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Quick answer: If you liked My Year of Rest and Relaxation, read Ottessa Moshfegh's Eileen, then try The Bell Jar, Convenience Store Woman, Severance and Sorrow and Bliss. All have cool, wry narrators who watch the world from a numb distance.
Moshfegh's 2018 novel follows an unnamed young woman in 2000 New York who decides to sleep for a year with the help of pills. It is dark, funny and bleak. The books below share that deadpan voice, women who drift and the question of how to live. All are adult fiction, and all are real, in-print books.
Table of Contents
Quick Picks at a Glance
| Book | Author | Ages | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eileen | Ottessa Moshfegh | Adult | more Moshfegh |
| Death in Her Hands | Ottessa Moshfegh | Adult | offbeat Moshfegh |
| The Bell Jar | Sylvia Plath | Adult | mental health classics |
| Convenience Store Woman | Sayaka Murata | Adult | offbeat modern Japan |
| Sorrow and Bliss | Meg Mason | Adult | funny-sad novels |
| Luster | Raven Leilani | Adult | bold voices |
| Pizza Girl | Jean Kyoung Frazier | Adult | young drifters |
| Play It as It Lays | Joan Didion | Adult | numb narrators |
| Severance | Ling Ma | Adult | work and apocalypse |
| Goodbye, Vitamin | Rachel Khong | Adult | family humor |
| Dept. of Speculation | Jenny Offill | Adult | short fragments |
| Fleishman Is in Trouble | Taffy Brodesser-Akner | Adult | midlife satire |
| Sweetbitter | Stephanie Danler | Adult | city life |
| Girl, Interrupted | Susanna Kaysen | Adult | hospital memoirs |
| Heartburn | Nora Ephron | Adult | funny heartbreak |
1. Eileen by Ottessa Moshfegh
A young woman in a grim 1960s New England town works at a boys' prison and meets a glamorous colleague. Darkly funny and strange.
Best for: more Moshfegh.
2. Death in Her Hands by Ottessa Moshfegh
A widow finds a note in the woods and invents a murder story. Odd and unsettling.
Best for: offbeat Moshfegh.
3. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
A young woman in 1950s New York slides into depression. Sharp, funny and sad.
Best for: mental health classics.
4. Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata
A woman who works in a convenience store resists social pressure. Short, odd and funny.
Best for: offbeat modern Japan.
5. Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason
Martha's life is shaped by an undiagnosed illness. Funny, sad and surprisingly warm.
Best for: funny-sad novels.
6. Luster by Raven Leilani
A young Black artist enters an odd relationship with a married couple. Sharp, strange and very funny.
Best for: bold voices.
7. Pizza Girl by Jean Kyoung Frazier
A pregnant teen delivering pizza becomes fixated on a customer. Funny, sad and honest.
Best for: young drifters.
8. Play It as It Lays by Joan Didion
An actress drifts through Los Angeles after a divorce. Spare, cool and bleak.
Best for: numb narrators.
9. Severance by Ling Ma
A New York office worker keeps going through a pandemic that turns people into zombies. Dry and sharp.
Best for: work and apocalypse.
10. Goodbye, Vitamin by Rachel Khong
A woman returns home to care for her father with dementia. Funny, tender and told in diary entries.
Best for: family humor.
11. Dept. of Speculation by Jenny Offill
A fragmentary portrait of a marriage. Short, clever and emotionally precise.
Best for: short fragments.
12. Fleishman Is in Trouble by Taffy Brodesser-Akner
A man's divorce is told partly through the eyes of a friend. Sharp on modern marriage and ambition.
Best for: midlife satire.
13. Sweetbitter by Stephanie Danler
A young woman works at a New York restaurant and learns about food, sex and ambition. Sensory and bright.
Best for: city life.
14. Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen
A memoir of a young woman's time in a psychiatric hospital in the 1960s. Short and sharp.
Best for: hospital memoirs.
15. Heartburn by Nora Ephron
A cookbook writer discovers her husband's affair. Witty and bitter.
Best for: funny heartbreak.
How to Choose
For more Moshfegh, start with Eileen. For classic voices, The Bell Jar and Play It as It Lays. For funny-sad stories, Sorrow and Bliss and Goodbye, Vitamin. For offbeat reads, Convenience Store Woman. These books deal with depression and drug use, so choose with care. Dark comedies about numb narrators are not for every mood. If you want something lighter, switch to a funny memoir between them. Libraries have audiobooks that capture the deadpan humor. Talk about the books with friends, since they often start good arguments.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is My Year of Rest and Relaxation about?
A young woman in New York tries to sleep through a year using prescriptions, hoping to emerge renewed.
Is it a funny book?
Yes, in a dark and deadpan way.
Is it about depression?
It portrays numbness and grief, though it avoids standard stories of recovery.
When is it set?
In 2000 to 2001, ending on September 11.
Is the narrator likable?
She is cold and sometimes cruel, which is part of the book's appeal.
Why does the narrator sleep for a year?
She believes it will let her start over, and she tries to avoid grief and boredom.
Is the book about depression?
It touches on it, but it is also a satire of art and wealth.
Who is Reva?
Her best friend, who is needy and who provides much of the novel's dark humor.
Is it a good book club read?
Yes. It raises questions about escape, privilege and what makes a good life.
Is it hard to finish?
No. It is short and fast, with a dry sense of humor.
Who wrote My Year of Rest and Relaxation?
Ottessa Moshfegh, an American author known for dark, comic fiction.