Reviews tagging 'Fire/Fire injury'

Lapvona by Ottessa Moshfegh

31 reviews

gia0203's review

challenging dark reflective tense medium-paced

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

3.5

As someone who has a complicated relationship with religion/faith, I really enjoyed the themes in this. I particularly enjoyed the use of the seasons (Summer being the most effective). 

However, as we moved towards the end of the novel, the pace slowed down, and the narrative became more dull, ultimately leading to an ending I didn’t find satisfying. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Rape

Moderate: Animal death, Grief, Ableism, Violence, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Adult/minor relationship, Miscarriage, Cannibalism, Self harm, and Pregnancy

Minor: Fire/Fire injury

eemily's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Animal death, Child death, Self harm, Gore, Emotional abuse, Rape, Cannibalism, Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Suicide, Religious bigotry, Miscarriage, Classism, Forced institutionalization, Murder, and Pedophilia

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Sexism, Animal cruelty, Infertility, Fire/Fire injury, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Bullying, Abandonment, Ableism, Alcoholism, Abortion, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Body shaming, and Blood

flo_sg's review against another edition

dark slow-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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cannibalism, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Excrement, Gore, Sexual assault, Death, Emotional abuse, Murder, and Body horror

Moderate: Vomit, Abandonment, Abortion, Animal cruelty, Violence, and Pregnancy

Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Pedophilia, Suicide, Eating disorder, and Incest

cwiita's review

dark 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

3.0

Well, after marking My Year Of Rest and Relaxation as my only DNF ever, I managed to make it through this one. I purchased this book before I started MYORAR, before I had any idea how much I would struggle with Otessa Moshfegh. I find her to be a difficult read, not for lack of skill or quality, but for the simple fact that she seems to have an ongoing problem with fatphobia and ableism, among other things.  I discussed my initial problems with MYORAR with a friend who has read most of Moshfegh's work, and the consensus was that her stories relay very similar views each time and that her characters tend to be the same type of people across the board. I am a big fan of unreliable narrators and I appreciate the challenge of crafting a story around difficult characters, but to do it unrelentingly in every book while consistently implying hateful messages is tough for me to get behind.
With that being said, I blew through Lapvona. This book is absolutely vile, but incredibly readable when it comes to pacing and language. It was also much easier to tolerate the actions and views of the characters knowing that the events were taking place under a feudal system in medieval times. Moshfegh did a wonderful job of characterization, for better or for worse. The plot is somehow both ceaseless and unrecognizable. It's an infinite circle of pointless suffering, but maybe that's the point.  In an uncanny way, there was something enjoyable about this read. Since I already own MYORAR, this piece almost convinced me to give it another try. Almost.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcohol, Animal death, Classism, Grief, Abandonment, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Violence, Vomit, Body shaming, Child abuse, Abortion, Sexual assault, Drug use, Excrement, Ableism, Blood, Death, Cannibalism, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, Emotional abuse, and Pregnancy

mnatale100's review

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Death of parent, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Child abuse, Death, Murder, Rape, Cannibalism, Abandonment, Body horror, Child death, Classism, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Slavery, Violence, and Vomit

Moderate: Pregnancy, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Ableism, Physical abuse, Sexism, Suicide, Abortion, Confinement, Excrement, Misogyny, and Pedophilia

Minor: Infertility, Miscarriage, Fire/Fire injury, Drug use, Eating disorder, Sexual content, Domestic abuse, and Incest

archer3's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Vile, disgusting, perverse, and extremely grotesque. Certain passages made me physically recoil. Yet, somehow, I loved the story. It was very well-written and I couldn't stop reading. I loved the third person narration that gave insight into the intricacies of so many different characters. I absolutely hated the main characters, and didn't care about the other ones in the slightest, but that was definitely the point. Going back and forth between so many characters and reading their views and personal opinions on each other didn't leave enough time to start liking any of them anyway, and it was genuinely great and so cool to read. Seeing their varying beliefs and conflicting viewpoints was fascinating and gave the story so much more depth and complexity. The subtle message about how differing perspectives alter perceptions, beliefs, and circumstances was striking. 
Some plot points were really not wrapped up well, though.

What on earth was up with Ina taking the horse's eyes?? That felt like very sloppy writing, it just didn't make sense. It seemed it only happened for the shock value. I would've liked there to be a passage about what happened to Dibra. I also didn't enjoy how Jude faded out of the story and then was randomly brought back to replace Luka. I wish that whole situation could've been explained better (like how they even found his cave, for example).

But on the other hand, there were some plot points that I actually really loved and thought were developed perfectly (

such as Marek's biological father being the bandit he kissed at the beginning

). 
I did not find this book predictable at all, and I loved it. Definitely not for everyone, though. (Don't read it if you have a weak stomach...)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Gore, Murder, Abortion, Cannibalism, Child death, Pedophilia, Death, Incest, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicide, Violence, and Vomit

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Alcohol

Minor: Death of parent, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, and Miscarriage

august_18's review

dark sad slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Rape, Child abuse, Child death, Physical abuse, Death, Death of parent, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Animal death, Incest, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Blood, and Abortion

Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Drug use, Grief, and Sexism

stardustdreamer's review

dark reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Sexual assault, Rape, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Cannibalism, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Child death, Incest, Misogyny, Sexism, Torture, Abortion, Pregnancy, Infidelity, and Gore

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Fire/Fire injury, Drug use, Alcohol, Classism, Blood, Death of parent, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Slavery, and Pedophilia

Minor: Vomit

abi_ch0m's review

adventurous dark sad fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Fatphobia, Animal death, Abandonment, Ableism, Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Bullying, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Incest, Infidelity, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

nixieba25f's review

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

1.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Religious bigotry, Violence, Vomit, Alcohol, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Classism, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Gaslighting, Grief, Pregnancy, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicide, Torture, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Body horror, Bullying, Cannibalism, Eating disorder, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Sexual harassment, Abandonment, Drug use, Homophobia, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Ableism, Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Pedophilia, and Self harm