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Quick answer: If you liked Eileen, read Ottessa Moshfegh's My Year of Rest and Relaxation, then Sharp Objects, The Bell Jar and We Have Always Lived in the Castle. All feature unsettling female narrators, dark humour and bleak small-world settings.
Ottessa Moshfegh's 2015 novel is narrated by an older Eileen, who looks back at her life as a young woman in 1960s Massachusetts, working at a boys' prison and living with her drunken father. It is grim, funny and increasingly strange. The books below share its unreliable narrators, dark comedy and sense of claustrophobia.
Table of Contents
Quick Picks at a Glance
| Book | Author | Ages | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| My Year of Rest and Relaxation | Ottessa Moshfegh | Adult | the closest match |
| Death in Her Hands | Ottessa Moshfegh | Adult | mystery of one note |
| Homesick for Another World | Ottessa Moshfegh | Adult | short stories |
| The Bell Jar | Sylvia Plath | Adult | classic breakdown |
| We Have Always Lived in the Castle | Shirley Jackson | Adult | gothic oddity |
| Sharp Objects | Gillian Flynn | Adult | dark small-town crime |
| The Talented Mr. Ripley | Patricia Highsmith | Adult | charming sociopath |
| Notes on a Scandal | Zoe Heller | Adult | obsession |
| My Dark Vanessa | Kate Elizabeth Russell | Adult | trauma and memory |
| The Pisces | Melissa Broder | Adult | bizarre romance |
| Mrs. March | Virginia Feito | Adult | creeping paranoia |
| Luster | Raven Leilani | Adult | messy desire |
| Convenience Store Woman | Sayaka Murata | Adult | alienation |
| Gone Girl | Gillian Flynn | Adult | marriage and lies |
| Pizza Girl | Jean Kyoung Frazier | Adult | restless young woman |
1. My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh
A young woman tries to sleep through a year in New York. Dark and funny.
Best for: the closest match.
2. Death in Her Hands by Ottessa Moshfegh
A widow finds a note in the woods and invents a murder. Odd and absorbing.
Best for: mystery of one note.
3. Homesick for Another World by Ottessa Moshfegh
Moshfegh's collection of misfits and grotesques. Grim and darkly comic.
Best for: short stories.
4. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
A young woman unravels during a summer in New York. Honest and enduring.
Best for: classic breakdown.
5. We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
Two sisters live in isolation after a family tragedy. Sly, eerie and funny.
Best for: gothic oddity.
6. Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn
A reporter returns to her hometown to cover murders. Disturbing and brilliant.
Best for: dark small-town crime.
7. The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith
Tom Ripley takes over another man's life. Cool, elegant and menacing.
Best for: charming sociopath.
8. Notes on a Scandal by Zoe Heller
A teacher narrates a colleague's affair with a student. Acerbic and gripping.
Best for: obsession.
9. My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell
A woman looks back at an abusive relationship with a teacher. Difficult and powerful.
Best for: trauma and memory.
10. The Pisces by Melissa Broder
A woman in Venice Beach falls for a merman. Dark, funny and strange.
Best for: bizarre romance.
11. Mrs. March by Virginia Feito
A wealthy woman descends into suspicion after reading a novel. Eerie and sharp.
Best for: creeping paranoia.
12. Luster by Raven Leilani
A young artist becomes involved with an older married man. Daring and funny.
Best for: messy desire.
13. Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata
A woman who works in a convenience store resists social pressure. Short and strange.
Best for: alienation.
14. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
A wife disappears on her anniversary. A defining modern thriller.
Best for: marriage and lies.
15. Pizza Girl by Jean Kyoung Frazier
A pregnant pizza delivery girl becomes obsessed with a customer. Funny and tender.
Best for: restless young woman.
How We Chose These Books
Every pick is a real, widely available book that shares something specific with Eileen: its tone, its themes, its pace or the kind of characters it puts at the center. We mixed well-known favorites with a few less obvious titles, and we noted who each book suits best so you can match it to the reader. Where a book belongs to a series, we list the first volume so you can start at the beginning.
How to Choose
For more Moshfegh start with My Year of Rest and Relaxation. For gothic and eerie pick Shirley Jackson or Mrs. March. For crime and darkness read Sharp Objects or The Talented Mr. Ripley. For classic female unravelling try The Bell Jar. For modern dark comedy read Luster or The Pisces. Eileen is bleak and deadpan, so these picks suit readers who enjoy that tone. Eileen was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize and won the PEN/Hemingway Award, which gives a sense of its standing among literary fiction readers. If you want a similar bleak narrator, The Bell Jar and Notes on a Scandal are the closest. If you want something stranger, The Pisces is almost surreal. If you want a thriller, Sharp Objects and Gone Girl share the sense of a woman telling a distorted story. Moshfegh's work is best read slowly, a chapter at a time.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is Eileen about?
A lonely young woman working at a boys' prison meets a charismatic new colleague and is drawn into something dark.
Who wrote it?
Ottessa Moshfegh.
When was it published?
2015.
Where is it set?
A small town in Massachusetts in the early 1960s.
Is it a thriller?
It becomes one near the end, but it is mainly a character study.
Is there a film?
Yes, a 2023 film adaptation. Check current listings.
Is it dark?
Yes, with grim and unsettling moments.
What should I read next?
Try My Year of Rest and Relaxation.
Is Eileen a likeable character?
Not exactly, but she is fascinating, and her voice is the main draw.
Does the book have a twist?
It has a late shift in tone that changes the story, so avoid spoilers.