5/13/2023 0 Comments Death in her hands novelInstead of going to the police, however, she concocts her own story about the unknown Magda. It’s an intriguing mystery, and Vesta is instantly obsessed. “Here is her dead body.” But there is no body. One day, as she walks her beloved dog Charlie, she finds a strange note on the ground. Its narrator is Vesta, an inquisitive 72-year-old widow living a seemingly comfortable life in a lakeside cabin. With that in mind, one might be forgiven for assuming Death in Her Hands represents a departure. Yet her writing is so fearless, and so technically excellent, that it’s difficult not to be thrilled by it – and to feel sparks of sympathy and recognition, too. To read Moshfegh is to plumb the darkest corners of the human experience. The short stories in Homesick for Another World (2017) depict characters blazing with contempt for themselves, others, and the world. The narrator of My Year of Rest and Relaxation (2018) is so miserable that she chooses to withdraw from society and “hibernate” (the novel is currently being hailed as a prescient portrayal of life under quarantine). Though its plot incorporates elements of the classic thriller, Eileen is most successful as a portrait of its protagonist’s self-loathing. With Eileen and her subsequent work, Moshfegh has established herself as a chronicler of the downtrodden and the misanthropic.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |