The novel received very positive reviews.[9][10] In Slate, Laura Miller praised the novel, saying, "Moshfegh excels here at setting up an immediately intriguing character and situation, then amplifying the freakishness to the point that some rupture feels inevitable."[11] Publishers Weekly found the book "captivating and disquieting...showcas[ing] Moshfegh's signature mix of provocation and dark humor."[5] Several reviews, including Miller and Publishers Weekly, felt "the novel drags a bit in the middle",[5] though the ending was widely praised,[1] with Miller saying Moshfegh "found a more satisfying way to resolve the plot" in My Year of Rest and Relaxation than in her first novel, Eileen.[11]
Reviewing the novel in The New Yorker, Jia Tolentino wrote, "Ottessa Moshfegh is easily the most interesting contemporary American writer on the subject of being alive when being alive feels terrible."[12] In The New York Times, Dwight Garner was more hesitant in his praise, but ultimately concluded: "Moshfegh writes with so much misanthropic aplomb, however, that she is always a deep pleasure to read. She has a sleepless eye and dispenses observations as if from a toxic eyedropper."[13]
