By India Pemberton
She’s young, thin, intelligent, and beautiful. The horror.
Ottessa Moshfegh’s third novel, My Year of Rest and Relaxation, reminds the audience once again that beautiful, cool girls can in fact be unlikeable.
Moshfegh’s protagonist is a recent Columbia graduate, living in a lavish apartment on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, paid for by her inheritance.
Her art history degree landed her a breezy receptionist job at a self-indulgent art gallery, which she takes great pleasure in rolling her eyes at.
(Hypocritically) disillusioned with the pretentiousness of New York City’s scene of creatives and suits, and grieving her cascadingly deceased parents, she makes a self-pact to isolate herself in a segmented reverie.
She decides to take a whole year off like it’s a weekend away; fuelled by recklessly administered pharmaceuticals and what can only be described as a pure disinterest in living.
What will be the outcome of this absurd experiment? Unfortunately, the answer is not much. Her obligatory best friend and underdog, Reva, meets a contrastingly weightier fate.
Reva’s ending, which is also the story’s ending, would be my biggest gripe with this book. Her fate being foreshadowed is an understatement.
For a lack of more sophisticated phrasing – the ending was a copout.
The pacing of this book accurately reflects what the unnamed protagonist is battling: lethargy and stagnation.
Although, it’s unique in that way. Its mundanity is what makes it compelling.
I acknowledge that my thoughts so far on this book are net negative, however I do think that Moshfegh’s writing is truly enchanting. Her ability to describe these mundanities and repetitions in such an engaging way must be commended. No matter how “pseudo-intellectual” others may consider her.
Overall, it’s a book so depressing it comes around to enlightening. I appreciate this book as a cautionary tale to overcome the insatiable adolescent apathy; to not become as insufferable as the protagonist.
Featured image: Author Ottessa Moshfegh (left) and the neoclassical portrait used on the cover of My Year of Rest and Relaxation. Photos: kellywritershouse, National Gallery of Art, Washington DC/CC/Wikimedia Commons
