Staff Review – My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh

“Sleep felt productive. Something was getting sorted out. I knew in my heart—this was, perhaps, the only thing my heart knew back then—that when I'd slept enough, I'd be okay. I'd be renewed, reborn. I would be a whole new person, every one of my cells regenerated enough times that the old cells were just distant, foggy memories. My past life would be but a dream, and I could start over without regrets, bolstered by the bliss and serenity that I would have accumulated in my year of rest and relaxation.”

"My Year of Rest and Relaxation" may be unlike any book I think I've ever read. The story follows an unnamed narrator as she struggles with depression and purpose. She decides she wants to have a year of "rest and relaxation", and by that, she means she wants to sleep through a full year (as much as physically possible) in order to wake up feeling rejuvenated and refreshed. The novel follows our narrator through a year of her life as she looks to achieve this goal. The novel begins in the year 2000, so there is some nostalgia throughout.

There are a few reasons why this book is unlike anything I've read before. Firstly, there is essentially no plot. While a few things happen to our narrator, she really does sleep through most of the novel. While others enjoy these "No Plot, Just Vibes" type of books, it was definitely an adjustment for me. Likewise, the main character is incredibly unlikeable. Again, this is something some readers enjoy (notice how this novel is on both of these lists?), but this was a tough one for me to get past. I am used to cheering for my main characters, hoping they are able to achieve their goals by the end. The narrator of this book was very hard to cheer for - she is unkind to everyone we see her encounter in her life, and lies to a doctor (albeit a very bad one) in order get drugs to help her with her sleeping goal. Moshfegh has become a powerful voice in fiction, specifically giving voice to the odd and unlikeable characters, typically women, she writes about. 

A warning to readers that this book contains a lot of potentially triggering content. The novel features heavy drug use, explicit sex scenes, eating disorders, death of parents, abortion, abuse, and more. This novel is not for the faint of heart, and I seriously contemplated DNFing it (Did Not Finish) when I was about a quarter of the way through. However, I decided to persist and finish the novel, and I'm actually glad I did. I think reading outside of our comfort zones is a good thing to do every once in a while - it allows us to see different perspectives and see things in a different light. Reading the story of an unlikeable woman was also interesting for me - she was unapologetically herself, for better or for worse. Characters in books don't always need to be perfect and likeable - people in real life aren't, so why should people in books be? If you're interested in a potentially polarizing read, pick up My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh today!