Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

Lapvona by Ottessa Moshfegh

245 reviews

streetmuseums's review against another edition

this was just vile with no plot! i tried but it just wasn't redeeming itself, moshfegh is clearly preoccupied with shock factor. this is the 2nd and last of her books i'll ever read

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, and Self harm

lyricdeletedherinsta's review against another edition

dark 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? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Vomit, Gore, Pregnancy, Suicide, Incest, Blood, Sexual violence, Classism, Pedophilia, Suicidal thoughts, Physical abuse, Rape, Animal cruelty, Cannibalism, Alcohol, Death, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Drug use

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

bloupibloupreads's review

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.0

Imagine having top quality ingredients and yet still baking a disastrous cake because you can’t follow the recipe correctly. This was my opinion on Ottessa Moshfegh’s “My Year of Rest and Relaxation”. This opinion still stands with her latest book, Lapnova. 

The intrigue picked my curiosity, the idea in itself is great but the way Moshfegh worked around with it was just not it. It’s always tell, never shown, the book is trying to be “something” deep in a way but completely fails because there is no substance, there’s nothing concrete in this story. 

For My Year of Rest and Relaxation, Ottessa Moshfegh just scratched  the top of an amazing idea with her fingernail and never tried to go deeper, here she sprinkles a semblance of deeper knowledge onto a great idea, she works around it never on it. She adds stuff here and there, left and right to the story that just makes everything feel a little bit too much. The book just comes off as trying too hard. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Domestic abuse, Excrement, Child abuse, Religious bigotry, Rape, and Death

Moderate: Sexual violence, Suicide, Murder, and Animal cruelty

Minor: Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, and Vomit

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

lau_charest'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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Violence, Sexual violence, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, Death, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Excrement, Blood, Vomit, Suicide, Physical abuse, Gore, Cannibalism, Animal death, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual assault, Self harm, Child death, Rape, Murder, and Incest

v333spertine's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Grief, Death of parent, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, Classism, Incest, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Sexism, Death, Body horror, Violence, Sexual content, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Gore, Child abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Pedophilia, Rape, Cannibalism, and Excrement

Moderate: Self harm

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

ameliethemoomin's review against another edition

challenging dark 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

don't read this book while eating food it made me feel so incredibly sick ms moshfegh you are amazing and this was a deeply horrible book

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Rape, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Animal cruelty, Murder, Violence, Suicide, Child abuse, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Sexism, Pedophilia, Death, Miscarriage, Misogyny, and Incest

tivvny's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious reflective tense

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

3.5

Trauma porn. That's it. Kept reading because Ottessa has a strange way of making such insanely dark and deprived scenarios mesmerising and (unfortunately) entertaining. It was like looking at the sun even though your eyes are burning but not willing to look away. Or picking at a wound despite the pain. Beyond that, Lapvona offered little. Maybe if you dig far enough it may offer a reflection of the cruelty inherent to human society, a commentary about the delusion of religion, possibly about the treatment of women. But at least it was entertaining.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cannibalism, Sexual assault, Murder, Rape, and Sexual violence