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  • My Year of Rest and Relaxation

  • By: Ottessa Moshfegh
  • Narrated by: Julia Whelan
  • Length: 7 hrs and 15 mins
  • 4.1 out of 5 stars (833 ratings)
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My Year of Rest and Relaxation cover art

My Year of Rest and Relaxation

By: Ottessa Moshfegh
Narrated by: Julia Whelan
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Summary

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

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)

What listeners say about My Year of Rest and Relaxation

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Miserable.

Great idea, wholeheartedly spoiled by entirely unlikable characters, none of whom have any real problems whatsoever. This book is full of that shallow self-indulgent neurosis where people who don’t really have problems try to convince you they do.

This book has nothing to say.

The only thing that will stick with you from this is just how unhappy it makes you feel - and for no good reason.

I would encourage the author to take a year of rest and relaxation herself. Hopefully, instead of writing further.

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Not convinced

Found myself really struggling to manage to finish it and it took a lot of effort to continue you with it. I felt my thoughts wondering on a number occasions. Wasn’t for me.

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Beautifully Performed

The first time I ever interacted with this novel was listening to the audiobook read by Julia Waylon (sp?). I’ve read the physical book a couple of times since, and I can’t help but read it with her voice in mind. Her ‘Dr. Tuttle’ and ‘Reva’ are especially worth noting. Amazing.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A raw delight from start to finish

My favourite read so far this year; Moshfegh fast becoming a favourite author of mine. This as good as her Booker long listed Eileen.

Moshfegh’s writing is gritty, raw and as honest as it gets. Her female protagonists are flawed yet immensely likeable. A novel about dealing with loss and grief. I could see the end coming however when it did arrive, it shook with an intensity I haven’t felt in a novel for a very long time.

Excellent, just phenomenal.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Something decent at last

Was feeling a bit done with books, reading and listening. Tired of all the predictable characters and pedestrian plots. Then I found this. My faith in literature is restored.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

It’s ok, not as good as TikTok made it out to be

I did wonder how the pace of the story would go when the main character’s main drive is to sleep.
I enjoyed some parts of the story, worth a listen if you’re keen to find out about it.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Worst book I’ve read lately

This book was awful. Just misery and no message anywhere, really. Can’t understand the hype nor the humor.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

She’s unhinged and I love her for it

I know I probably shouldn’t be rooting for her but she did what she had to do and did it with pride! Kinda Stan her for it haha

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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Boring and self pitying..

What a pointless book.. pages and pages of self pity.. no point to it, no insight, no message..

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Wow

I could not stop listening! It’s giving valley of the dolls vibes and I love it

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