Eileen by Ottessa Moshfegh

My book group recently read Eileen by Ottessa Moshfegh, from 2016 and shortlisted for the Booker prize that year. Let’s experiment with a review in bullet points. This doesn’t reflect the style of the book – it reflects how much time I want to spend writing this review.

  • Look at that cover. It’s not my usual fare, is it?
  • Beautiful writing of a psychological portrait of Eileen – an old lady looking back on her young days in an unhappy home, alcoholic dad, sister who has escaped with a marriage. Eileen works at a boys’ prison, lusts after one of the guards who works there, doesn’t really engage with anybody.
  • It is a nuanced portrayal of a dislikeable woman – but why was it in the crime section of the library?
  • (Maybe the only time that library shelving has constituted a major spoiler for me?)
  • Eventually, perhaps three-quarters of the way through this novel, the enigmatic and beguiling Rebecca Saint John appears. She is very Hitchcockian and not at all fleshed out.
  • (Isn’t Rebecca Saint John such a femme fatale name?)
  • Things start to get really silly…
  • Oh, a series of twists, increasingly dark, clearly wanting to be the next Girl on the Train
  • Perhaps the cleverest thing about the book is the reveal about what’s happening on the cover.

Ultimately, I found that Moshfegh was a really clever and interesting writer, but Eileen is a silly and melodramatic novel. Or, rather, becomes one – perhaps because Moshfegh lacked confidence that a quiet and poignant portrayal of an eccentric woman would bring her a publishing deal or success. Which does seem to be the case – have a look at this interview in the Guardian. The most baffling statement in it is “Trying to protect its [the novel’s] reputation as a postmodern work of art would not only be arrogant, but pointless.” It would also not be remotely true?

Have you read Eileen? I certainly found it pacey and compelling, even when it wasn’t clear why I was being compelled, but ultimately it felt like fast food you regret the next day.

10 thoughts on “Eileen by Ottessa Moshfegh

  • July 30, 2021 at 9:23 am
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    I was somewhat put off by the author saying she deliberately set out to write a crime novel because it seemed to be such an easy thing to do, like painting by numbers. I mean, I know some crime fiction comes across as formulaic, but there are some really good works out there, so I dislike that kind of snobbery. So no, I haven’t read this… and not sure I’m that keen after your review.

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  • July 30, 2021 at 9:37 am
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    I had a similar experience with Eileen. I didn’t struggle with her as a character as media articles on the novel seemed to expect. But I felt the plot meant we sort of backed away from her, and it lost something. She’s certainly an interesting writer but I found this novel over-hyped.

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  • July 30, 2021 at 1:06 pm
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    I read Eileen when it was nominated (think I was on a Booker kick that year). The writing was o.k.; Eileen was a well-drawn if uninteresting character (at least to me); the plot was silly and the whole thing seem concocted to shock. I hated the novel, so much so I haven’t been able to bring myself to read anything else by Moshfegh. The reviews I read were so glowing, however, I just chalked it up to one of those situations where I was totally out of step with the professional critics.

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  • July 30, 2021 at 1:42 pm
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    I have Eileen but haven’t read it yet. After a stressful experience with her next book (My year of rest and relaxation), I’ve picked it up and put it down again several times without reading! Love your review.

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  • July 30, 2021 at 2:30 pm
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    I find her shallow and narcissistic, but somehow she has become a literary darling. One more reason why I stick with books written before the 60’s.

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  • July 31, 2021 at 12:02 pm
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    Thanks for reading this so I don’t have to, Simon. I had a quick look at the author interview and found it completely offputting. I suspect your bullet points are the best way to approach this, and I hope you can regain the lost reading time….

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  • August 1, 2021 at 11:38 pm
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    I really liked this book, though the swerve at the end with Rebecca Saint John was a little abrupt. What I liked about it was the portrayal of a disaffected young woman, somewhat trapped by circumstances, making bad choices. I am drawn to those kinds of stories I find. I have yet to read any of Moshfegh’s follow ups, but I will.

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    • August 5, 2021 at 2:11 pm
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      Glad you liked it much more than I did!

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  • August 3, 2021 at 2:04 am
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    She gets it right in My Year of Rest and Relaxation. Though I’ve heard her subsequent novel is a stinker (I own it, haven’t read!)

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    • August 5, 2021 at 2:01 pm
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      Ah, good to hear that one is much better.

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