Ottessa Moshfegh embraces the unconventional, with her Los Angeles–based characters navigating a spectrum from stupor to frenzy, experiencing both breakdowns and breakthroughs with a distinctive languid flair.
Her distinct style of psychological turbulence has captivated readers, earning her debut novel, Eileen, a spot on the 2016 Booker Prize shortlist, subsequently adapted into a film releasing this December, while her critically acclaimed follow-up, My Year of Rest and Relaxation, garnered rave reviews.
At her Southern California residence, Moshfegh mirrors her characters’ tastes, curating a wardrobe filled with vintage treasures, a practice inherited from her older sister’s excursions to vintage warehouses in Cambridge, Massachusetts’s Garment District. Describing herself as a hoarder of intriguing items, Moshfegh acknowledges her fascination.
Despite favoring a standard uniform of baggy jeans, a sweatshirt, and Puma slides, Moshfegh’s eye for the idiosyncratic led her to the runway for Maryam Nassir Zadeh during New York Fashion Week, where pre-show jitters mirrored those from her childhood ballet recitals.
For Moshfegh, clothes are cherished objects embodying the thrill of discovery, evident in her dedication, with three rooms in her home solely dedicated to their storage—a hobby, obsession, and perhaps a bit of an addiction, she confesses.
Ottessa Moshfegh’s Rules to Live By:
1. Cultivate friendships with those who surpass your intellect.
2. Decorate your home with antique photographs of strangers, acknowledging the fortune of being alive among the deceased.
3. Share your bed with at least one dog or a cherished stuffie, providing companionship and protection during dreams.
4. Combat self-doubt by covering windows with a dark curtain, seeking optimism in the reflection of yourself as just another creature in the wild.
5. Follow delightful scents to their source, offering compliments to possible individuals who emit radiate aromas, fostering immediate feelings of positivity.
