Book Review: "Eileen" by Ottessa Moshfegh

Ottessa Moshfegh's debut novel is blunt and a little creepy, but it packs an unexpected emotional punch.

Are there authors you’ve been meaning to read for a while, authors you’ve heard a ton about and always wondered whether their writing was for you? I have many of those, and one of them is Moshfegh. This book has been on my shelf for a few years so I thought I’d give it a try.

Eileen is a dissatisfied, lonely young woman. She spends her days working in the office at a juvenile detention facility, where she feels total disdain for her two female coworkers, and often fantasizes about Randy, a handsome young guard. By night she lives with her alcoholic father, buying his liquor and keeping him from killing himself and others, and she dreams of running away, of ending her life, of getting out of the dilapidated house and its perpetual state of decay.

Into this miserable existence comes Rebecca, the prison’s new education director. Rebecca is everything Eileen wishes she could be—confident, beautiful, one who commands attention. Eileen dreams of building a friendship with Rebecca, one that could perhaps change her life. And before she knows it, she becomes a willing accomplice to a crime.

The book is narrated by a much-older Eileen looking back on that time of her life. The story is an interesting one and I read with a great deal of trepidation, worrying about what would happen. But Moshfegh’s style is very in-your-face; there’s a lot of detail about bodily functions, decay, body parts, etc.

I definitely recognize Moshfegh’s talent but I’m not sure if I’ll read another of her books unless someone can tell me they’re not as graphically detailed.