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At once immensely alien and deeply human, Moshfegh’s latest is a brutal, inventive novel about the ways that stories and the act of storytelling shape us and articulate our world.
This doesn’t register quite as indelibly as Moshfegh’s earlier novels, as Vesta is not as compelling as Eileen’s title heroine or the unnamed protagonist of My Year of Rest and Relaxation. Still, recommended for fans of the author, as well as Iain Reid’s I’m Thinking of Ending Things.
Interest in the narrator's long-lasting sleep trial may diminish before the novel ends, but her story is neither restful nor relaxing. The author's award-winning novel Eileen similarly portrayed a disturbed young woman seeking to escape her existence, but this work is not nearly as dark, though it's certainly as provocative and even occasionally funny. [See Prepub Alert, 1/22/18.]
Moshfegh's McGlue won the Fence Modern Prize in Prose and Eileen the PEN/Hemingway Award; the recent collection Homesick for Another World was a New York Times Notable Book...
Moshfegh is a major voice in contemporary literature; this highly anticipated collection is recommended for all literary fiction collections. ["An in-your-face new collection sure to catch attention": LJ 9/1/16 review of the Penguin Pr. hc.]
This book will appeal to listeners who appreciate beautiful language and don't mind a work that also explores the revolting side of being human. ["Readers of all kinds will relish this well-crafted fiction": LJ 6/1/15 review of the Penguin hc.]
Those familiar with Moshfegh's earlier award-winning novel McGlue may not be as surprised when this tale shapeshifts into a crime thriller, but readers of all kinds will relish this well-crafted fiction. Moshfegh's ability to render Eileen's dreary tale so compelling is testament to her narrative skills. [See Prepub Alert, 2/9/15.]
Rawly written yet superbly controlled, this accomplished debut is the inaugural winner of the Fence Modern Prize in Prose; it would have been no surprise to see it coming from a major literary house, so look there for Moshfegh's next.