Reviews tagging 'Infertility'

Lapvona by Ottessa Moshfegh

33 reviews

zabz0013's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective 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

3.75

Spend through it to not linger on the horrors of this book, The Great type energy but much more graphic and GoT level sex. Definitely gives you something to chew on

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Excrement, Vomit, Trafficking, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, War, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

jade_smith's review against another edition

dark slow-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

Every character was so deeply unlikeable and it this book was incredibly disgusting. I loved it. 

This was my first Ottessa Moshfegh book and I’ll be running to pick up the rest of her catalogue. 

Darkly absurd and almost fairytale-esque in its depiction of greed and human perversion, Lapvona is half pseudo-historical fiction and half a horror comedy.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Infertility, Kidnapping, Abortion, and Alcohol

megann853's review against another edition

4.0

V hesitant on this rating!!! Idk!!!! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Excrement, Vomit, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

gbmillar2002's review against another edition

challenging dark medium-paced

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

4.75

Disgustingly grotesque, it is an amazing deep dive within a English medieval village and its intersection between religion, feudalism and the perverse nature of what is denied. It is amazing, I haven’t had a book that had made me say WTF out loud before.

For example when they talk about the old woman breastfeeding marrick even though he is 13, combine this with his own freudian sexual
Behaviours it is bizarre

. Highly recommend for those who want a book that is out there, intense and graphic. Give it a skip if intense and taboo topics make you uncomfortable as moshfegh describes these issues in albeit ye olde English, in intense detail. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, 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, Violence, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Stalking, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment

smacey's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad 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

4.5

 4.50/5.00

Ottessa Moshfegh does it again. I love this author so much, and it is wild how different this story is from My Year of Rest and Relaxation yet how similarly amazing it somehow is.

Stories set in medieval times are far from my usual read, but this was still an incredible and fascinating book. The comparisons you can make between the themes in Lapvona and modern-day religion, capitalism, social status, class, education, sex, gender, and so much more is jarring. Extremely well-done.

I will say though that I both loved and hated the main character in MYRR but mostly just hated all of the main characters in Lapvona (particularly Marek - that boy is so fucking stupid, I'm so sorry). I did, however, love Agata. Queen.

Also, the ending was genius and the perfect way to wrap up the story. Love. 10/10 recommend. Can't wait to read Eileeeeeeeeeeeeen. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

joyce_porter's review against another edition

dark 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

1.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Incest, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Death of parent, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

dracucore's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

this book is heinous and disturbing in unspeakable ways. sometimes it is also confusing and i am still not  sure i fully understand some parts of it. dark, tense, upsetting, yet also gripping and compelling. i finished in 24hrs because i just couldn’t put it down. 

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Content Warnings

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

imlfox's review against another edition

dark sad fast-paced

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

3.5

This book was uncomfortable in so many ways. Really compelling and well written but just so unpleasant. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Rape, Self harm, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Incest, Infertility, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Abandonment

Minor: Pedophilia, Abortion, and Fire/Fire injury

miathy's review against another edition

adventurous 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

2.25

This book has amazing writing, and I often found myself having to put the book down and return to it later because of the gruesome horrors imprinted through the language. 
Horror isn't a genre I typically read, but Moshfegh's beautiful style of writing is one that I definitely enjoyed. 

However, I found myself losing interest in the second half of the book. It felt as though the development and journey of the characters fell short through their abrupt deaths.

In the end, I really was expecting more, and it felt a more forced read in the end for me.
This ultimately comes down to reading practices and the atmosphere one is looking for when they're going in for a read. I wasn't reading this to analyse or really to engage my brain at all, and saw it as more of an avenue for entertainment, and this felt like a missed opportunity. 

This book is so character focused, and the result is an array of equally complex and compelling characters, each with their own backstory and ability to alter the course of the plot. 
I think this is where I lost the direction of the story, because so much of it extends to the village of Lapovna as a whole. As the story progressed, more and more characters were introduced, developed and explained, but I wasn't able to find a connecting link outside the physical acquaintances and relationships between the characters. 

I think I definitely have to revisit this book in another time, but it seems that horror is just not something I can handle. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Infertility, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, and Murder

toujours753's review against another edition

dark reflective 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Stalking, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment