My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh

How hard is My Year of Rest and Relaxation to read?

My Year of Rest and Relaxation scores 66 out of 100 for difficulty on ReadingRate, making it quite demanding. The score is a weighted composite of nine measures: four of how hard the prose is to parse, five of how hard the meaning is to extract.

Vocabulary: 50 out of 100

The novel employs a contemporary, educated vocabulary, occasionally incorporating specialized terms related to pharmaceuticals (e.g., "trazodone," "Nembutal," "Infermiterol") and art (e.g., "avant-garde," "taxidermied"). While generally accessible, these specific terms and the narrator's reflective language elevate it slightly above common fiction.

Sentence structure: 60 out of 100

Sentences vary in length, with many direct declarations interspersed with longer, more complex structures that feature multiple clauses and internal asides, particularly during the protagonist's extensive internal monologues. This creates a flowing, introspective prose that is more demanding than straightforward commercial fiction but avoids extreme hypotaxis.

Abstraction: 70 out of 100

The entire narrative is built around the protagonist's abstract, philosophical experiment of escaping reality through a year of sleep, constantly reflecting on themes of existence, identity, and the futility of human connection. While grounded in mundane actions, the core content and the narrator's internal world are highly theoretical.

Information density: 55 out of 100

The novel maintains a moderate information density, focusing primarily on the protagonist's internal state, her limited interactions, and repetitive daily rituals. While the internal world is rich, the external narrative and plot progression are not densely packed with multiple storylines or intricate details.

Narrative indirection: 60 out of 100

The narrator explicitly states her intentions and feelings, even when they are contradictory or self-destructive. However, the reader must infer the true depth of her trauma and the psychological mechanisms driving her extreme behavior, particularly during her drug-induced blackouts where her actions are unknown even to herself.

Symbolic density: 70 out of 100

The novel is rich with recurring motifs and symbols, including sleep as a metaphor for rebirth, Whoopi Goldberg as an avatar of absurdity and comfort, and the white fox representing emotional imperviousness. The narrator often explicitly interprets these symbols, guiding the reader toward their deeper meanings.

Ironic distance: 80 out of 100

The novel is steeped in ironic distance, as the narrator describes her extreme self-neglect and drug abuse with a detached, often darkly humorous, and self-aware tone. The central premise of 'rest and relaxation' is a profound irony, contrasting her stated goal of self-preservation with the chaotic and destructive reality of her actions.

Resolution withholding: 85 out of 100

The narrative defers emotional processing and closure throughout, culminating in an ambiguous ending that withholds any clear resolution to the narrator's self-destructive quest. Whether her hibernation project succeeds as transformation or merely as avoidance remains genuinely open.

Structural complexity: 50 out of 100

The narrative primarily follows a linear, first-person perspective, covering a specific period from June 2000 to January 2001. It incorporates frequent, clearly marked flashbacks to the narrator's childhood and college years. The main structural complexity arises from the narrator's drug-induced blackouts, which create significant gaps in her memory.

How My Year of Rest and Relaxation is regarded

My Year of Rest and Relaxation holds a literary regard score of 57 out of 100, weighing its place in the canon, its critical reception, its influence on other writers, and the standing of its author. Regard is measured separately from difficulty: a demanding book is not necessarily an admired one.

About the author

Ottessa Moshfegh