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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 Literary 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)

What listeners say about My Year of Rest and Relaxation

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  • Overall
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    4 out of 5 stars

Wonderful performance by Julia Whelan

The voice actors performance, elevates this story so so much.

Thoroughly enjoyed the story and it’s wonderful in its own right but was made all the better by the voice performance.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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Not really for me

This book was an easy listen but I couldn’t really relate and didn’t connect with the characters.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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I loved it!

A great listen and I am sure I’ll listen again. I was a little skeptical at first but I must say I was not disappointed one bit. I would highly recommend.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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A spiky, idiosyncratic tale of grief and recovery

This story is quite unlike anything else I’ve read. The narrator is unkind and self absorbed, but I was fascinated by what she was doing and totally absorbed by her strange quest for sleep and ultimately for a time out of life. It is a strange journey, with a drug intake like something out of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, but the travel is all internal.

I loved this book and was deeply engaged with the tale of privilege and pain, a grief that hasn’t been felt yet and a quest for numbness.

The performance was excellent and the actress was perfect in this role. A great listen.

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Wonderful narrator!

“If I had to read the book, I probably wouldn’t finish it. It’s quite depressing and sad, though the narrator really brings out the best parts of the story. Somehow, it’s captivating and keeps me listening until the end. It’s a depressing book, but it’s wonderful in its own way.”

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    4 out of 5 stars

Excellent narration, interesting idea

Well I found this really interesting and listened to it all in a day. The story drags a bit in the middle but the whole story feels very real emotionally. Narrator is excellent. It's a bit like Americian Psycho in style with added bitterness.

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    3 out of 5 stars
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Great book senseless ending

Liked the book, except the ending. That really nasty comment at the end about Reva was truly unnecessary :( could've been a more put together ending...

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    3 out of 5 stars
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Does what it says on the tin

I really like Otessa Moshfagh's writing - as aserbic as a feminized Brett Easton Ellis for the 21st century - but has there ever been an author that writes stories where so little happens.
At least Eileen built to something. The climax here is essentially a big sleep. Don't doubt that title!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Fantastic and beautifully unhinged

Who says you have to like the protagonist? You just have to enjoy the ride. And that I did. But then again I have a soft spot for pretentious rambling women with depression.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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Enthralling tale of a hateful person

The characters were incredibly well written. I hated the main character, but it was really engaging

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