my year of rest and relaxation, a review

Poor Reva, who deserved better.
Fuck Trevor and possibly even her mother.
Is Dr. Tuttle okay? Someone should check up on her and review her license.
Bless her father.

Title: Ett år av vila och avkoppling (My year of rest and relaxation).
Author: Ottessa Moshfegh.
Published: 2018.
Pages: 221
Translation: Yes, by Alva Dahl.
Rating: 4 out of 5 hangovers.
LIST OF TRIGGER WARNINGS!

We quite literally follow a rich young white woman from New York on her quest to sleep for a whole year. Or, her desire to be awake as little as possible. At first it comes across as a ridiculous idea but the further into the story you get, the more you understand her reasoning and suddenly it all makes sense. Sad when you think about it but nonetheless understandable.

We’re brought along on a journey filled with drug use, sleep, Whoopi Goldberg, insomnia, addiction, death and grief, friendships, toxic exes, blackouts and memory losses and a quack psychologist who continues to prescribe our main character with all the drugs and pills that she wants and some that the psychologist wants her to try and treats her like a guinea pig.

With this theory of sleeping away a whole year, our narrators’ idea is that by doing this, and when the year has passed, her life will change. She will gain clarity about life in general, awaken from the brain fog that have clouded her mind for years. A new life filled with new motivation, hope, happiness, and simplicity. To start fresh. Such a beautiful thought.

The ending almost made me shed a tear and was such a gut punch. But if you follow the story and pay attention to the details, it shouldn’t come as a surprise but at the same time, it did and shocked the hell out of me. This one quote by Silvio Dante (The Sopranos) came to my head as I finished reading the last chapter:

“Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in”

Funny how the book is called My year of rest and relaxation when there was nothing relaxing about this novel in my opinion, in a very good way. I borrowed it from my local library, but I am definitely buying it and proudly adding it to my collection.

Other boks that I’ve reviewed: A little life and We were liars.