Synopsis
A lonely young woman working in a boys prison outside Bostonin the early 60s is pulled into a very strange crime, in a mordant, harrowing story of obsession and suspense, by one of the brightestnew voices in fiction "So here we are. My name was Eileen Dunlop. Now you knowme. I was twenty-four years old then, and had a job that paidfifty-seven dollars a week as a kind of secretary at a privatejuvenile correctional facility for teenage boys. I think of it nowas what it really was for all intents and purposes a prison forboys. I will call it Moorehead. Delvin Moorehead was a terriblelandlord I had years later, and so to use his name for such a placefeels appropriate.In a week, I would run away from home and never go back. This is the story of how I disappeared." The Christmas season offers little cheer for EileenDunlop, an unassuming yet disturbed youngwoman trapped between her role as her alcoholicfather s caretaker in a home whose squalor isthe talk of the neighborhood and a day job as asecretary at the boys prison, filled with its ownquotidian horrors. Consumed by resentmentand self-loathing, Eileen tempers her dreary dayswith perverse fantasies and dreams of escaping tothe big city. In the meantime, she fills her nightsand weekends with shoplifting, stalking a buffprison guard named Randy, and cleaning up herincreasingly deranged father s messes. When thebright, beautiful, and cheery Rebecca Saint Johnarrives on the scene as the new counselor atMoorehead, Eileen is enchanted and proves unableto resist what appears at first to be a miraculouslybudding friendship. In a Hitchcockian twist, heraffection for Rebecca ultimately pulls her intocomplicity in a crime that surpasses her wildestimaginings. Played out against the snowy landscape ofcoastal New England in the days leading up toChristmas, young Eileen s story is told from thegimlet-eyed perspective of the now much oldernarrator. Creepy, mesmerizing, and sublimelyfunny, in the tradition of Shirley Jackson andearly Vladimir Nabokov, this powerful debutnovel enthralls and shocks, and introduces oneof the most original new voices in contemporaryliterature.", Now a major motion picture streaming on Hulu, starring Anne Hathaway and Thomasin McKenzie Shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize " Eileen is a remarkable piece of writing, always dark and surprising, sometimes ugly and occasionally hilarious. Its first-person narrator is one of the strangest, most messed-up, most pathetic--and yet, in her own inimitable way, endearing--misfits I've encountered in fiction. Trust me, you have never read anything remotely like Eileen ." -- Washington Post So here we are. My name was Eileen Dunlop. Now you know me. I was twenty-four years old then, and had a job that paid fifty-seven dollars a week as a kind of secretary at a private juvenile correctional facility for teenage boys. I think of it now as what it really was for all intents and purposes--a prison for boys. I will call it Moorehead. Delvin Moorehead was a terrible landlord I had years later, and so to use his name for such a place feels appropriate. In a week, I would run away from home and never go back. This is the story of how I disappeared. The Christmas season offers little cheer for Eileen Dunlop, an unassuming yet disturbed young woman trapped between her role as her alcoholic father's caretaker in a home whose squalor is the talk of the neighborhood and a day job as a secretary at the boys' prison, filled with its own quotidian horrors. Consumed by resentment and self-loathing, Eileen tempers her dreary days with perverse fantasies and dreams of escaping to the big city. In the meantime, she fills her nights and weekends with shoplifting, stalking a buff prison guard named Randy, and cleaning up her increasingly deranged father's messes. When the bright, beautiful, and cheery Rebecca Saint John arrives on the scene as the new counselor at Moorehead, Eileen is enchanted and proves unable to resist what appears at first to be a miraculously budding friendship. In a Hitchcockian twist, her affection for Rebecca ultimately pulls her into complicity in a crime that surpasses her wildest imaginings. Played out against the snowy landscape of coastal New England in the days leading up to Christmas, young Eileen's story is told from the gimlet-eyed perspective of the now much older narrator. Creepy, mesmerizing, and sublimely funny, in the tradition of Shirley Jackson and early Vladimir Nabokov, this powerful debut novel enthralls and shocks, and introduces one of the most original new voices in contemporary literature. Ottessa Moshfegh is also the author of My Year of Rest and Relaxation , Homesick for Another World: Stories, and McGlue ., Shortlisted for the 2016 Man Booker Prize and chosen by David Sedaris as his recommended book for his Fall 2016 tour. So here we are. My name was Eileen Dunlop. Now you know me. I was twenty-four years old then, and had a job that paid fifty-seven dollars a week as a kind of secretary at a private juvenile correctional facility for teenage boys. I think of it now as what it really was for all intents and purposes--a prison for boys. I will call it Moorehead. Delvin Moorehead was a terrible landlord I had years later, and so to use his name for such a place feels appropriate. In a week, I would run away from home and never go back. This is the story of how I disappeared. The Christmas season offers little cheer for Eileen Dunlop, an unassuming yet disturbed young woman trapped between her role as her alcoholic father's caretaker in a home whose squalor is the talk of the neighborhood and a day job as a secretary at the boys' prison, filled with its own quotidian horrors. Consumed by resentment and self-loathing, Eileen tempers her dreary days with perverse fantasies and dreams of escaping to the big city. In the meantime, she fills her nights and weekends with shoplifting, stalking a buff prison guard named Randy, and cleaning up her increasingly deranged father's messes. When the bright, beautiful, and cheery Rebecca Saint John arrives on the scene as the new counselor at Moorehead, Eileen is enchanted and proves unable to resist what appears at first to be a miraculously budding friendship. In a Hitchcockian twist, her affection for Rebecca ultimately pulls her into complicity in a crime that surpasses her wildest imaginings. Played out against the snowy landscape of coastal New England in the days leading up to Christmas, young Eileen's story is told from the gimlet-eyed perspective of the now much older narrator. Creepy, mesmerizing, and sublimely funny, in the tradition of Shirley Jackson and early Vladimir Nabokov, this powerful debut novel enthralls and shocks, and introduces one of the most original new voices in contemporary literature. Ottessa Moshfegh is also the author of My Year of Rest and Relaxation , Homesick for Another World: Stories, and McGlue .
