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Sadie Hartmann's Reviews > Eileen
Eileen
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by
EILEEN by Ottessa Moshfegh
Other Books I Enjoyed by This Author: LAPVONA, MY YEAR OF REST AND RELAXATION
Affiliate Link:
Release Date: August 16th, 2015
General Genre: Literary, Thrillers, Psychological
Sub-Genre/Themes: (Trigger warnings so you can skip)Verbally abusive, alcoholic parent, juvenile hall for boys, female friendships, coming-of-age told in flashback, obsession, socially awkward young, outcasts, self-loathing, sexuality, crushes, heavy drinking, fat-shaming, sexual abuse, loneliness/isolation, toxic relationships
Writing Style: First-person narrative, introspective, psychological, character-driven, intricately plotted
What You Need to Know: for this book and My Year of Rest and Relaxation, I started the audiobooks and immediately realized I would need to also read the eBook so I could highlight and keep notes. You can see my notes & highlights for my reading experience HERE
My Reading Experience: There is nobody quite like Ottessa Moshfegh. Her characters are so oddly specific and that’s where the power of her storytelling lies�
the larger-than-life characters. The main character, Eileen Dunlop is habitually quirky and unusual. It’s so entertaining being inside her head to experience the way she views the world and herself; her situation and circumstances. The story is being told by an older, wiser Eileen reflecting back on a specific season of her life when she was in her 20s, living in almost total isolation with her alcoholic Father in their dilapidated house. She works in a juvenile correctional facility, has no social life to speak of, and exists purely out of spite. She hates everyone and everything except a co-worker she fantasizes about. Eileen’s inner thought life is peak reading bliss. I love it. I love how strange she is–a remarkable worldview.
Everything is leading up to Eileen meeting a woman named Rebecca. Their relationship will be the catalyst for her whole life going in another direction (this isn’t a spoiler, Eileen hints at this the entire time).
Now is the perfect time to read this book. It takes place in a short amount of time–like a week or so leading up to Christmas day. The vibes are perfect and you won’t want to put this down. The narrator of the audiobook is incredibly gifted and does a great job with both Eileen’s and Rebecca’s personalities coming through their voices. I’m so excited for the movie and since I have seen the trailer for it, I pictured the two actresses in these roles the whole time. I’ll report back after watching it.
Final Recommendation: Horror fans will absolutely thirst for Eileen’s hateful disposition, social commentary, and personal asides. Moshfegh is an expert at building suspense and slowing it down at the same time–in less capable hands, readers would be tempted to complain about the slow unraveling of what ultimately happens in this psychological thriller, but because Moshfegh is an actual genius, I never wanted this to end. I could listen to Eileen Dunlop’s inner thoughts forever and I was sad when it was over. My favorite Moshfegh yet!
Comps: Pretty unique. Parts of it did remind me of My Year of Rest and Relaxation due to both protagonists hating everything and everyone–but Eileen is far more interesting due to the fact she is not trying to sleep her whole life away.
Other Books I Enjoyed by This Author: LAPVONA, MY YEAR OF REST AND RELAXATION
Affiliate Link:
Release Date: August 16th, 2015
General Genre: Literary, Thrillers, Psychological
Sub-Genre/Themes: (Trigger warnings so you can skip)Verbally abusive, alcoholic parent, juvenile hall for boys, female friendships, coming-of-age told in flashback, obsession, socially awkward young, outcasts, self-loathing, sexuality, crushes, heavy drinking, fat-shaming, sexual abuse, loneliness/isolation, toxic relationships
Writing Style: First-person narrative, introspective, psychological, character-driven, intricately plotted
What You Need to Know: for this book and My Year of Rest and Relaxation, I started the audiobooks and immediately realized I would need to also read the eBook so I could highlight and keep notes. You can see my notes & highlights for my reading experience HERE
My Reading Experience: There is nobody quite like Ottessa Moshfegh. Her characters are so oddly specific and that’s where the power of her storytelling lies�
the larger-than-life characters. The main character, Eileen Dunlop is habitually quirky and unusual. It’s so entertaining being inside her head to experience the way she views the world and herself; her situation and circumstances. The story is being told by an older, wiser Eileen reflecting back on a specific season of her life when she was in her 20s, living in almost total isolation with her alcoholic Father in their dilapidated house. She works in a juvenile correctional facility, has no social life to speak of, and exists purely out of spite. She hates everyone and everything except a co-worker she fantasizes about. Eileen’s inner thought life is peak reading bliss. I love it. I love how strange she is–a remarkable worldview.
Everything is leading up to Eileen meeting a woman named Rebecca. Their relationship will be the catalyst for her whole life going in another direction (this isn’t a spoiler, Eileen hints at this the entire time).
Now is the perfect time to read this book. It takes place in a short amount of time–like a week or so leading up to Christmas day. The vibes are perfect and you won’t want to put this down. The narrator of the audiobook is incredibly gifted and does a great job with both Eileen’s and Rebecca’s personalities coming through their voices. I’m so excited for the movie and since I have seen the trailer for it, I pictured the two actresses in these roles the whole time. I’ll report back after watching it.
Final Recommendation: Horror fans will absolutely thirst for Eileen’s hateful disposition, social commentary, and personal asides. Moshfegh is an expert at building suspense and slowing it down at the same time–in less capable hands, readers would be tempted to complain about the slow unraveling of what ultimately happens in this psychological thriller, but because Moshfegh is an actual genius, I never wanted this to end. I could listen to Eileen Dunlop’s inner thoughts forever and I was sad when it was over. My favorite Moshfegh yet!
Comps: Pretty unique. Parts of it did remind me of My Year of Rest and Relaxation due to both protagonists hating everything and everyone–but Eileen is far more interesting due to the fact she is not trying to sleep her whole life away.
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Reading Progress
December 2, 2023
– Shelved
December 2, 2023
– Shelved as:
to-read
December 10, 2023
–
Started Reading
December 11, 2023
–
14.0%
""’d mourn the lack of love and warmth in my life, wish upon stars for angels to come and pluck me from my misery and plunk me down into a whole new life, like in the movies. I was a sucker for the spirit of Christmas, as it was called.""
December 11, 2023
–
24.0%
""It always peeved me when my flatness was met with good cheer, good manners. Didn’t she know I was a monster, a creep, a crone? How dare she mock me with courtesy when I deserved to be greeted with disgust and dismay?""
December 11, 2023
–
27.0%
"this book is so much more "me" and suitable for my tastes than My Year of Rest and Relaxation"
December 12, 2023
–
31.0%
"“I didn’t like dogs. Not because they scared me—they didn’t—but because their deaths were so much harder to take than people’s.�"
December 12, 2023
–
33.0%
"“But honestly, even in those darkest moments, the idea of anyone examining my naked corpse was enough to keep me alive.�"
December 12, 2023
–
46.0%
"“A grown woman is like a coyote—she can get by on very little. Men are like house cats. Leave them alone for too long and they’ll die of sadness. Over the years I’ve grown to love men for this weakness.�"
December 12, 2023
–
Finished Reading
Yes! She has such a unique voice, I just love it