Many have already mentioned this, but this book really drags on until about the last 50 pages where it actually feels like something is happening. My biggest gripe is that Eileen spends, what feels like, every other paragraph alluding to what is going to happen as if to build suspense. However, this makes the book feel like one big tease to, what I feel, an ending that isn't big enough to pay off. We get to learn about Eileen and her weird habits and thoughts (none of which I think are really truly repulsive) and yet it feels like I gained nothing that I couldn't have gained with 100 less pages. 

I wish there had been more of a build up with Rebecca and interactions between them. I feel this would have solidified Eileen's reasoning more than just her rambling about how great Rebecca was. This really was a lot of just talk instead of showing. The ending didn't feel satisfying and honestly felt extremely rushed compared to the rest of the book where there were paragraphs upon paragraphs of very similar things. 

Yet despite that all, I did still enjoy it enough to keep turning the page. I do really enjoy Moshfegh's writing and her ability to write characters are just interesting enough to keep me in engaged. I do also think that she did a really job with creating a really cold, wintery atmosphere and that really added a nice vibe to this. Overall, I am actually excited to see how they brought this to life in the movie.

I like what this book could have been; the concept of being trapped in an home that's not yours with strangers as things happen that you cannot explain. But oh my god is this book so full of itself, I had to constantly stop and ask myself if what the author was writing actually served any purpose to the story or if they were just trying to meet some type of word count. I am not sure if it's the writing that makes it hard to actually like any of the characters and flat out makes me hate that family. 

I feel this book suffers from too little real substance and too much yapping. The mystery really only works if I actually want to keep reading what the characters are going through. The last 15% of this book was where fun and exciting stuff actually happens. Other than that, it was just a bunch of weird sexual references, whole lot of swimming, and 50 words instead of the necessary one or two to describe an action. Also felt extremely shallow for what I think it was trying to prove as whatever message there was, was lost in the miles long paragraphs of overall ramblings that added nothing to the plot.

I was really excited about this because of that new Netflix movie (which I will now be watching), but alas I also have not heard good things it too.

This was a really fun story that never really lags, you’re just along for the roller coaster ride. I loved the setting and the set up, everything felt so mysterious and yet weirdly cozy. I didn’t necessarily care for the characters but I didn’t find myself bored with them either. I will say that I wish the second half was executed a bit differently, not so cheesy. However that still didn’t take away from me not being able to put this book down. 

Overall this was fun, but not fun enough. I think it lacked overall suspense and tension because as you continue through the story you know there is only one way this book will end. I think what really takes away is the lack of use of the surroundings. They're on an ancient Mayan ruin and yet ... felt like it could have taken place on any random hill in any random part of the world. Not enough horror, more so body horror, I guess, but that's never been something that personally bothers me so I just felt like a lot of the time I was waiting for something real to happen. The characters were forgettable and the overall plot felt a little drawn out. 

I will say though, that the times I did read this before bed, my dreams felt very anxious. So props to this book for giving me some really intense dreams for a few nights, felt like I was making my own book every night. 

I'm currently watching the movie and I think that it made some interesting choices with the editing the story but it kind of makes me appreciate the book a little more. 

This was a solid, fun read. It felt like watching one of those 90 minute thriller movies from the early 2010's. Going into this you are obviously going to have to suspend some disbelief and just enjoy the ride. I liked that it was fast paced, the author never really lingered on anything so the reader never gets bored. I liked the cast of characters, bordering the line of "too many" but overall not overwhelming. I enjoyed the overall plot and the mystery surrounding the characters we follow.

What I did not care for was the ending. It felt as if the book was leading up to a pretty solid conclusion, despite some of it being pretty predictable. The ending though felt too ... dull. For what this book was doing and how some of the actions that main character took were just so dumb, I would have wanted the author to go into it fully and give an overtop the top, almost too unbelievable to be real ending. 

Solid for what it is: just a fun story.

Overall I must say that I did enjoy this story, despite sometimes wanting to just be through with it. I think it has a really interesting concept and the idea of a Supper Club was fun. However, at times it felt as if the story went off into a tangent that felt ... repetitive. I found myself wondering just how much time the author was going to spend talking about a shitty past relationship instead of choosing to focus more on the main character's, Roberta's, present. Roberta had the potential to be an even more interesting character, but I think the lack of Supper Club meetings really took that chance away.

I wish that the paragraphs describing food where instead recipes of the food that Supper Club so that the reader had the chance to also join in a way. I also found myself waiting for more meetings of the Supper Club and was underwhelmed. I will say that I did enjoy reading about the individual members of the club and wish that we got to learn more about them. Perhaps this book would have benefited more from not being from just the perspective of Roberta. 

This was so fun! I really loved the concept and the use of handwritten letters to convey it. It's also an exploration of how power hungry people can twist current events to their gain. I don't think that it's doing anything extremely groundbreaking, but it doesn't come across as if it is. It's a quick read with a nice message underneath it. Also left me appreciating the English language a bit more and the power we have to continue communicating despite any challenges. 

TLDR: I need to stop getting my hopes up before getting 50% through a book. Still fun, just not fun enough.

I think this book has a nice message to share, but it gets lost halfway through, only to rush at the end to make its declarations. I stated that I was really enjoying this book at around 35% and that it felt like an action movie. Well ... then the second part starts and I could not care less, but I pulled through to the third part. Safe to say it was not enough to pull me back into the fun of it all.

This story felt like two different executions for the same idea being pushed together to make one book. The first part is exciting and fast paced; the author creates an interesting world with really compelling mysteries. We learn about the world through the main character going about solving this mystery that lands on her lap while at the same time she traverses through her current world that is falling apart.

The second part then goes backward to explain the background of a big component of the story. I think this part really falls flat and I kept wondering just how much longer it was going to take to get back to the main story. I wish the author had chosen a different way to convey the necessary information, maybe instead of just one big chunk the backstory was interwoven better through the main plotline. It just really felt like we had to get this information somehow, but when you get to such a great point in the main story and cut to some, essentially, information dumping, it really took me out.

The third part, we get back to the main story but obviously shit is finally gonna hit the fan. Because we spent so long learning about the past, I feel that we don't get enough time learning more about the present. It felt like a rush to get to the point that the author was trying to make and then the last 10 or so pages was just a big, nice, convenient ending. So much of the fun was already unbelievable, but the ending was just SO unbelievable I did have to roll my eyes just a little.

All this to say, that I still think I read this as if I was watching an action movie and for that I don't completely dislike it. I am just very "meh" about it considering I thought I would really be giving this a much higher rating at the start.

Oh god what can I even say that hasn't already been said? Everything about this book was eye-roll inducing and I am just in shock of how high this is being rated. I have heard the "fast food of books" argument for this but I go further and say this is worse. This is like getting McDonald's after a long day, but you get the driest patty that has probably been sitting there for hours and the coldest half filled fries. The drink is half flat and when you get home you realize you didn't even get ketchup.

Pros:
- The easiest thing to read as the author literally hands the reader everything on a golden platter and then actually continues to hand it over and over and over again

Cons:
- Everything else
- The horniest characters I have ever encountered and I have spent my time in the trenches of fanfiction

There was something deeply unsatisfying about this book. I was really enjoying reading about this character and her senior year at college so much that I almost forgot it was about an affair. And then the affair happens and I just lost interest. I found myself rushing to get back to the parts where she talks about herself and her friends instead of whatever she had going on with her professor. 

And then the end comes and I was left feeling so “… okay and then what?” I guess I really did just want this to be about her and her college experience without that musty old man around because I really did like the authors writing style.