My Year of Rest and Relaxation (by Ottessa Moshfeg)
I loved this weird, surreal novel.
The unnammed protagonist takes a whole cocktail of medications in the effort to sleep for an entire year. She has a best friend who she hates, a douchey ex-boyfriend, and sees and talks to no-one else. She is obsessed with Whoopi Goldberg.
The novel opens in September 2000; in spite of the fact that the protagonist tries to avoid all news, the backdrop of Bush entering office and the fact that her "year" expires in September 2001 means the time and place (Manhattan) are very vivid.
It's not really a novel of incident, more an exploration of the narrator's untethered mental state. It's funny and whimsical, strange and painful. The ending is perfection. This would make a terrific Tournament of Books novel and my fingers are crossed it makes the shortlist. I really loved it.
The unnammed protagonist takes a whole cocktail of medications in the effort to sleep for an entire year. She has a best friend who she hates, a douchey ex-boyfriend, and sees and talks to no-one else. She is obsessed with Whoopi Goldberg.
The novel opens in September 2000; in spite of the fact that the protagonist tries to avoid all news, the backdrop of Bush entering office and the fact that her "year" expires in September 2001 means the time and place (Manhattan) are very vivid.
It's not really a novel of incident, more an exploration of the narrator's untethered mental state. It's funny and whimsical, strange and painful. The ending is perfection. This would make a terrific Tournament of Books novel and my fingers are crossed it makes the shortlist. I really loved it.
posted by mo pie at 10:28 AM
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