Ottessa Moshfegh really did something to us with that book. It’s been years since My Year of Rest and Relaxation hit the shelves, yet here we are, still chasing that specific high. You know the one. That hazy, slightly gross, deeply nihilistic feeling of wanting to just... stop. If you’re looking for books similar to My Year of Rest and Relaxation, you aren't just looking for a plot about sleep. You’re looking for "sad girl" energy, a narrator who is probably a bit of a jerk, and that sharp, biting prose that makes you feel seen and judged at the same time.
It’s about the void. Honestly, it's about the luxury of being able to lean into the void.
The thing about Moshfegh’s 2018 hit is that it’s hard to replicate. The 2000s New York setting, the Pre-9/11 tension, and the casual abuse of pharmaceuticals created a very specific vibe. But there are other writers who inhabit this space of "unpleasant" women navigating a world they find exhausting. We're talking about the "literary dissociation" genre.
Why we can't stop thinking about the "Unreliable Narcissist"
There is a weird comfort in a narrator who doesn’t care if you like them. Moshfegh’s unnamed protagonist is wealthy, beautiful, and miserable. She is, by most objective standards, a terrible friend to Reva. Yet, we stay. Why?
Basically, it’s because she says the quiet parts out loud. Most books try to make characters "relatable" through kindness or struggle. These books do it through the shared experience of absolute disdain for the performance of modern life. When you're searching for books similar to My Year of Rest and Relaxation, you’re usually looking for that specific brand of intellectualized apathy.
The Eileen Connection
If you haven't read Moshfegh’s other work, Eileen is the obvious first stop. It’s grittier. It’s colder. While our girl in Rest and Relaxation wants to sleep, Eileen is just trying to survive a bleak Massachusetts winter and a job at a boys' prison. It has that same "sticky" feeling—the kind of writing where you feel like you need a shower after reading a few chapters.
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Books Similar to My Year of Rest and Relaxation for the Existential Crisis
Let’s get into the heavy hitters. If you want that feeling of being unmoored, start with The New Me by Halle Butler.
Millie is thirty, she's a temp, and she is profoundly unhappy. But it’s not a tragic unhappiness; it’s a boring one. It’s the kind of unhappiness that comes from office birthday parties and the realization that your "potential" is a lie. Butler’s prose is sharp. It’s mean. It captures the repetitive, soul-crushing nature of administrative work in a way that feels like a direct descendant of Moshfegh’s art gallery scenes.
Then there’s Severance by Ling Ma.
Now, this is technically a "zombie" book, but it’s really not. It’s a satire of consumerism. Candace Chen just keeps going to work while the world ends. She’s so disconnected from her own life that a literal plague barely changes her routine. It shares that "hollowed out" sensation that defines the books similar to My Year of Rest and Relaxation niche. It's about how we use routine as a drug.
Luster by Raven Leilani is another essential. Edie is messy. She’s making bad choices with a married man, she’s failing at her job, and she’s trying to navigate being a Black woman in white spaces that want to consume her. The prose is electric. It’s more vibrant than Moshfegh’s—less "grey" in its tone—but the DNA of the "difficult woman" is right there on every page.
The International Flavor of Dissociation
We shouldn't just look at Brooklyn-based writers. The "rest and relaxation" vibe is global.
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Take Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata. Keiko is 36, and she has worked in the same convenience store for eighteen years. She doesn't want to sleep for a year; she just wants to be a cog in a machine because it’s the only time she feels "normal." It’s a shorter read, but it tackles that same theme of rejecting societal expectations of "success" or "growth." Keiko is happy being a manual. She’s happy being a tool. It’s a different kind of erasure of the self.
Diary of a Void by Emi Yagi hits similar notes. A woman fakes a pregnancy just so she doesn't have to clear away the coffee cups at her office anymore. It’s a brilliant, quiet rebellion. It asks: what lies do we have to tell just to be left alone?
What most people get wrong about these "Sad Girl" books
A lot of critics dismiss these as "narcissistic fiction." They think it’s just about privileged women complaining. That’s a pretty shallow take, honestly.
These stories are usually explorations of trauma or the crushing weight of late-stage capitalism. In My Year of Rest and Relaxation, the protagonist is grieving her parents. She’s trying to "reset" her brain because the pain of being awake is too much. When you find books similar to My Year of Rest and Relaxation, look beneath the sarcasm.
You’ll usually find a core of genuine hurt.
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- The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath: The original. If you haven't read it since high school, go back. Esther Greenwood’s descent isn't just "sad"—it’s cynical and funny in a way that feels very modern.
- Play It as It Lays by Joan Didion: Maria Wyeth driving the L.A. freeways is the 1970s version of taking too much Ambien. It’s about the "nothingness" of being.
- Boy Parts by Eliza Clark: This one is for those who liked the "unhinged" aspect of Moshfegh. It’s dark, violent, and explores the female gaze in a way that is deeply uncomfortable.
The "Vibe" Checklist: What to look for next
If you're browsing a bookstore and trying to spot these in the wild, look for these specific markers. You want a "detached" perspective. The narrator should feel like they are watching their own life from a distance.
There’s usually a lot of internal monologue and very little "action" in the traditional sense. These aren't thrillers. They are mood pieces. If the cover has a "blobs of color" aesthetic or a slightly distorted classical painting, you're probably in the right place.
Specific Authors to Follow
- Melissa Broder: The Pisces or Milk Fed. She does the "obsessive, slightly gross female interiority" better than almost anyone.
- Catherine Lacey: Nobody Is Ever Missing. It’s about a woman who leaves her life in New York to hitchhike through New Zealand. It’s very much about the desire to disappear.
- Jean Kyoung Frazier: Pizza Girl. It’s about a pregnant delivery driver who becomes obsessed with a stay-at-home mom. It’s messy and awkward.
Actionable Steps for your Next Read
Don't just buy ten books and let them sit on your nightstand. That's a very Reva move.
If you truly want to explore books similar to My Year of Rest and Relaxation, start by identifying which part of the book you liked most. Was it the satire of the art world? Try The New Me. Was it the chemical escapism? Try Cherry by Nico Walker (though it's a very different perspective). Was it the feeling of being a "bad woman"? Go straight to Boy Parts.
- Check out the "Gutter" of Literature: Look for the Fitzcarraldo Editions catalog. They specialize in the kind of high-brow, slightly alienated fiction that fans of Moshfegh tend to adore.
- Follow the "Sad Girl" Cannon on StoryGraph: Unlike Goodreads, StoryGraph has excellent "vibe" tags like dark, slow-paced, and reflective that help filter out the fluff.
- Read the Short Stories first: Moshfegh’s collection Homesick for Another World is arguably better than her novels. It’s a great way to see if you can handle her brand of "gross" before committing to a full narrative.
- Embrace the classics of Ennui: Don't ignore the French. Camus’s The Stranger is essentially the blueprint for the "I don't care" protagonist.
Finding your next favorite book in this genre requires a willingness to be uncomfortable. These books aren't meant to make you feel "good" in a traditional way. They are meant to make you feel understood in your most antisocial moments. Whether it's through the lens of a convenience store in Japan or a messy apartment in London, the theme remains the same: the world is a lot, and sometimes, the only sane response is to want out.