Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

Lapvona by Ottessa Moshfegh

471 reviews

elicatking'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

2.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Cannibalism

Moderate: Child abuse, Incest, Rape, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Vomit, and Suicide attempt

rtherese's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

Moshfegh made a list of all the horrible things imaginable. Then she made sure everything on that list was in this book.

‼️Read TWs before you read this one, I think if you are in a vulnerable mental state you should probably wait until you feel better to consider reading this. I had to take a long break halfway through because it was super heavy

Lapvona is a nihilistic exploration of religion and faith. The setting is very immersive, and the flaws of the characters make them very interesting. But

there is no point to the story. If there was, it would be that there is no point. There is no good or bad. There is no right way to be faithful. There are no rewards for your suffering, nor are there consequences for your misdeeds. Life in little Lapvona just keeps going.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Self harm, Sexual violence, and Cannibalism

Moderate: Ableism, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Vomit, Grief, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Animal cruelty, Incest, Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, Excrement, and Fire/Fire injury

directorpurry's review against another edition

dark reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, and Alcohol

Moderate: Animal death, Incest, Miscarriage, and Pregnancy

blacksails03's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Excrement, Cannibalism, and Abandonment

guywachtel'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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Gore, Incest, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Vomit, Cannibalism, Murder, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

This book is pretty fucked. Awful people doing awful things.

_keyboardshmash_'s review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Incest, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Blood, Trafficking, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Murder, Pregnancy, War, and Injury/Injury detail

seawiiitch's review against another edition

dark 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

I admit I picked this book on a whim, mostly because the cover was pretty and I felt like trying something “different”. And so I went in completely blind.

Let’s just say that quickly enough, my jaw was on a floor in utter shock and slight horror. Multiple times, I had to go back and read sentences one more time just to be sure I hadn’t (somehow) made up the words I just read.

It wasn’t necessarily a bad book, but rather a disturbing one. The only sane (and I’m being very generous with the term) character in this, and that I actually liked, was the old man Grigor. The rest of the cast easily represent what can go wrong in human beings or just how easily people can excuse their misconduct or wrongdoings.

• Marek is the product of constant abuse, even though some are disguised as affection (I’m looking at you Ina) who distort religion to comply with what he believes in.
• Jude, his father, is just as bad and probably the one who really disturbed me once we reached

  the subject of Marek’s mother

  . I had to put my book down multiple times because of him.
• William is infantile, using the excuse of entertaining himself to abuse his staff or village. He uses religion and fear as tools to control the habitants of Lapvona
  .
• Ina, who if you read the book, really can make you feel disgusted with how she acts with Marek, Jude, etc…
• Marek’s mother, “Agatha”: is maybe the only one who made me feel bad about what happened to her. From the beginning till the end, she is a tool for the men around her, suffering abuse every time she tries to escape her situation. Even at the end, she is used by Ina to full-fill the old woman’s wishes.
• Grigor: as stated earlier, might be only true sane person in the entirety of the novel. While gruff, he is not cruel or violent. He does not uses religion as a weapon but tries to help his people. Even though he is far from perfection, he might be the only one close to it in this novel.

If I’m honest, I do not think the plot truly went anywhere. This is just about people and how bad they can to themselves and each other, about how easy it is for humans to be cruel. 

As I stated, not a bad book. But it is not for everyone and it wasn’t for me, despite my rating. I will probably never read it again (unless I want to see if my review would be the same).

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Rape, and Cannibalism

Moderate: Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Violence, Abortion, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Blood and Excrement

lilylivresque's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

Utterly disturbing yet—whether due to the deplorable characters and their plights, or the embrace of the natural sublime—I could not put this book down.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Incest, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Grief, Cannibalism, Abortion, Murder, Pregnancy, and Classism

fanni_ambr_'s review against another edition

slow-paced

• Loveable characters? No

2.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Incest, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Suicide, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Murder, Abandonment, and Classism

Maiming, extreme religious guilt

nicoleannreads's review against another edition

Dark, and incredibly disturbing, but not in an interesting way. Honestly, I can’t handle something this bleak, and kept dreading picking it up. I was going to finish it for a reading challenge, but decided life is too short. 
This might be for someone, but it’s not for me.  

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Incest, Rape, Vomit, and Cannibalism