Eileen

By (author) Moshfegh Ottessa
Short description/annotation:

*SHORTLISTED FOR THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE 2016*

Trapped between caring for her alcoholic father and her job as a secretary at the boys'' prison, Eileen Dunlop dreams of escaping to the big city.

Description:

**NOW A MAJOR FILM**
**SHORTLISTED FOR THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE**

It is winter-time and Eileen Dunlop is dreaming of escaping her life...

In the meantime, her time is spent caring for her alcoholic father, working as a secretary in a prison and shoplifting.

When the beautiful, charismatic Rebecca Saint John arrives on the scene as the new counsellor at the prison, Eileen is enchanted, unable to resist what appears to be a miraculously budding friendship.

But soon, Eileen''s affection for Rebecca pulls her into a crime that far surpasses even her own wild imagination.

**FROM THE AUTHOR OF TIKTOK SENSATION MY YEAR OF REST AND RELAXATION**

''Fully lives up to the hype. A taut psychological thriller, rippled with comedy as black as a raven''s wing, Eileen is effortlessly stylish and compelling'' The Times

*SHORTLISTED FOR THE CWA NEW BLOOD DAGGER AWARD*

Review quote:
Fully lives up to the hype. A taut psychological thriller, rippled with comedy as black as a raven''s wing, Eileen is effortlessly stylish and compelling.
Review quote:
A sucker punch of a novel, full of fury and disgust, heart-wrenching in places, a masterclass in mood and tone. Eileen is a fantastic creation and a surprisingly satisfying antidote to the dozy and complacent heroines of much so-called literary fiction.
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An unforgettable new American voice.
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The great power of this book…is that Eileen is never simply a literary gargoyle; she is painfully alive and human, and Ottessa Moshfegh writes her with a bravura wildness that allows flights of expressionistic fantasy to alternate with deadpan matter of factness… As a character study, the book is a remarkable tour de force… As an evocation of physical and psychological squalor, Eileen is original courageous and masterful. Moshfegh never panders.
Review quote:
A seductive novel…Moshfegh writes beautiful sentences. One after the other they unwind – playful, shocking, wise, morbid, witty, searingly sharp. The beginning of this novel is so impressive, so controlled yet whimsical, fresh and thrilling, you feel she can do anything.
Review quote:
In the literary world…Ottessa Moshfegh is seen as a comer, perhaps even the Next Big Thing. Eileen is a remarkable piece of writing, always dark and surprising, sometimes ugly and occasionally hilarious… Trust me, you have never read anything remotely like Eileen.
Review quote:
Ottessa Moshfegh has created one of the great characters of recent fiction. Eileen is a modern masterpiece: cruel, grotesquely beautiful and merciless as a hungry wolf finding a lost fawn in the snow.
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If Jim Thompson had married Patricia Highsmith – imagine that household – they might have conspired together to dream up something like Eileen. It’s blacker than black and cold as an icicle. It’s also brilliantly realised and horribly funny.
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Excellent…a taut, well-written, and completely engrossing novel…culminating in a dynamite ending.
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Perverse, squalid and sinister this expertly paced novel … delivers a thumping finish to match the build-up: a single line near the end has the effect of a thunderbolt, leaving us dumbstruck by her sly, almost wicked storytelling genius.
Biographical note:
Ottessa Moshfegh is a fiction writer from New England and the author of six books. <