Reviews tagging 'Toxic friendship'

Lapvona by Ottessa Moshfegh

9 reviews

hedsek's review against another edition

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dark 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

3.0

A train wreck I couldn't look away from but in the end I wonder if there's any point to this book. Idk it just feels over the top ironic with how meaningless all the violence and gore is when all it seems to say is religion bad and humans bad.

Maybe it's because I'm used to fucked up stuff from reading Dutch literature but it's not as shocking as some reviews make it out. Still, unpleasant stuff. 

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kcakes719's review against another edition

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dark 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

5.0

Opening with that Demi Lovato quote was like a punch in the gut.

I think I might be severely desensitized because this book didn’t gross me out in the way others have described. It certainly has moments where I can see why someone would be disturbed though. This is a medieval slice of life with zero likable characters and I couldn’t stop thinking about it. The audiobook narration by the author was *chefs kiss*

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nixieba25f's review against another edition

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dark 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

1.0


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rqdreads's review against another edition

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challenging dark sad tense fast-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

4.0

HAVE YOU SURVIVED LAPVONA? 🐑

This might be then most disturbing, unhinged, disgusting book I've come across and I literally couldn't stop. It's as if the author wrote with the intention of, "how can I make the reader squirm with every page?"

Lapvona by Otessa Moshfegh needs all content warning on the planet. I just put everything as graphic because really the entire thing is graphic. Like, if you can think it, it's in there. This book is NOT for the weak and I don't even know how to rate it? What to think about it? It's the most problematic, twisted, fucked up macabre shit I've ever read. 

Have you seen what happens in Midnight Mass when people blindly follow the priest? Add an isolated medieval fiefdom with starving peasants who are being controlled and tortured by their lord for funsies. Moshfegh finds a way to make your senses ignite. My stomach turned frequently from the descriptions of the rot and ruin.

Every single time I thought, "there is no way it gets worse," I was wrong. I used to be a person who couldn't watch scary movies or read horror books with the lights off but lately nothing has been scaring me... but this is? Lapvona is true horror to me because it's humanity at it's absolute worst.

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xcrowingx's review against another edition

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challenging dark funny mysterious sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0


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cady_sass's review against another edition

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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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celbl8o's review against another edition

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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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lycheejelly's review against another edition

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adventurous 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? It's complicated

3.5


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edamamebean's review against another edition

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challenging dark sad tense 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

4.5

I finished this book in a day. It was a gruesome car crash I couldn’t look away from. I actually feel a bit sick now. Don’t get me wrong, it’s very good. Ottessa Moshfegh has created a world so absurd that it’s actually believable. But every inch of this book is covered in enough bodily fluids to make my skin crawl for a year. Not for the faint of heart!

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