Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

Lapvona by Ottessa Moshfegh

33 reviews

cady_sass's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark tense 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

3.0

Respectfully, what the fuck 
The writing is *immaculate* the imagery is….. profoundly grotesque. Just as the author intended, so, mission accomplished. But at what cost, man. Otessa, you good? 5 stars for execution, but 1 star for content = 3 stars. Oof.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Cannibalism, Drug use, Sexual content, Alcohol, Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, Classism, Misogyny, Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Pedophilia, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Bullying, Death of parent, Blood, Body horror, and Toxic relationship

charlotteih's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective tense medium-paced

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

2.5

i started this book and was immediately blown away by the gruesome darkness of the events in it. i had never read any of moshfegh's novels before, so i certainly wasn't expecting what greeted me. in the first 30 pages, i was nearly about to give up. nevertheless, it being my only book on a trip, i decided to finish it out of spite. once i moved past the horribly dark exposition of the book, the story seemed to mellow out a bit and just focus on distasteful characters and relationships/themes. the ending annoyed me, but i have just decided to ignore certain aspects of it that are upsetting. i would say that if you REALLY wanted to, read this book, but it does take some gut to get through the first bit. that being said, READ THE CONTENT WARNINGS. this book is no joke, and it has an impressive list of triggers so just keep that in mind. i did enjoy the food for thought on theology and misery, but i'm gonna have to give it 2.5 stars.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cannibalism, Death, Miscarriage, Body horror, Child abuse, Classism, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Incest, Pedophilia, Rape, Suicide, Violence, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal death, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Self harm, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Abortion

Minor: Excrement

celbl8o's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Confinement, Death of parent, Murder, Body horror, Chronic illness, Cursing, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Sexual assault, Toxic friendship, Blood, Child death, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Abandonment, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Gore, Grief, Medical content, Mental illness, Terminal illness, Ableism, Bullying, Cannibalism, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual content, Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Death, Pedophilia, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence

rhinaissance's review against another edition

dark funny sad slow-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

5.0

This book had me in a chokehold the whole time. It is bizarre, perverse, and a bit uncertain of its own ideas at times, but really really fascinating. And enjoyable (if you're weird, like me). I barely put it down the entire time, because I could not at all predict what would happen next. It was chock-full of "....what?" moments without being too overstated and obscene like Tender is the Flesh. I will admit, the moment I finished the book I was mad, but then as 24 hours have passed I find myself laughing at the absurdity. So it has won me back. 

On the surface, it appears as if there is no point, but I urge you to not stop there when thinking about it. There doesn't need to be a neon sign for something to be worth reading/analyzing. 

This book is not everyone's style but Moshfeg has really won me over.  I liked this novel a lot more than My year of Rest and Relaxation. But now I am *almost* tempted to go back. 
 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Eating disorder, Excrement, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Emotional abuse, Animal cruelty, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Child death, Drug use, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Classism, Colonisation, Death of parent, Religious bigotry, Chronic illness, Infidelity, Abandonment, Body shaming, and Bullying

lannycampbell's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Incest, Murder, Rape, Self harm, Animal cruelty, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Child death, Death, and Sexism

Moderate: Excrement, Drug use, Gore, Abortion, Death of parent, Blood, and Body horror

Minor: Alcohol

tamimin's review against another edition

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

4.0

An a24 movie in a book. That's all you need to know 😂

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Ableism, Rape, Pedophilia, Death, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Sexual content, Suicide, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Gore, Animal cruelty, Cannibalism, Kidnapping, and Misogyny

Minor: Bullying, Drug use, and Eating disorder

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

theweepingwillow_'s review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Torture, Suicide, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Rape, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Domestic abuse, Death, Cannibalism, Blood, Animal death, Child death, Child abuse, and Body horror

Moderate: Suicide attempt, Drug use, Animal cruelty, Ableism, Abandonment, Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Excrement, Emotional abuse, and Death of parent

willberry2's review against another edition

challenging dark 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

3.5

I appreciated the critique of capitalism and how Moshfegh elicited a feeling of disgust, but that was all I felt. Well written - all of the characters were horrible - but nothing really got me going. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Murder, Child abuse, Child death, and Pedophilia

Minor: Drug use