Welcome back to a new year of #Booktok Bookshelf, where I, a self-proclaimed Hemingway and Fitzgerald enthusiast, review the novels trending among young people so you do not have to. 鈥淢y Year of Rest and Relaxation鈥� by Ottessa Moshfegh made its rounds this summer with over 50 million views under聽 on TikTok, despite its original publication in 2018.
The unnamed narrator is tall, pretty and a self-proclaimed person of privilege living in an inherited apartment on the Upper West Side in the year 2000. She recently graduated from Columbia University and works a simple job as an art gallery secretary.
Given her simple lifestyle, it is bafflingly ironic when she decides to spend a year in a chemically induced coma with a prescription from her suspiciously licensed therapist.聽
After only a few chapters, I was seconds away from doing something too rare to be compared to the occurrence of a blue moon: I almost stopped reading entirely. I couldn鈥檛 bring myself to empathize with the protagonist, who had every opportunity to be successful and instead chose to spend twelve months in a coma.聽
But, there was an idiosyncratic element to Moshfegh鈥檚 dark and quirky writing style that convinced me to continue. I realized quickly I had made the right decision; the narrator鈥檚 twisted backstory unfolded into a complex chronicle of trauma that swept me into the plot.聽
While I initially struggled to empathize with the narrator, I now think Moshfegh crafted the first few chapters to pose a question of material satisfaction. The book takes an intriguing perspective on privilege and challenges how much happiness wealth can truly provide.聽
From her depraved and emotionally unavailable Wall Street boyfriend to her jealous and lonely best friend, the narrator also cannot seem to separate herself from the few relationships that she has, even though they make her miserable. The narrator鈥檚 company cannot understand why she deserves to suffer, prompting yet another question: Why does she choose to surround herself with them?聽
鈥淢y Year of Rest and Relaxation鈥� also takes place at a telling moment in New York City鈥檚 history, with the narrator鈥檚 year of sleep ending right before the tragedy of 9/11. This is yet another layer to Moshefegh鈥檚 commentary on outside perceptions of perfection as the narrator looks back on an untainted time in New York City鈥檚 past.
The book takes an intriguing perspective on privilege and challenges how much happiness wealth can truly provide.
While TikTok provided ample recommendations for books such as 鈥淏each Read鈥� and 鈥淧eople We Meet on Vacation鈥� by Emily Henry, I urge you to tackle this provocative work of psychological fiction. The endless stream of drugs and subconsciousness is all-consuming as a reader, and thus I cautiously recommend 鈥淢y Year of Rest and Relaxation鈥� for those willing to empathize with the narrator without feeling the need to try out this social experiment for themselves.聽
