Reviews tagging 'Body shaming'

Lapvona by Ottessa Moshfegh

43 reviews

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

historybabe's review against another edition

challenging dark slow-paced

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

3.0

Where do I even begin..... Honestly, I have never had to put down a book so many times in my life. I was shocked by the sheer depravity within its pages. If you can imagine a sin, it is in this novel. If you want to be sick to your stomach by all means, read it. I'm going to go take a hot bath in bleach and read my Bible. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Cultural appropriation, Child death, Death, Gore, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Grief, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Murder, Pedophilia, Religious bigotry, Rape, Self harm, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Cannibalism, Sexual assault, Cursing, Pregnancy, Violence, and Vomit

lena_pls's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexism, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, Violence, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, and Sexual assault

emacmillan's review against another edition

Too graphic 🤢

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Domestic abuse, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Death, Death of parent, Alcoholism, Abandonment, Ableism, Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Addiction, Alcohol, Torture, Sexual violence, Body shaming, Body horror, Self harm, Pregnancy, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Classism, Vomit, Child death, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Religious bigotry, Rape, Pedophilia, Murder, Mental illness, Incest, Gore, Grief, Excrement, and Emotional abuse

hounded's review against another edition

dark tense

4.5

Really good and very disturbing. At first I felt very lost in some parts of the book but it ended neatly and gave me a reason to re-read it and think about it even more! The characters were so good and consistent. It was a strange experience reading it but a recommended one. Look at the trigger warnings before reading!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Gore, Cannibalism, Death, Excrement, Injury/Injury detail, Ableism, Rape, Child abuse, Self harm, Sexism, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Abortion, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Pregnancy, and Vomit

captainyaht's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Cannibalism, Emotional abuse, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Pregnancy, Body shaming, Child death, and Suicide

Minor: Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Infidelity, and Murder

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.

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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

paperbackinmybackpack's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-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? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Excrement, Pedophilia, Rape, Body horror, Cannibalism, Abortion, Child abuse, Religious bigotry, Ableism, and Blood

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. 

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Body shaming

kirareads02's review against another edition

challenging dark slow-paced

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

4.25

This book was so weird and disgusting but I couldn't stop listening to it. There wad no real sense of plot or movement really it was basically a year in lapvona. 

I don't know what I expected from the ending but it was very fitting. 

Just a weird story and I loved it 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Cannibalism, Confinement, Gore, Murder, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Child abuse, Classism, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Grief, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Ableism, Abandonment, Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Violence, Vomit, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Chronic illness, and Suicide

Minor: Animal cruelty and Animal death