HomeDiscoverArticlesWhere to start reading Ottessa MoshfeghWhere to start reading Ottessa Moshfegh5 April 2022·min read·· Ottessa Moshfegh is one of the most daring and exciting writers of the 21st century. If you’re new to her work, here’s where to begin. Lapvona (2022) There is no better introduction to Moshfegh’s wild and singular imagination than her latest novel. In the medieval, natural disaster-struck village of Lapvona, sadistic leaders and manipulative priests go unchallenged while the inhabitants’ minds are polluted with twisted and delusional beliefs. But when fate brings little Marek, a motherless shepherd boy, into violent proximity with the family of Lord Villiam, he finds himself at the centre of a power struggle that will change Lapvona forever. A dark and grotesque tale about life, death and the natural world, Lapvona will have you squealing with delight even as you look away in horror. My Year of Rest and Relaxation (2019) A razor-sharp satire about privilege and pain, the New York Times bestselling My Year of Rest and Relaxation has become something of a TikTok sensation. On the surface, our nameless narrator has everything she could possibly want. But there is a vacuum in her life that cannot be explained. Her solution? To spend a year under sedation, to relax and hide away from the world. Filled with Moshfegh’s signature dark and twisted humour, My Year of Rest and Relaxation is a must-read. Eileen (2016) Winner of the PEN/Hemingway Award for debut fiction and shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize, Eileen has been captivating readers since its first publication – so much so that it’s being adapted into a film starring Anne Hathaway and Thomasin McKenzie. Moshfegh’s debut novel is about a woman working at a prison facility, whose budding friendship with her new co-worker takes a sinister turn. Described by The Times as a ‘taut psychological thriller’, this book lives up to its hype. Death in Her Hands (2021) Death in Her Hands is a murder mystery with a twist. It tells the story of Vesta who, while on her daily walk with her dog in the nearby woods, discovers a chilling notenote: ‘Her name was Magda. Nobody will ever know who killed her. It wasn't me. Here is her dead body.’ Alone and new to the area, Vesta quickly becomes fixated on Magda’s death, and becomes determined to learn how she met her fate. Blending suspense, horror and dark comedy, Death in her Hands is novel about the stories we tell ourselves, and the lengths we go to obscure the truth. Homesick for Another World (2018) If you are still reluctant to dive into one of Moshfegh’s novels, why not start with her prizewinning short story collection? Filled with Moshfegh’s cinematic and razor-sharp writing, the stories in Homesick for Another World are eerily unsettling and powerfully invigorating. McGlue (2017) McGlue is Moshfegh’s first novella, but don’t let the size fool you: this story packs a punch. Salem, Massachusetts, 1851: sailor McGlue has been around the world, drinking heavily since he was a child. One day, he is accused of having killed his best friend Johnson and gets taken into custody, too drunk to be sure of his name or situation. All he longs for is a drink, because with his sobriety comes insufferable, terrifying memories that will haunt him forever.
