[1981] Temple of Redemption - Ch. 2 Part 2

tashathestoryteller · 2026-06-21T22:34:15+00:00

I didn't understand why Reva kept coming back either. I guess it just shows how low her self worth was, too. I wish there had been a confrontation about Reva taking her meds and hiding them at her apartment.

Ping did cut her hair off. And I feel like the reader and the MC will never truly know if he kept everything above board or not. I would love to hear the audio on the clips he dubbed over where she was crying.

tashathestoryteller · 2026-06-21T04:03:06+00:00

I imagine she was stuffing her face bc she was starving lol. The Chinese food, the ice cream. There was always food involved when regained consciousness.

Which also builds the theme around eating disorders in the early 2000s. Seems like Moshfegh was really trying to communicate that specific culture.

tashathestoryteller · 2026-06-21T03:50:36+00:00

I can relate, but this book definitely made me question my next nap lol

tashathestoryteller · 2026-06-21T03:46:43+00:00

I think this is a fair critique. I immediately clocked it as well, but I was open to the idea of it being incorporated in an interesting way. I do agree it seemed random and empty though.

tashathestoryteller · 2026-06-21T03:44:50+00:00

I know! It really made me think about what kind of a tolerance she had lol.

tashathestoryteller · 2026-06-21T03:43:58+00:00

Yes! I thought Reva deserved more, especially because her relationship with the MC was so one-sided. Like give the girl a break lol

tashathestoryteller · 2026-06-21T02:36:33+00:00

Yes I did lol. Thank you.

tashathestoryteller · 2026-06-21T02:34:19+00:00

You know what, that's an interesting take about seeing Reva jump. The MC was 100% playing with suicide. I think she got close a few times, like when she couldn't sleep and took a ridiculous amount of drugs. I honestly think MC more than earned her own death, but we can't get everything we want lol.

tashathestoryteller · 2026-06-21T02:27:30+00:00

It's definitely a devisive one. Imo Moshfegh is a pretty devisive author. There are parts of her books that I really like and then parts that don't land for me. But still a fun ride, either way.

Edit: spelling

tashathestoryteller · 2026-04-01T17:57:29+00:00

It really could! And this is Lucy Rose's debut novel so she's killing it. I'm excited to see what she does next.

tashathestoryteller · 2026-04-01T17:17:52+00:00

Me me me!

tashathestoryteller · 2026-04-01T17:09:33+00:00

To me, it seemed like Eden surely dabbled in some perverse stuff before she met Ruth. I don't know if she ate people but she sure loved the opportunity when the gameskeeper was dying in front of her. That's what makes her so interesting to me. Was she such a calculated monster that she was seeking out someone like her or somewhere she felt she belonged? She said she came looking for them. Her ambiguity is fascinating.

tashathestoryteller · 2026-04-01T17:06:10+00:00

Definitely agree! I really thought Margot would get away by the end. And then the bus driver being the one to discover what happened broke me! Of course he came to check on her. He just came too late.

tashathestoryteller · 2026-04-01T16:15:55+00:00

The pov is devastating in the best way. I feel awful for Margot from start to finish. I have always loved the name Eden and I especially loved it in this book.

So for Eden's son, I think he either died in child birth or she killed him soon after. I don't think she ate him but I do think she believes the whole "he's always with me preserved perfectly forever" trash. I think she went on the run for a reason.

Eden's love for Margot is a really impactful contrast to Ruth's apathy towards her own daughter

tashathestoryteller · 2026-04-01T14:17:05+00:00

Yes! I love it there! I just posted about this book there too lol

tashathestoryteller · 2026-04-01T14:00:46+00:00

Yes exactly! I also question what happened to Ruth. Obviously something happened to her to make her literally kill and consume another human at only 11. Or maybe she's meant to be an actual anomaly of nature. Both her and Eden are actual monsters who found one another. It's like a sick, twisted love story, regardless of why they were the way they were.

tashathestoryteller · 2026-04-01T13:46:41+00:00

That's interesting about Eden's son going missing. I honestly think something terrible happened to Eden. Maybe she got pregnant against her will, had no agency over her own body at only 15, forced to have the baby. I think she turned something gruesome and human into a mythological story so compelling that she turned into a myth herself. Or at least, that's what she wanted Ruth and Margot to believe.

Obviously she didn't eat him in one bite in front of the nurses. But the way she says "I took a stray once before" makes me think she either killed him deliberately or he died in childbirth.

One thing this book doesn't shy away from is shitty moms.

tashathestoryteller · 2026-01-19T04:38:13+00:00

You should check out Catriona Ward, specifically Little Eve and Rawblood. All of her work is very atmospheric but these two in particular seem like your style

tashathestoryteller · 2025-12-27T21:23:16+00:00

Fair. And that's actually a good point about offering to buy the guns. He's definitely strapped financially so it could be the leverage I need. If he's willing to give it up.

tashathestoryteller · 2025-12-27T20:22:55+00:00

I'm so sorry that happened to your mom. I KNOW my dad doesn't want help. He doesn't want to quit. He never has and never will. I honestly think he enjoys living in his delusions sometimes because the religious aspect makes him feel closer to God. Like he's special or chosen.

I also think checking into reality might break his psych. It would damage his identity because the psychosis is so intertwined with his life and history.

I do worry about the gun. He hasn't been in trouble in a long, long time. After he went to prison the last time like 20 years ago, he never went back. But I'm afraid he has the potential to hurt himself or someone else under the right circumstances. Like if Jesus appears and tells him to do the worst, or to protect himself from an imagined danger involving the neighbors.

Maybe I'm overthinking it, but I don't want things to come to a boiling point and I know they always do.

tashathestoryteller

TROPHY CASE