This book might be one of my favorite books I’ve read in 2022, written by the author of Eileen, My Year Of Rest And Relaxation is a novel by Ottessa Moshfegh. This novel is a mature look at mental illness and abuse of prescription medication after a woman attempts to sleep a whole year after lying to her psychiatrist.  The story follows the main character’s life over the course of the year in early 2000s New York City.

This book is a look through the lens of a privileged, tall, skinny, 24-year-old blonde woman in New York struggling to come to terms with her unclear purpose in life, while being addicted to prescription medications, much like characters in other titles by Moshfegh.

In the book, the narcissistic main character attempts to sleep a whole year after lying to her psychiatrist stating she has been having trouble sleeping in order to be prescribed sleeping medicine. For the moments she is awake, she is watching movies or spending time with her friend, Reva, who she treats poorly throughout the book.

As I read more into the book, it felt difficult not to feel bad for the main character. Despite her unapologetically lazy and narcissistic personality, she had a difficult childhood, with a cold professor father who never bothered to form a relationship with her.  

All in all, this book is a great read and a breath of fresh air comparing the main character to the other goody-two-shoes main characters we are used to reading about. This book does a great job depicting a strong sense of character development, as well as including a shocking twist at the end. I would definitely recommend this book to any reader who is interested in exploring unorthodox main characters.