2024 Book Review Series: Eileen by Ottessa Moshfegh

About two years ago, Ottessa Moshfegh's incredible novel, My Year of Rest and Relaxation, was recommended to me. I needed books to read while I was trying to find the protagonist's voice in my work-in-progress, who is not dissimilar to the unnamed narrator in Moshfegh's text. Then, a few months ago when I was accompanying my friend to a Barnes and Noble from which I swore I would not buy anything, I came face-to-face with Moshfegh's debut novel. Of course, I had to go back on my word.

Eileen is a tale told by the main character, for whom the text is named, fifty years after the events of the story. As a woman in her twenties who believes herself entirely undesirable, Eileen lives with her alcoholic father and works as a secretary in a prison for young boys. No matter where she is, she seems to be getting pushed around, judged, or simply disregarded. She thinks about - and plans - her escape from her small Massachusetts town every day so, by the time she pulls it off on Christmas Eve, even the day's unexpected events cannot throw her off.

Eileen's world shifts when she gets a new coworker at the prison named Rebecca. Rebecca is the first person who Eileen believes truly sees her and, as a result, she will do anything to impress her new friend. Over the course of their first and only week working together, Eileen and Rebecca gain each other's trust, each using the other for some sort of personal gain. Despite Eileen's immediate attachment to Rebecca, it is their friendship that finally drives her out of town.

Moshfegh makes the seemingly insignificant rambling of an elderly woman recapping her past read like the most important information a person could receive. Eileen is the first of Moshfegh's many protagonists who make her readers forgive every flaw, every disturbing habit, and every questionable decision and root for them through hundreds of pages. There is no denying that Eileen has some strange qualities and even stranger thoughts, but her pitiful homelife and relatable insecurities make her an undeniably sympathetic character.

The seven-day structure of Eileen with one chapter for each day is also a captivating stylistic choice. The reader knows which day Eileen will flee town as of chapter one, but does not know how it will happen until the final pages. Moshfegh leads Eileen into the final chapter with life going as well for her as it has in a while, making the reader wonder how she could possibly choose to make her escape within the day. I have my questions about Eileen's final actions, but any good novel leaves the reader wanting more.

This is the third text of Moshfegh's that I've read and I have yet to be disappointed. I've heard some interesting chatter about her newest novel, Lapvona, which has split reviews. I can't imagine disliking anything she writes, but perhaps that will be the true test of my love for Moshfegh's work.