Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

Lapvona by Ottessa Moshfegh

99 reviews

saintesasha's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious medium-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

4.0

Such a thrilling and gripping read, but it definitely will not be for everybody. Moshfegh skillfully conveys the horrors of medieval life while leaning into mysticism and the influence of religion, sexuality, and the taboo. I devoured this in less than 24 hours - I found myself shocked yet riveted by the complex characters. Moshfegh richly describes the town and citizens of Lapvona, and it only took a few pages to become fully immersed in her descriptions of the world Jude, Marek and Villiam inhabit. The reflections of the meaning of religion and how religion is used to manipulate but also provide hope for those who suffer was very interesting and navigated in an interesting way. 

This novel was very refreshing and I personally loved reading such a depraved novel that teeters between a thriller, fantasy and horror novel! This book is probably best suited to those who can cope with confronting and long passages about violence/sexual assault and content. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Violence, Suicide, Animal death, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Grief, Blood, Rape, Cannibalism, Incest, Gore, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Murder, and Vomit

reading_112's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Murder, Sexual content, Animal death, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Cannibalism, Drug use, Gore, Self harm, Blood, Body horror, Death, Child abuse, Cursing, Child death, Grief, Death of parent, Pedophilia, Emotional abuse, Violence, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, and Misogyny

alex_nicolee's review against another edition

dark 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Death of parent, Animal death, Classism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Rape, Suicide, Sexual violence, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Incest, and Sexual content

rooksauna's review against another edition

dark sad 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

I liked this book less than My Year of Rest of Relaxation only because of some certain, graphic scenes in the book, as well as the most grotesque descriptions of bodily harm, sexual acts, etc; however, Moshfegh's writing is so gripping, descriptive, and blunt that I couldn't put the book down and finished in about 3 days.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Physical abuse, and Vomit

Moderate: Abortion and Pedophilia

mediocrity_is_expected's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Religious bigotry, Rape, Body shaming, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Child death, Classism, Sexual content, Pregnancy, Pandemic/Epidemic, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Cannibalism, Confinement, Sexual violence, Murder, Misogyny, Sexual harassment, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Abandonment, Ableism, Abortion, Blood, Bullying, Incest, Suicide, Alcohol, Death, Domestic abuse, Grief, Self harm, Sexual assault, and Sexism

Moderate: Animal death

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 against another edition

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

evantmellon's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cannibalism, Blood, Body horror, Murder, Misogyny, Classism, Death, Child abuse, Child death, Animal death, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Self harm, Sexism, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Abortion, Gore, Grief, Mental illness, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Rape, Toxic relationship, Violence, Animal cruelty, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Pedophilia, Religious bigotry, Domestic abuse, and Injury/Injury detail

hlb2023's review against another edition

challenging dark 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Self harm, Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, Pregnancy, Pedophilia, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Child death, Death, Excrement, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Rape, Animal death, Body horror, Gore, Suicidal thoughts, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Cannibalism, Child abuse, and Violence

barfbabe's review against another edition

too torture porny like everything sucks and is gross I don't really care what happens to anyone

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Sexual violence, Excrement, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Ableism, and Vomit

Moderate: Pedophilia