Escape Everyday Life with Ottessa Moshfegh’s ‘My Year of Rest and Relaxation’ Novel
The best way to restore your energy and enthusiasm for life is by taking a break from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. If that’s what you need, then Ottessa Moshfegh’s My Year of Rest and Relaxation might be just the ticket. This novel follows the story of an exhausted young woman who decides to take a year-long hiatus from her frenetic New York City life, in order to get some much-needed rest and relaxation.
Moshfegh paints a portrait of an unnamed narrator whose hectic lifestyle has taken its toll on her mental and physical health. The novel reads like a diary, as the protagonist embarks on her journey of self-care, seeking solace in prescription drugs, sleep experiments, and other desperate measures as she attempts to unplug from reality and enter into a state of hibernation—if only for one year.