Ottessa Moshfegh's resounding literary talents patterns the prose in Eileen. Her descriptions of total dreariness and dilapidation, and her framing of the introspections of a pained, pitying yet manipulative narrator, made for a strong reading experience. 

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There were elements of the plot that I felt would have benefitted from some finessing (exploring the deeper motivations of Rebecca’s actions, changing what is experienced as the slight runoff of tension when Mrs Polk confesses etc.) Truthfully, I wasn't quite struck with the same electric urgency I had reading Lapvona and My Year of Rest and Relaxation. 

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All's to say that Eileen is still a novel that excited me and evidenced the power of literature to tour the minds of protagonists, who for all their unlikeability, are deeply interesting and carry cultural weight.