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Homesick for Another World by Ottessa…
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Homesick for Another World (original 2017; edition 2017)

by Ottessa Moshfegh

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
1,0484519,788 (3.63)36
"An electrifying first collection from one of the most exciting short story writers of our time. Ottessa Moshfegh's debut novel Eileen was one of the literary events of 2015. Garlanded with critical acclaim, it was named a book of the year by The Washington Post and the San Francisco Chronicle, nominated for a National Book Critics Circle Award, short-listed for the Man Booker Prize, and won the PEN/Hemingway Award for debut fiction. But as many critics noted, Moshfegh is particularly held in awe for her short stories. Homesick for Another World is the rare case where an author's short story collection is if anything more anticipated than her novel. And for good reason. There's something eerily unsettling about Ottessa Moshfegh's stories, something almost dangerous, while also being delightful, and even laugh-out-loud funny. Her characters are all unsteady on their feet in one way or another; they all yearn for connection and betterment, though each in very different ways, but they are often tripped up by their own baser impulses and existential insecurities. Homesick for Another World is a master class in the varieties of self-deception across the gamut of individuals representing the human condition. But part of the unique quality of her voice, the echt Moshfeghian experience, is the way the grotesque and the outrageous are infused with tenderness and compassion. Moshfegh is our Flannery O'Connor, and Homesick for Another World is her Everything That Rises Must Converge or A Good Man is Hard to Find. The flesh is weak; the timber is crooked; people are cruel to each other, and stupid, and hurtful. But beauty comes from strange sources. And the dark energy surging through these stories is powerfully invigorating. We're in the hands of an author with a big mind, a big heart, blazing chops, and a political acuity that is needle-sharp. The needle hits the vein before we even feel the prick"--… (more)
Member:burritapal
Title:Homesick for Another World
Authors:Ottessa Moshfegh
Info:Penguin Books, Kindle Edition, 283 pages
Collections:Your library, Currently reading
Rating:**
Tags:None

Work Information

Homesick for Another World by Ottessa Moshfegh (2017)

  1. 00
    The Stranger by Albert Camus (j_aroche)
    j_aroche: If you ever feel like an alien in the wrong planet.
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» See also 36 mentions

Showing 1-5 of 45 (next | show all)
I'm still trying to figure out what to do with these stories—in a good way. It's extremely visceral writing, at times a little too much so, that's also painstaking in its detail. And each narrator is so different from the last. How does she do that so well? Overall just a great reading experience that makes me want to read more. ( )
  gonzocc | Mar 31, 2024 |
Compared to Flannery O’Connor, but they seem to me profoundly different. They both deal in what you could call the grotesque, but O’Connor’s stories offer their characters divine grace and redemption. Moshfegh’s offer nihilism. This is a collection for your favorite misanthrope, where the physicality of human flesh is disgusting, human behaviors similar, and that’s pretty much what there is. O’Connor’s writing is famously imbued with her Catholicism; Moshfegh can only be an atheist.

It could make for unrelentingly grim reading, and sure that could be one’s takeaway, but the stories are wired with a dark energy and black humor and usually don’t fail to be interesting. ( )
  lelandleslie | Feb 24, 2024 |
4.5 ( )
  Mcdede | Jul 19, 2023 |
2.5 stars
The weirdest book, this author has a big case of misanthropy. I can relate, that's why she gets an extra half star. But the characters she peoples her stories with--good grief. They are the most sickening, hateful people that are represented in the human species. For example, boys who let their pimples grow, so they can be clawed open, squeezed, allowed to scab over, and repeat the process. These characters actually have girlfriends. Or a woman who hires a pregnant 18-year-old to clean her vacation house. She sits on her couch while the near-term teenager lugs a water-filled bucket and mop up the stairs, and reads her magazine. She hears a loud thump on the floor above her, so she goes to the foot of the stairs and calls up to her: "everything alright?" Yes, answers the girl. When she comes downstairs to get more cleaning supplies, the woman sees that she is bleeding from her crotch, unbeknownst to the preggo, with her big belly blocking the way. The woman let's her finish the cleaning job, and takes out$20 to pay her, as the girl staggers out into her yard, with blood now running down her legs. Two women are in lounge chairs in the neighboring yard, and get up to help her, giving the woman a dirty look.
Just a sampling of the weird-ass stuff you'll read in Moshfegh's stories. I've highlighted some of the strangest sections, so I can remember it. Enjoy. ( )
  burritapal | Oct 23, 2022 |
i did not care. i sat down today and told myself that i'd finish the last 200 pages today and honestly? i did not even like one story, the last one was okay but the rest were honestly such bores ( )
  mandarinenschaeler | Aug 16, 2022 |
Showing 1-5 of 45 (next | show all)
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» Add other authors (5 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Moshfegh, Ottessaprimary authorall editionsconfirmed
Bresnahan, AlyssaNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Guerzoni, GioiaTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Pérez Parra, Inmaculada C.Translatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
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My classroom was on the first floor, next to the nuns’ lounge.
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"An electrifying first collection from one of the most exciting short story writers of our time. Ottessa Moshfegh's debut novel Eileen was one of the literary events of 2015. Garlanded with critical acclaim, it was named a book of the year by The Washington Post and the San Francisco Chronicle, nominated for a National Book Critics Circle Award, short-listed for the Man Booker Prize, and won the PEN/Hemingway Award for debut fiction. But as many critics noted, Moshfegh is particularly held in awe for her short stories. Homesick for Another World is the rare case where an author's short story collection is if anything more anticipated than her novel. And for good reason. There's something eerily unsettling about Ottessa Moshfegh's stories, something almost dangerous, while also being delightful, and even laugh-out-loud funny. Her characters are all unsteady on their feet in one way or another; they all yearn for connection and betterment, though each in very different ways, but they are often tripped up by their own baser impulses and existential insecurities. Homesick for Another World is a master class in the varieties of self-deception across the gamut of individuals representing the human condition. But part of the unique quality of her voice, the echt Moshfeghian experience, is the way the grotesque and the outrageous are infused with tenderness and compassion. Moshfegh is our Flannery O'Connor, and Homesick for Another World is her Everything That Rises Must Converge or A Good Man is Hard to Find. The flesh is weak; the timber is crooked; people are cruel to each other, and stupid, and hurtful. But beauty comes from strange sources. And the dark energy surging through these stories is powerfully invigorating. We're in the hands of an author with a big mind, a big heart, blazing chops, and a political acuity that is needle-sharp. The needle hits the vein before we even feel the prick"--

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Book description
Contents:
  • Bettering Myself
  • Mr. Wu
  • Malibu
  • The Weirdos
  • A Dark and Winding Road
  • No Place for Good People
  • Slumming
  • An Honest Woman
  • The Beach Boy
  • Nothing Ever Happens Here
  • Dancing in the Moonlight
  • The Surrogate
  • The Locked Room
  • A Better Place
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