Reviews tagging 'Gore'

Lapvona by Ottessa Moshfegh

236 reviews

misterbugman's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Misogyny, Rape, Violence, Emotional abuse, Body horror, Torture, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Gore, Murder, Pedophilia, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Blood, Child abuse, Death, Incest, and Stalking

smurphy5337's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

2.5

Depravity and gore and destruction for no apparent narrative reason other than to simply be so extreme it is unsettling. Very difficult to read plot and content wise. Boo.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cannibalism, Child death, Death, Ableism, Abortion, Blood, Excrement, Gore, Murder, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Rape, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Violence, Animal cruelty, Domestic abuse, and Incest

kimipr's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad medium-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death of parent, Abortion, Gore, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Child death, Rape, Cannibalism, Death, Incest, Slavery, Suicide, and Adult/minor relationship

miathy's review against another edition

adventurous dark fast-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

2.25

This book has amazing writing, and I often found myself having to put the book down and return to it later because of the gruesome horrors imprinted through the language. 
Horror isn't a genre I typically read, but Moshfegh's beautiful style of writing is one that I definitely enjoyed. 

However, I found myself losing interest in the second half of the book. It felt as though the development and journey of the characters fell short through their abrupt deaths.

In the end, I really was expecting more, and it felt a more forced read in the end for me.
This ultimately comes down to reading practices and the atmosphere one is looking for when they're going in for a read. I wasn't reading this to analyse or really to engage my brain at all, and saw it as more of an avenue for entertainment, and this felt like a missed opportunity. 

This book is so character focused, and the result is an array of equally complex and compelling characters, each with their own backstory and ability to alter the course of the plot. 
I think this is where I lost the direction of the story, because so much of it extends to the village of Lapovna as a whole. As the story progressed, more and more characters were introduced, developed and explained, but I wasn't able to find a connecting link outside the physical acquaintances and relationships between the characters. 

I think I definitely have to revisit this book in another time, but it seems that horror is just not something I can handle. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cannibalism, Domestic abuse, Rape, Child abuse, Torture, Blood, Body horror, Sexual assault, Violence, Death, Gore, Infertility, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Murder, and Physical abuse

bananhan's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

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

2.0

This book is not for the faint-hearted. Definitely good for those who can stomach Moshfegh's style of writing, but it is hard to get through. Be prepared for incredibly graphic scenes of human debauchery.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Blood, Eating disorder, Body horror, Violence, Child abuse, Classism, Death, Animal cruelty, Cannibalism, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, and Misogyny

cwbillings's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-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

4.0

I forced myself to read this in a day and I’m so glad I did. I truly love it. It’s exceptional. But this story is not one you can carry in your mind for long. It’s heavy. It’s demented. And the allegorical messages are superbly written. I’d recommend reading this if you’ve got a strong stomach.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Violence, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Murder, Sexual harassment, Slavery, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Rape, Self harm, Torture, Toxic relationship, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Classism, Domestic abuse, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Bullying, Excrement, Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, Animal death, Death, Death of parent, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Confinement, Gore, Sexism, and Sexual content

cpratreads's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense fast-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

2.5

This book was fine. I struggle to explain exactly how I feel about it. I find Moshfegh's writing to be very easy to read, and I certainly read this book quickly. I did want to know where the story would go. But I didn't enjoy the story. 

I think part of that is that I had my own idea of what it was going to be, and boy was I wrong. But also, it just felt mean? 

I know it's "historical" fiction but it's also fantasy, and Lapvona isn't a real place, so you can really make the rules whatever you want. 

the way EVERYONE treated Marek was so mean and dehumanizing. If you're making up the rules of the land, you don't need every single person to comment on how "monstrous" and "disgusting" he is every chance you get. On top of that there was a very unneccesary rape scene that was very hard to get through.

 

Overall, I don't want to read it again, and I don't think I would even recommend it to anyone honestly. 

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Cannibalism, Gore, Ableism, and Death

Moderate: Sexual assault and Child abuse

liv_1810's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

4.5

This book was a whole rollercoaster, and there were times I had to put it down to digest what I’d just read. But I loved how provocative it was and how it really made me sit and think deeply about what I was reading. The morally grey (if not completely immoral) characters were written so well and so deeply that it was hauntingly perfect. Definitely not for the faint-hearted but beautifully done.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Rape, Gore, Death of parent, Blood, Murder, Cannibalism, and Death

Moderate: Incest, Domestic abuse, and Child abuse

filesm's review against another edition

dark funny tense fast-paced

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

4.5

Wow y’all really mad at Ottessa for this one… it’s not her fault medieval people were freaks! 
I imagined Jude as Rhett from GMM and now I’m kinda scared of Rhett :,(

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Rape, Violence, Torture, Slavery, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Excrement, Gore, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, and Suicide

cheuksin's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Generally one of the most disturbing books I’ve ever read. I hated every single one the characters

(except lispeth, dibra Agata they were mostly innocent bc as far as I can remember)

. I was told it was weird but wow was I shocked at this true extent of how bizarre and uncomfortable it would be. One of the most in depth books when it comes to critiques of religion, patriarchy and capitalism and just overall so well thought out

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Cannibalism, Child death, Misogyny, Murder, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Physical abuse, Animal death, Gore, Sexual violence, Child abuse, and Pedophilia

Moderate: Abortion, Ableism, Animal cruelty, and Incest

Minor: Excrement and Miscarriage