Reviews tagging 'Infidelity'

Lapvona by Ottessa Moshfegh

40 reviews

rhinaissance's review against another edition

dark funny sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book had me in a chokehold the whole time. It is bizarre, perverse, and a bit uncertain of its own ideas at times, but really really fascinating. And enjoyable (if you're weird, like me). I barely put it down the entire time, because I could not at all predict what would happen next. It was chock-full of "....what?" moments without being too overstated and obscene like Tender is the Flesh. I will admit, the moment I finished the book I was mad, but then as 24 hours have passed I find myself laughing at the absurdity. So it has won me back. 

On the surface, it appears as if there is no point, but I urge you to not stop there when thinking about it. There doesn't need to be a neon sign for something to be worth reading/analyzing. 

This book is not everyone's style but Moshfeg has really won me over.  I liked this novel a lot more than My year of Rest and Relaxation. But now I am *almost* tempted to go back. 
 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Eating disorder, Excrement, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Emotional abuse, Animal cruelty, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Child death, Drug use, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Classism, Colonisation, Death of parent, Religious bigotry, Chronic illness, Infidelity, Abandonment, Body shaming, and Bullying

minxtte's review against another edition

challenging dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, Blood, Classism, Sexual violence, Animal death, Physical abuse, Death, Self harm, Cannibalism, and Child death

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Abortion, Excrement, Incest, Infertility, Murder, Pedophilia, Alcohol, Death of parent, and Infidelity

Minor: Body shaming and Miscarriage

literarylion's review against another edition

dark emotional funny reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Pros:

• Every book that Moshfegh writes is completely different -- in tone, plot, pacing, character type, voice. You can hardly tell they are written by the same author. It's pretty incredible. 
• Moshfegh is a master of grotesque description that is both arresting and revolting. 
• Well-paced and solid throughout.

Cons:

• From a disability perspective, there are some problematic elements, but it's hard to tell if that's a product of the setting or Moshfegh herself.
• There were some medieval cliches, but not to a distracting level. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Gore, Murder, Physical abuse, Violence, Abandonment, Ableism, Abortion, Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, Child death, Classism, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Sexual violence, Vomit, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Sexual assault, and Sexual content

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Infidelity, and Pregnancy

Minor: Miscarriage and Pedophilia

nialiversuch's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Excrement, Gore, Infidelity, Murder, Religious bigotry, Xenophobia, Bullying, Fire/Fire injury, Physical abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Rape, Abortion, Cannibalism, Emotional abuse, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Classism, Confinement, Death of parent, Infertility, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Abandonment, Ableism, Animal death, Blood, Body shaming, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Grief, Pregnancy, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Vomit

kellyung's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Vomit, Abortion, Animal death, Slavery, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Physical abuse, Violence, Ableism, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Cannibalism, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Excrement, Gore, Alcohol, Blood, Chronic illness, Classism, Rape, Child abuse, Grief, Incest, Murder, Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Infidelity, Misogyny, and Pedophilia

ginnyb412's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

 

books that make you go Hm. 

 

Jokes aside, it was a bit disappointing from Moshfegh (for me). When reading her other work I was struck by how much I loved it and how it tilted the axis of my taste; I didn’t have that with Lapvona at all. If I had to describe Lapvona in 1 word it would be ‘heavy-handed.’ The overt biblical metaphors and references, the anti-capitalism, it was all a little too obvious, like a magician who accidentally reveals his trick to the crowd. It felt, at times, that Moshfegh got caught up in being Ottessa Moshfegh: she focused too much on making everything repulsive that she forgot to add depth or any real plot (coming from someone who loves all vibes no plot books!). My 2 biggest bones of contention were these: 

 

First, that she tries a little too hard to mesh modern late-stage capitalism with medieval feudalism (assuming that this story takes place at the end of the 14th century as there’s a few throwaway references to the Plague). I think this bothered me in particular because I’m a historian! They were two separate systems that existed hundreds of years apart with things in between. This grated on me especially towards the end, when she writes about the Lapvonians (one in particular, won’t spoil) having Lenin or Robespierre-esque monologues in their thoughts. 

 

Second, she falls into the trap with Villiam that ugly = evil. I’ve seen other people say that he represents Trump and I think they’re probably right, given how much of a fixation there was with how physically ugly Trump was (paralleling Moshfegh’s continual references to how Villiam is ugly, skinny, sickly, etc). I think this left a profound distaste in my mouth: its too easy, it almost borders on laziness. It’s easy to look at someone like Trump or Villiam, so obviously uneducated and physically unattractive, and focus on their bad qualities, to assume that they’re evil. But what about the handsome, ivy league educated, well-mannered, confident, friendly people (like either Bush, Reagan, Clinton, Obama, etc) who were responsible for so much suffering and death not through incompetence or stupidity but uncaring negligence or calculated maliciousness? It’s too easy and lazy to say that evil always has a terrible spray tan, a toupee, and is physically unappealing. Sometimes it comes in a suit and speaks with a confident New England accent. America and the West aren’t too stupid to stop themselves from being evil—thats a core concept that I think Moshfegh got wrong. 

 

Overall, I didn’t hate this book (despite the ranting above haha). Given the buzz online I was expecting to be crawling in my skin disgusted but honestly, it didn’t really gross me out (but maybe I’ve read too much Moshfegh). As usual Moshfegh’s writing style is excellent and alluring. While I didn’t necessarily enjoy this book, I read it quickly simply because Moshfegh’s talent was dripping from the pages. I think this books biggest sin is that it was too much and not enough, a nothingness almost. I thought this book would be chilli pepper but it was flour. If another author had written this, I’d probably be more lenient, but because it’s Moshfegh and I know she can do better, the mediocrity really stuck with me. 

 

5/10 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Excrement, Rape, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Gore, Sexual assault, Suicide, Torture, Abortion, Animal death, Cannibalism, Death, Incest, Infidelity, Murder, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, and Violence

lycheejelly's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Excrement, Rape, Self harm, Death, Emotional abuse, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Drug use, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Child death, Grief, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Alcohol, Classism, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Ableism, Alcoholism, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Violence, Pedophilia, Abortion, Body horror, Bullying, and Confinement

surlyjackson's review against another edition

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Filthy and depraved and unputdownable, a literary car crash. Her first foray into an omniscient narrator in a novel was a brilliant one with even the side characters being fully fleshed out. For fans of Robert Eggers. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Cannibalism, Infidelity, Rape, Child death, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Child abuse, Classism, Confinement, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual violence, Vomit, Abandonment, Ableism, Abortion, Animal death, Incest, Physical abuse, and Sexual assault

Minor: Fire/Fire injury

savvylit's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Lapvona was a strange and riveting book. Only one word echoed in my mind as I read it: depraved. Every aspect of this story is utterly depraved. The characters are perverse and delusional. Disgusting scenarios and warped ideas fill each page. In fact, the plot points and characters in this novel were exaggerated to the point of farce. Moshfegh has taken tropes from fairytales & medieval literature and blown them completely out of proportion. Lapvona is a ridiculous novel and yet it is also incredibly readable. I was impressed, depressed, and horrified. Only Moshfegh could publish such a nihilistic and grotesque story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Press for the advanced copy of Lapvona in exchange for my honest review!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Adult/minor relationship, Infidelity, Mental illness, Death, Child abuse, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Rape, Classism, Violence, Animal death, Body horror, and Cannibalism

katiemanring's review against another edition

challenging dark slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

What a gruesome novel - Truly a visceral experience that definitely resembles some of the graphic physicality of her other works, but with a weird, haunted, medieval vibe. Very strange and yet still enjoyable if you don’t mind or even like gruesome tales —  but not for the faint of heart.  Highly recommend looking at all the content warnings if you’re unsure. 

Thank you so much to PENGUIN PRESS and NETGALLEY for access to the digital ARC - Releases officially on June 20 2022

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Murder, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Excrement, Gore, Animal death, Cannibalism, Death, Death of parent, Sexual assault, Blood, Grief, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Violence, Incest, Sexual content, and Sexual violence

Minor: Drug use, Infertility, and Infidelity