Reviews tagging 'Chronic illness'

Lapvona by Ottessa Moshfegh

30 reviews

abi_ch0m's review against another edition

adventurous dark sad 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Incest, Infidelity, Blood, Excrement, Grief, Cannibalism, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

missymaus's review against another edition

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

2.25

One of the most grotesque books I've ever read. Interesting but definitely not for the faint of heart/stomach.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

this__nerd's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad 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’ll admit that part of my rating is that I don’t think I “got” the book. This book is just a series of bad things happening to bad people and everyone blaming it on each other and/or god. It did manage to be an effective critique of toxic religious culture and exploitive wealth while also being extremely uncomfortable to read. Major trigger warnings on this one

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Body shaming, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Rape, Self harm, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Cannibalism, Abortion, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

nixieba25f's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Dementia, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

quiltsandtealibrary's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Loved this book. Fucking wild as hell, but good. Not for everyone & not an easy read (emotionally) but it’s so well written it is an easy read? If that makes sense? 

Longer review:
Lapvona is nothing like anything I have ever read before. The book is disturbing, distorted, unsettling, & most of all very distressing for the most part. There is no chapters, just Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter, & Spring again as we follow the story of the people of Lapvona through multiple POVs. Lapvona is a self aware story of the evilness of humans, how it’s shaped & how it’s created, greed & society. The book explores religious beliefs & traumas, daring to ask “if the creator is so great, then why has this happened?” 

I couldn’t put Lapvona down & read it in one sitting. There’s so much, yet so little to understand. It is a well written book that is hard to read at times. I do not recommend going into Lapvona blind & to maybe even spoil yourself for certain scenes to prepare yourself.

There is a way motherhood, childhood, coming of age/self discovery, & parental care that is explored in this book & shown in this book that will haunt me for the rest of my life. 

I don’t know if there will ever be another book like Lapvona, but I am eager to read more from Ottessa Moshfegh

5 stars

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Chronic illness, Cursing, Abortion, and Alcohol

Minor: Incest and Pregnancy

This book is,,,,,something. Please maybe read some spoilers or just be prepared with the warnings i provided. This book just explores like everything grim & awful of the nature of humans. It frames all these ugly, evil things as bad so it gave me some peace of mind while reading it. But it’s??? Something

swamphag42069's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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

This was on a "wtf did I just read" list and I mean, that really says it all. Wtf did I just read. Haven't felt this weird since seeing Midsommar for the first time, which I think is a cool thing 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Incest, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

nolalee's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-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

No one writes the disgusting, walking, talking, scientific experiment that is the human body quite like Ottessa Moshfegh.
Lapvona is a novel that lingers like the stench of a rotten potato lost in your pantry; something is rancid but you aren't sure what. 
Every perspective narrative is unreliable and every character is the worst version of themselves. Moshfegh has created a Hieronymus Bosch painting of horrors with words.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, Murder, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Death of parent

Minor: Child death, Incest, Pedophilia, and Death of parent

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

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

kellyung's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Gore, Incest, Infidelity, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Grief, Cannibalism, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Classism