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My Year of Rest and Relaxation

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My Year of Rest and Relaxation

By: Ottessa Moshfegh
Narrated by: Julia Whelan
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About this listen

Random House presents the audiobook edition of My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh, read by Julia Whelan.

SHORTLISTED FOR THE WELLCOME BOOK PRIZE 2019

FROM THE MAN BOOKER-SHORTLISTED AUTHOR OF EILEEN

THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

It’s the year 2000 in a city aglitter with wealth and possibility; what could be so terribly wrong?

Our narrator has many of the advantages of life: Young, thin, pretty, a recent Columbia graduate, she lives in an apartment on the Upper East Side of Manhattan paid for, like everything else, by her inheritance. But there is a vacuum at the heart of things, and it isn’t just the loss of her parents in college, or the way her Wall Street boyfriend treats her, or her sadomasochistic relationship with her alleged best friend.

Blackly funny, both merciless and compassionate – dangling its legs over the ledge of 9/11 – My Year of Rest and Relaxation is a showcase for the gifts of one of America’s major young writers.

©2019 Ottessa Moshfegh (P)2019 Penguin Audio Dark Humour Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Literature & Fiction Satire Comedy Witty

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Critic reviews

"Savage, funny, frequently on the verge of teetering into lunacy...My Year of Rest and Relaxation is a non-negotiable in your holiday carry-on this summer." (Vogue)
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The characters were incredibly well written. I hated the main character, but it was really engaging

Enthralling tale of a hateful person

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The novel seem to drag on forever, which is a shame. The premise and main character of the book are well crafted but the overall message of the story is diluted by the endless repetition of the same events. The feelings evoked by the main character’s self-destruction and self-hate would left a much stronger impression on me if the writing had been more concise and the novel considerably shorter.

The narration was great.

Interesting but drags on for too long

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the audiobook slayed and it really brought the story to life !!! please listen to this

i inhaled this audiobook!

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the main character is simply unlikeable, and unlovable and her ability to "sleep for a year" is unrelatable. However, the ugliness of her depression, her attitude, and the difficulty you will find in sympathising with her (even though she has a compelling story about her parents) make the story for me. She might annoy you deeply but please keep at it, imo This is what makes depression so painful. the deep dark black hole and all it consumes.

depressed privileged girl escapes life by sleeping

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If you don’t like it, you don’t. If you do, you’ll have good taste. Love the writing and the feeling I was left with.

Love it

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