I loved Eileen so was very excited to read this book. And for the most part, I enjoyed it. Moshfegh is a great writer and creates characters who are unpleasant yet likeable (for me, anyway; I'm sure some readers don't like her characters at all).

But for me, the ending--probably the final fifth of the book--fell flat.

I couldn't help but compare this story to Chuck Palahniuk's work. It's a first-person narrated tale of inner turmoil acted out externally in absurd ways. Palahniuk is much more violent, but Moshfegh's darkly kooky story elements made me feel that it was going that way. And I was totally on board.

But then it kind of fizzled out. The absurdity hit a fairly low ceiling; the result of the narrator's partnership with Ping Xi was pretty run-of-the-mill; and the ending Moshfegh set us up for loudly by setting this in 2000/2001 was nothing more than the final few paragraphs. Just kind of a dud.

If you enjoyed Eileen, you should read this. If you're interested in Moshfegh as an author, I'd start with a different book.