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Eileen by Ottessa Mosfhegh

This book is a character study of Eileen, a 24 year old introvert from a dysfunctional family who works as a clerk in prison. She meets a charming girl and something happens. The book is presented as Eileen, who is now 60, recalls the sequence of events during the week of Christmas when she was 24. The story of this book can be condensed as a short story of 10-15 pages, but I think that is not the point. In this book, you actually get to meet Eileen.

Although there was a very thin story line, I really liked this book. Eileen's character has aspects of innocence, stupidity, rage, compassion, and cruelty all mixed together. In the end, I felt like I met a real person. We can empathize with her while hating some of her actions. Her internal monologues are long, but a very lively and interesting. From her description, it is clear that she suffers from body dysphoria, depression, delusions, possibly sociopathic tendencies. But, instead of using labels, Eileen just describes her condition. Some actions in the future of this time frame are also sprinkled through out the book. Her thoughts range from being beautifully poetic to ridiculously bizarre. Motifs like ice and shoes are very cleverly used. If you are interested in an action packed book, this is not one of them. If you want to meet a character, and not someone who is a caricature, then I would strongly recommend this one.

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