Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

Lapvona by Ottessa Moshfegh

149 reviews

sassafrasreads's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

5.0

So gross and strange but a really good read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Gore, Body horror, Rape, Sexual assault, Ableism, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Violence, Death, and Child abuse

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Excrement, Child death, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Blood, Incest, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Animal death, and Self harm

Minor: Alcohol and Alcoholism

niamhhurley27's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

3.75

i will never look at grapes again

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Incest, Kidnapping, Gore, Death, Child abuse, Classism, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Domestic abuse, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Excrement, Abortion, Body horror, Grief, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Pedophilia, and Rape

autumngrace08's review against another edition

Bad and disgusting. It’s as if the author thought that writing all known atrocities made them a good writer. It doesn’t.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Murder, Vomit, Child abuse, Excrement, Physical abuse, Body horror, Abandonment, Animal death, Death, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Rape, Incest, Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Blood, Sexual content, and Sexual violence

carolinachiesa96's review against another edition

dark 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

2.0

The moral of the story is: abortion 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cannibalism, Sexual violence, Child death, Murder, Rape, Physical abuse, Violence, Gore, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Blood, Pedophilia, Vomit, Incest, Abortion, Sexual assault, Self harm, Pregnancy, and Misogyny

minayana's review against another edition

challenging 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

4.0

This was so compelling and well written while also being one of the most disturbing books I’ve ever read. Please do yourself a favor and check the trigger warnings before reading! There are so many horrific and horrendous things that happen in this book, and I’ve seen a lot of reviews that feel that they happen just for shock value. I would disagree, I definitely think that the author goes overboard at times, but all the events in the book serve the message of the story. How the rich take advantage of the poor, women’s oppression-being tied down to men and motherhood, how religion is used to suppress the wants and feelings of the underprivileged and make them accepting of their own suffering. I wasn’t able to put this book down during the first half, but I do feel like the ending was a little rushed. Overall, I think it’s a great book but I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it. It’s definitely not for everybody!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Cannibalism, Body horror, Classism, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Child abuse, Ableism, Rape, Sexual assault, Self harm, and Violence

Moderate: Pedophilia, Abandonment, and Abortion

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

kcakes719's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Violence, Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Death, Gore, Rape, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Slavery, Ableism, Injury/Injury detail, Abortion, Vomit, Incest, Alcohol, Bullying, Excrement, Mental illness, and Murder

Minor: Cursing, Classism, Grief, and Animal cruelty

literarybitch's review against another edition

dark sad slow-paced

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

.... Huh??????????? 

P.S. If you like stories where literally nobody is in the right, go for it, but holy shit dude it's A LOT 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual violence, Adult/minor relationship, Physical abuse, Abandonment, Sexual assault, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Alcoholism, Vomit, Cannibalism, Death, and Pregnancy

marxeism's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

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

2.25

Weird book about weird and crazy people. If you're looking for a dark story about casual human evil, this is for you. Characters are interesting and diverse, but all but one of them is just awful. Personally I had a hard time getting into this and being invested/following a flow. Kind of reminiscent of game of thrones (the tv show, not the books)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Incest, Misogyny, Child death, Death, Murder, Pedophilia, Child abuse, Infidelity, Sexual assault, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Animal death, Ableism, Abortion, Rape, Self harm, Vomit, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Cannibalism, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Eating disorder