my year of rest and relaxation av Ottessa Moshfegh
An absolutely endearing book.
As soon as I read the title I knew it was a book for me - after over a year if insomnia this is what I long for more than anything else - rest and relaxation.
The main character is young, beautiful and privileged as far a material things go. A recent graduate from Columbia university, living in an exquisite apartment in NYC, wearing Manolo Blahnik shoes and working in an art gallery even though she doesn't need to for money.
She is also utterly depressed, recently orphanaged by two emptionally distant parents, and abused by an asshole boyfriend.
The only person who really cares about her is her bulimic friend Reva, who constantly shows up and annoys the hell out of our heroine.
Seeing not much reason to be alive, she decides she'll find a way to hibernate for a year. Not in a destructive way, but rather a very constructive way!
She finds an extremely eccentric shrink who is happy to prescribe all kinds of psychoactive drugs to help her sleep.
It isn't easy to sleep for a solud year, but if there is a will there is a way.
I thoroughly LOVED this book, found the tone to be of a modern female Bukowski, and the end of the book is painfully beautiful, sad abd hopeful all at once.
Read it!