Eileen Audiobook By Ottessa Moshfegh cover art

Eileen

Preview

Try for $0.00
Access a growing selection of included Audible Originals, audiobooks, and podcasts.
You will get an email reminder before your trial ends.
Audible Plus auto-renews for $7.95/mo after 30 days. Upgrade or cancel anytime.

Eileen

By: Ottessa Moshfegh
Narrated by: Alyssa Bresnahan
Try for $0.00

$7.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $17.19

Buy for $17.19

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

About this listen

A lonely young woman working in a boys' prison outside Boston in the early 60s is pulled into a very strange crime, in a mordant, harrowing story of obsession and suspense, by one of the brightest new voices in fiction.

So here we are. My name was Eileen Dunlop. Now you know me. I was 24 years old then, and had a job that paid 57 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. 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. 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.

©2015 Ottessa Moshfegh (P)2015 Recorded Books
Crime Thrillers Fiction Literary Fiction Psychological Suspense Thriller Scary Exciting Mind-Bending Fantasy Dream
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Featured Article: 10+ Voyeuristic Thrillers Perfect for Fans of Caroline Kepnes’s You


If you've watched all four seasons of You, listened to all the Joe Goldberg audiobooks, and don’t know what to listen to next, don't fret. There are loads more creepy, compelling, suspense-filled stories like You to sink into. Whether you're looking for stories about cunning psychopaths, domestic thrillers, or romantic obsession with a side of murder, these listens will provide you with hours and hours of good old-fashioned chills.

What listeners say about Eileen

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    582
  • 4 Stars
    441
  • 3 Stars
    299
  • 2 Stars
    115
  • 1 Stars
    79
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    835
  • 4 Stars
    326
  • 3 Stars
    139
  • 2 Stars
    33
  • 1 Stars
    27
Story
  • 3.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    492
  • 4 Stars
    361
  • 3 Stars
    273
  • 2 Stars
    128
  • 1 Stars
    103

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Fantastic Narration and Engrossing

Even though I didn't love this story, I will say that the author is a talented writer, and the narrator was spot on. . .if I had to compare it to another book, I'd say "Eleanor Oliphant". It reads as if Eleanor Oliphant was born 30 years earlier...also the twist is interesting and unexpected after a few hrs in...overall...I'd recommend it

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Not my cup of tea

The last two chapters were the best part of the book; I felt it took too long to get there! I could relate to some aspects of the character, but some details were simply gross and didn't contribute overall. The narration was terrific!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

The narration was good

The story kept me interested, and the ending was a nice surprise. Will definitely read more from the author.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Unexpected, subtle, & weird

I love how different great female writers are from great male writers, and this is why. I wouldn’t dare ruin a minute of it for you except to say: trust her & let it happen

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Boring

I read my year of rest and relaxation and thought it was snoozers but this one is worse only good part was the end

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent Writing. Excellent Narration.

The day I started this book I was about to give up. I had started and quickly deleted 4 books in rapid succession, so poor was the writing. I'll admit every book I read isn't award winning material but I had just finished a book by Lionel Shriver so my brain wasn't ready to settle for garbage. I knew within minutes of starting Eileen I had found a book worth my time. The attention to detail and the unexpected turns of phrase made listening to Ottessa Moshfegh's writing a joy. Though I'm sure this book isn't to everyone's taste if nuanced skill with words is what you enjoy, step right up. I would have given this book 5 stars even without a good story but it delivered that as well. The narrator was a perfect choice. I couldn't imagine a better interpretation of the two main characters.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

4.28 stars........perfect narrator

Eileen is a bit darker than Moshfegh's latest novel, My Year of Rest and Relaxation, and it's not as funny, but the dark humor is still there. The narrator has the perfect voice for this work and does a fantastic job. This type of character study isn't for everyone because the plot moves slow, but I like this type of novel, and I like this writer.

Overall rating: 4.25 stars

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Ended full circle

One of the most interesting and at the same time strangest story I've ever read. The performance was a perfect match--not sure I would've enjoyed this book as much had I read it myself (instead off listening to it). The character has a very strong personality and the narrator did an excellent job at portraying this in a tone that was relatable.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A profound slice of life

By reading this book we go on a ride into the mind of a woman who has lived a grim life contained primarily by her small town and the unfortunate circumstances of her home. Though the scene setting is dark, the author is clearly gifted and her descriptions glow through the gloom. There is a story here, which meanders around bizarre twists and turns, but for me, the courageous empathy for each darkly flawed character is the authors most remarkable feat. At times humorous and others tragic, this strange slice of life goes deep and I highly recommended the read. ❤️

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Let down hard!

This story for me really never got off the ground. I kept thinking and hoping there would be something that would kick in but was disappointed I had given a credit.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!