Ottessa Moshfegh
With her 2015 novel Eileen, the writer Ottessa Moshfegh married brooding suspense and dark humor in a story that drew readers into the heart of a disturbingly arresting mystery. That book was shortlisted for the Man Booker prize. 2018 brought Moshfegh’s critically acclaimed, bestselling novel My Year of Rest and Relaxation, in which the story of a young woman's unorthodox plan for self-care is the occasion for a surprising, brilliantly funny look at our anxious new century. Moshfegh joined us in this episode on the occasion of a new paperback edition of her first book, an award-winning novella titled McGlue, after the Massachusetts-born century sailor. His troubled story, Moshfegh says, came to her almost immediately when she stumbled upon a headline in a 19th century newspaper in a library archive. In this episode, she talks about the sources of her fiction and how late nights watching comedians on television may be one source for her razor-sharp sense of humor.