Homesick for Another World

stories of Homesick For Another World are near perfect examples of the form. . . . What makes the pieces composing Homesick so thrilling, in addition to their technical inscrutability, is their ability to surprise with their ferocity, depravity, and casual violence, with their very ability to so consistently unsettle. . . . Amid the collection s dark tone, Moshfegh imbues an equally dark humor, at times absurd, at others melancholy and bone-dry. . . . If you re the kind of person who laughs when the grandma gets axed in A Good Man Is Hard To Find, you ll be right at home in Homesick. AV Club

Ottessa Moshfegh's story collection, Homesick for Another World, couldn't come at a better time. Notions of class and power are in an unpredictable flux. A new elite rises, flipping the deck into the air. Nobody knows where the cards will land. So here comes Moshfegh, whose imaginative writing about train-wreck characters, rich and poor, adheres to a relentlessly dim worldview where a divided America comes together in the muck. . . . The best stories in the collection, however, contain memorable, conflicting images of squalor and beauty, chaos and pattern. Associated Press

All psychologically astute, astringently funny and wonderfully entertaining. Minneapolis Star Tribune

Startling and impressive new short story collection. . . . Despite her unsparing dissection of their paranoias, fetishes, and failings, Moshfegh doesn t condescend to her characters; she is both gimlet-eyed and compassionate . . . there is both piercing wit and unexpected poignancy to be found in Moshfegh s original and resonant collection. Boston Globe

The characters in this collection are an unlovely bunch but make for an irresistible read. . . . Moshfegh a Boston-born, Los Angeles-based writer whose Man Booker-shortlisted novel Eileen (2016) infused the same sensibility into a witty, skillfully told suspense story has other tones and tricks at her command. She writes terrific, attention-grabbing openings, and impactful last lines that don t strain for a lapidary effect. Her damaged-girl deadpan snark is second to none . . . the authority of her storytelling means that she s able to bring the reader along with her on some surprising paths to her typically desolate destinations. Financial Times 

Homesick for Another World will scorch you like a blowtorch. John Waters, New York Times Book Review

Stunning short story collection. . . . There's not a story in Homesick for Another World that's anything less than original and perfectly constructed. Moshfegh's talent is unique, and her characters unfiltered, cold, frequently pathetic are all the more memorable for their faults and obliviousness. Anyone who's experienced the special kind of homesickness that lacks a home will find something to relate to in Moshfegh's unsettling, sharp stories. NPR

These stories are Moshfegh s deepest, darkest moments of introspection. Let them in. Electric Literature

The title and cover of Homesick for Another World might lead you to believe Ottessa Moshfegh s stories are set in outer space, but she s done the opposite: approached Earth as if it were an alien planet. . . . Moshfegh imbues her anguished realism with equal parts murky dread and clever turns of phrase. But for stories about isolation and loneliness, they are also oddly funny . . . a short story collection that s as consistent and often brilliant as they come. GQ

Ottessa Moshfegh s startling new stories are darkly, prickly, gross and impressive. . . . Despite her unsparing dissection of their paranoias, fetishes, and failings, Moshfegh doesn t condescend to her characters; she is both gimlet-eyed and compassionate. These are sad. . . lonely and troubled people, but many are improbably appealing; even the most twisted and tortured have recognizably human qualities . . .  if you can stomach the discomfort, there is both piercing wit and unexpected poignancy to be found in Moshfegh s original and resonant collection. Boston Globe
 
Psychologically astute, astringently funny and wonderfully entertaining . . . Moshfegh's singular stories are unified by bold ideas, intoxicating detail and perfectly calibrated humor and pathos. Minneapolis Star Tribune

Sentences looped and pulled into perfect slipknots: Moshfegh s ear is original, and her command of form, expert. I would read anything she writes. Harper s
 
Homesick for Another World showcases her mastery with tales of a range of creeps and weirdos in despair. . . . This cast of boors may not be the kind of folks readers would seek out to spend time with in real life. But in Moshfegh s stories, their company is irresistible. Time

Homesick for Another World is an impressive study of human vulnerability and self-deception, through which the reader is guided by a cynical and darkly funny literary voice. 1843 Magazine

Expertly crafted stories. . . . There s not a throw-away story in the collection. Each resonates with seemingly effortless, ineffable prose, rarely striking an inauthentic note particularly memorable are the endings, which often land to devastating effect. The author s acute insight focuses obsessively, uncomfortably, humorously on excreta, effluvia, and human foible, drilling to the core of her characters existential dilemmas. Moshfegh is a force. Publishers Weekly (starred)

[Moshfegh] is fearless in her probing of her characters emotional wounds, proceeding with such a sure touch readers are compelled, not repelled. The directness of her style demands that we register the life 'stuffed between the mattress and the wall.' While it is not always an easy read, this collection will leave readers with a sharper, more compassionate sense of the human condition. Booklist (starred review)

A smartly turned and admirably consistent collection about love and its discontents. Kirkus