Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

Lapvona by Ottessa Moshfegh

43 reviews

cady_sass's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Death, Drug use, Infertility, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Blood, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

charlotteih's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective tense medium-paced

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

2.5

i started this book and was immediately blown away by the gruesome darkness of the events in it. i had never read any of moshfegh's novels before, so i certainly wasn't expecting what greeted me. in the first 30 pages, i was nearly about to give up. nevertheless, it being my only book on a trip, i decided to finish it out of spite. once i moved past the horribly dark exposition of the book, the story seemed to mellow out a bit and just focus on distasteful characters and relationships/themes. the ending annoyed me, but i have just decided to ignore certain aspects of it that are upsetting. i would say that if you REALLY wanted to, read this book, but it does take some gut to get through the first bit. that being said, READ THE CONTENT WARNINGS. this book is no joke, and it has an impressive list of triggers so just keep that in mind. i did enjoy the food for thought on theology and misery, but i'm gonna have to give it 2.5 stars.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Incest, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Cannibalism, Abandonment, and Classism

Moderate: Abortion

Minor: Excrement

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

lannycampbell's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Incest, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Cannibalism, and Murder

Moderate: Body horror, Drug use, Gore, Blood, Excrement, Abortion, and Death of parent

Minor: Alcohol

tamimin's review against another edition

dark fast-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

An a24 movie in a book. That's all you need to know 😂

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Body shaming, Gore, Misogyny, Sexual content, Suicide, Blood, Kidnapping, and Cannibalism

Minor: Bullying, Drug use, and Eating disorder

nialiversuch's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

sarahgr's review against another edition

dark sad tense slow-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, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Incest, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Blood, Excrement, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, and Classism

Moderate: Confinement, Genocide, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Torture, Medical content, Kidnapping, Murder, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

theweepingwillow_'s review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, Murder, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Excrement, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment

willberry2's review against another edition

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? Yes

3.5

I appreciated the critique of capitalism and how Moshfegh elicited a feeling of disgust, but that was all I felt. Well written - all of the characters were horrible - but nothing really got me going. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Pedophilia, Rape, and Murder

Minor: Drug use