McGlue: A Novella

<b>McGlue in a fugue </b>- Ah that wonderful drink that keeps the monsters at bay, but hey it does create some terrible monsters of it's own. Such a terrible deceiver.<b>McGlue unglued</B> - because that is what he is without Johnson. Johnson was the glue that kept him mostly together.Moshfegh gives us an unvarnished McGlue, the whys, the bad choices. McGlue was an escape artist and in drink he had the greatest of assistants. What did he find in Johnson? The friend? The lover? The enabler? I have to part and peak between her sentences to try and find answers, clues. And through these cracks in the sentences I glimpse his monsters, the lost brother, missing father, an exhausted mother, the attraction to men. But quick quick, just get another bottle, keep the monsters away.

Interesting? Maybe. It certainly does not have the clarity or poignancy of Mosfegh's earlier work.It is enigmatic without allure, and seems to just want to gross you out and confuse you.Oh, the gratuitous dark and ghastly places that interesting, clever writers can take you!Awful.

I am shocked that this book was even published - there is actually a character named "F*g" in the book, which is deeply offensive and hurtful to gay people. And before you tell me that she's allowed to do it because his homophobic language shows us what a bad guy he is and things were different back then, ask yourself what it would feel like to read a book with a character named "N-Word" or "R-word." And then reflect on the simple historical act that the word "f*g" is modern term and was not used in the 19th century, when this book is supposed to have taken place (and I would know; I have a PhD in Comp Lit and wrote my dissertation on 19th century European literature).Together these facts demonstrate exactly what Moshfegh's use of the word actually is: not an attempt to be historically accurate, nor an attempt to paint a moral picture, but rather an objectifying and homophobic use of an offensive term employed salaciously for the purpose of selling books.If it were any other group. of people she were using in this way, there would be a collective gasp from the literary community and the book wouldn't' be published. But because we LGBTQIA+ people are the last socially acceptable targets of hate, this book not only gets published but lauded.I literally tore my copy apart and recycled it, along with everything else I have that Moshfegh has written. And you should too.I only regret that I didn't read this book before I read her others - I'm disgusted that my purchases have supported a bigot.

This book cannot be condensed to a review. It is definitely a book that is heavy with meaning between the spaces of its lines. It is difficult to explain what this book is about because it definitely feels as if its something that you need to experience. Moshfegh does such a brilliant job of making you feel as drunk as our unlikable and unreliable narrator that transcribed words can't do justice to the experience. I will give a warning that I feel that this is a book that requires multiple readings to get at the nuances that she is able to capture. I cannot believe she was able to add so much to a single character in only 145 pages. This was my book club's choice for February and when we all started the discussion we stated that we had disliked the book. As we continued to dissect McGlue, his interactions, his backstory, his relationships and his "voyage through the fogs of recollection" we found that there was so much to unpack and ended up really loving this book. One of my fellow book club members pointed out that Moshfegh got the idea from the story from an 1800s newspaper clipping about a man accused of murder. This was the spark for this novella. Definitely give it a chance. Moshfegh truly continues to create her own unique voice in this story. I had read My Year of Rest and Relaxation prior to reading this book and could see hints of how McGlue went on to inspire MYORR.

I thought I was going to love this, but it just wasn't for me. It was interesting, but difficult to get through. Felt a lot longer then it was.

I bexame aware of Moshfegh by way of her short stories, first in "The Paris Review" and then in "The New Yorker". When she was in an issue of either, she blew whatever else was in its pages out of the water. I bought "McGlue" and her novel "Eileen" and, when I finally got a free second, started reading the former. It's a strange book that takes a few pages to accustom the reader to the jumpy, deliriously drunken prose. Once you get the hang of it you'll be soaring, feeling like you're reading what Beckett would have written after a Melville and whiskey bender. If you tend to like a more subtle, engaging type of fiction than what I've just described, check out her short fiction or (from the reviews I've read) "Eileen". She writes some brilliant, seemingly mild-mannered stories that end up featuring some weird and often scary characters engaging in questionable behavior. If you want to be sad and disgusted and elated and sometimes confused, read this one.

Full disclosure, I've been a huge fan of Moshfegh's since I was introduced to her short stories in my undergrad. But this is by far my favorite work of hers. It stands alone as the most riveting use of the unreliable narrator I've experienced up to now. At a little over 100 pages, it's pretty compact, but Moshfegh fits more development into this short span than I've seen in some full-length novels. The style leans towards experimental, but it maintains clarity and veers off only so often as it takes to stay true to the story's alcoholic, brain-damaged narrator. I cannot recommend this book highly enough, and any lovers of mystery, suspense, or self-destructive characters need it on their shelves yesterday.

I had a hard time following this book or figuring it out, but I read the whole thing because this author just has a way with words. I've enjoyed other books of hers regardless and will keep reading anything she publishes.

Ottessa Moshfegh is brilliant. I read everything she’s written and came to this last. I expected it to be ambitious but clunky. I wonder if over time people talk about this as her best.

I love her magical way of writing. This is a terrific short novel, highly recommended.

Excellent

Schade , die Lieferung war recht schnell. Das Buch sieht aus wie ein b -ware die Blätter in der Mitte sind viel zu lang und müssen abgeschnitten werden sende ein paar Fotos dazu. Das Buch ist ein Geburtstag Geschenk für eine Freundin meiner Tochter. Zum Inhalt kann ich leider nix sagen.

I wish I didn’t read the hype before I read it. Then again, if I did not I likely wouldn’t have known about it.