Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Lapvona by Ottessa Moshfegh

150 reviews

ofavalley's review against another edition

dark sad tense fast-paced

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

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Cannibalism, Sexual assault, Excrement, Animal death, Rape, Child death, Animal cruelty, Incest, Vomit, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Murder, Miscarriage, Death of parent, and Child abuse

bayrayj's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny lighthearted sad tense fast-paced

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

3.5

This book was hard to read at some points. The beautiful language of The author was juxtaposed by the horrors of living through famine in futile servitude to an absurd lord. There are all sorts of trigger warning to give for this book, but I still kind of enjoyed it. The whole thing felt like watching a car crash over the course of 300 pages. I cringed and Icked and laughed and gagged. The story was not my favorite, but the writing was immaculate and that made it worth the read at least 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Self harm, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Death, and Death of parent

loustat__'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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Abortion, Self harm, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Chronic illness, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Cannibalism, Domestic abuse, Excrement, Suicide, Child abuse, Classism, Death, Death of parent, Mental illness, Gore, Religious bigotry, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Sexual violence, Violence, and War

venusinlove's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad 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

4.25

that sure was a wild reading experience. i don't think i liked the story all that much hence I'm not really a medieval kind of girlie but the writing itself was immaculate! her way with words is so fascinating and it very much reminded me of Madeline Miller's writing style.

in Lapvona there were so many elements of horror and disgust, so i would advise people not to start this book before checking out the trigger warnings because it is a lot to get through. i don't think i was that shocked to read the more gore-y parts of the story rather than the behavior of the many different characters. there was not a single one that stood out with any positive characteristic to me. however, that didn't make the book bad? usually it would throw me off since i very much so rely on the characters because they are usually the builders of the story, but in this one, i liked it a lot as it was. no complaints there.

i loved how the story was a mix of body horror but also delusion between its characters. it gave off a sense of dark comedy in a way. i'll also say that regarding the story i am willing to excuse (view spoiler) but only in this one instance.

all in all this book was a maze in which every corner made you feel either disturbed, shocked or a bit frightened. it was great!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Violence, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Ableism, Cannibalism, Sexual assault, Pedophilia, Animal death, Incest, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Excrement, Abortion, Rape, Child abuse, Murder, Miscarriage, Death, Physical abuse, Gore, Sexual violence, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Death of parent, Suicide, Animal cruelty, Self harm, and Torture

bloomed's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense 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

3.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Gore, Sexual assault, Murder, and Violence

Moderate: Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Death of parent, and Incest

brindolyn's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense 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

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Bullying, Cannibalism, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Pregnancy, Classism, Emotional abuse, Incest, Rape, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Violence

megano_oregano's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, Incest, Gore, Death, Sexual content, Pandemic/Epidemic, Miscarriage, Child death, Child abuse, Cannibalism, Body horror, Blood, Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Animal death, and Abandonment

sallak's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Murder, Kidnapping, Incest, Body horror, Sexual assault, Cannibalism, Rape, Suicide, Sexual harassment, Miscarriage, Eating disorder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Violence, Sexual violence, Gore, Death of parent, Child abuse, Animal cruelty, and Adult/minor relationship

geraldinerowe's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

I'm not entirely sure what this book was about, but I enjoyed it. Yes, the book is gory and unpleasant at times, but not unnecessarily so as It's set in unpleasant times (although not quite in our universe as there are magical elements). The masses being kept in poverty by an idiot man-child ruler advised by a self-serving hypocrite could be a story for our time, as it could for pretty much any other time. Power corrupts. The consequences of blind faith. Any of these things could be the message of Lapvona. Whatever the case, I'll miss this grumpy bunch of characters.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Ableism, Abortion, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Vomit, Blood, Body shaming, Bullying, Cannibalism, Child death, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, and Rape

margozaldivar's review against another edition

dark funny reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.0

Ottessa Moshfegh continuously surprises her readers with the way she can be subversive, writing about the most unorthodox themes– whether it be about the self-destructive ways a woman practices to get through life in the early 2000s, or the intricacies of human behavior explored through a medieval fiefdom. In many ways, she constantly challenges literary norms with “novels that live in an amoral universe, past the political agenda described on social media” (Bookforum, June 2021).

Grotesque and raw, with an accurate portrayal of religious hypocrisy, Lapvona is a musing on the human condition. There is no plot. The novel is character-driven, which— at this point— is what is so special about Moshfegh’s books. You get to delve into the mind of the persona without a harness. As for the setting, the imagery of what happens in the fiefdom stays with the reader. There is no middle ground. Some scenes are funny, demoralizing, and unsettling all at once. In spite of the age-old themes, the novel is a new take on bigotry and how it brings out the ugliest parts in humans, especially when they are starved of love. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Torture, Suicide, Death of parent, Incest, Religious bigotry, and Rape

Moderate: Body shaming