, sad, and spot-on. Nothing happens really in the book and yet I found it compelling and insightful and wholly absorbing. She is not likeable but it's also not hard to find some compassion with someone struggling so completely with life and living. An interesting character study and some really great writing.

I wasn’t sure when I started My Year I’d Rest and Relaxation. I ended up getting sucked in about 30 pages in and I couldn’t put it down. It was so unique and the writing was captivating. I had never read anything by this author before, but I absolutely will in the future. Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity!

Read in prepub. Due out July 2018. Loved the premise: a depressed twenty-something decides that she is going to medicate herself so completely that she will spend the better part of a year in either sleep or a perpetual twilight state. She manages to find a loopy psychiatrist to make this happen, and the narrative describes the protagonist's thoughts as she sleeps (and sleep-walks, sleep-eats, and sleep-parties) through her days and nights. Moshfegh manages to put the reader into a dreamlike state of their own by lulling them with descriptions of the narrator's monotonous days. People with quirky (but believable) characters, I'm not sure what to make of the ending, but I'm still thinking about it. Recommend.

I am a strong believer that your age and experiences will dictate how this book is rated. While I can understand the desire to hibernate from the world for awhile, I do feel that you need to pick yourself up and live. Moshfegh writes well even if I did not enjoy this book.

Like her previous books, My Year of Rest and Relaxation is chock full of spot-on description and pop culture allusions reminiscent of Don DeLillo's White Noise. But, the same scene gets played out a few too many times (narrator adds another psychoactive drug to her daily regimen, washes it down with alcohol, and we watch what happens), and the book get tiresome after 100 pages. I rushed through the last two thirds so that I could be done.