Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

Lapvona by Ottessa Moshfegh

51 reviews

lotus440's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Classism, Death of parent, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Cannibalism, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Emotional abuse, Grief, Mental illness, Pedophilia, and Self harm

pi_noir's review against another edition

It was compelling at the start, but the shock factor couldn't save it from getting old real quick. Overall, it just made me miserable. If I'm feeling particularly masochistic, I might pick it up again just to be done with it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Abandonment, Ableism, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Sexual violence, Violence, Vomit, Animal cruelty, Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Child death, Classism, Death, Excrement, and Gore

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

sarahgr's review against another edition

dark sad tense slow-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: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Child death, Classism, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Gore, Incest, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, and Suicide

Moderate: Abandonment, Confinement, Genocide, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Murder, and Torture

goodnightngo's review against another edition

2.5

weirdest book ever. so much (unnecessary?) graphic description. hate all the characters, but really love the way ottessa can tell a story from many different pov’s without any warning. don’t read if you are the faint of heart. honestly surprised i got thru this one and the time limit i gave myself definitely helped. i do NOT want to live in lapvona 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Murder, Self harm, Sexual violence, Violence, Classism, Cursing, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Gore, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Suicide attempt, Torture, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Body horror, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, and Suicide

hiarac's review against another edition

challenging dark 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

4.25

I think this book is a perfect example of how you can enjoy something and still be critical of it. I can't say I didn't enjoy this book, I loved the way it was written and found the matter-of-fact descriptions of certain gross and/or terrible things quite interesting, however I do agree when people say it consists of just a whole lot of pain and suffering for the characters. I think that the book was shocking in its subject matter but not necessarily profound.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Cannibalism, Mental illness, Gore, Abortion, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Rape, Pregnancy, Pedophilia, and Grief

olivianw's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Grotesque. Moshfegh has a talent for making hideous stories impossible to put down. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Suicide, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Child abuse, Gore, Grief, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Body horror, Murder, Rape, Sexual violence, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, and Pregnancy

zoelikesbooksandchihuahuas's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cannibalism, Vomit, Toxic relationship, Slavery, Pregnancy, Gore, Excrement, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Misogyny, Domestic abuse, Sexual content, Rape, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Murder, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Kidnapping, and Injury/Injury detail

gardenofroses's review against another edition

dark slow-paced

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

5.0

 This was my first Ottessa Moshfegh read and I was so excited to finally read one of her novels. This was one of my most anticipated book releases of the year and it did not disappoint.

It was definitely a lot more gruesome than I was expecting but after I got over the initial shock I was able to keep reading. I understand that this kind of book may not be for everyone so if you’re thinking of reading this book please check the trigger warnings.

This book centers around the medieval town of Lapvona which is controlled by a fiefdom. Because it focuses on a whole town there is a wide range of unique characters that we focus on. There’s Marek who is a disabled 13-year-old, his dad Jude who cares for lambs, Ina the witch that lives on the outskirts of town, Villiam, the Lord controlling the town and so many more.

There were many themes within the book but the one that interested me the most was the relationship that each character had with their god. They all had very different ideas of what their god represented and what he expected of their devotion to him, whether that be self-flagellation, starvation/restriction, pain, hard work, etc. A lot of the time it was these beliefs that led them to make some horrific decisions. Ottessa does not shy away from the grotesque or from exploring the depraved parts of humanity. She consistently put these characters into situations that just kept getting worse and worse. I was at the edge of my seat half the time because I was so scared of what the characters would do next, that I didn’t trust any of them.

I definitely want to reread this again sometime in the fall or winter just so that I can fully examine all the different cast of characters. Especially Ina, the witch, and her relationship with the town, because I feel like the first time around, I was so surprised by all the gruesome details that I didn’t get to focus on the characters as much as I wanted to.

Also, when I was reading this it was playing in my head like a movie directed by Ari Aster. It gave those same sinister vibes you get with Midsommar and Hereditary.

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Gore, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Vomit, Abandonment, Abortion, Animal death, Body horror, Blood, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Child death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

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