Reviews tagging 'Self harm'

Lapvona by Ottessa Moshfegh

218 reviews

hunterpatersonn_'s review against another edition

dark emotional funny sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Blood, Medical trauma, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, and Violence

hick's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Animal death, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Bullying, Cursing, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Abortion, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Minor: Excrement and Fire/Fire injury

shay_talksbooks's review against another edition

dark slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No

2.0

Borrowed from my local library

I don't know where to start with reviewing this book: it was all vibes, no plot. And I didn't particularly like the vibes!

Filled with the most horrid characters, behaving in the worst of ways and doing vile things to each other. The writing was good, and I got a decent impression of this medieval village (which felt somewhere in Eastern Europe) and the people who lived there. Their struggle and starvation was clear as crops failed & rain refused to fall, and the contrast between those in power and those without during that period was made clear. The author made some very valid points about how those in power keep it, and how those without often end up blaming each other instead of those truly responsible - but it was very loosely done and sometimes felt like it tipped into satire and back out again, which I wasn't sure on.

Although the writing itself was engaging, the content turned my stomach at times. Some of those moments felt necessary to show a characters desperation, but others felt like they were put in purely for impact/gross factor/trauma p*rn.

It's not a long book (only about 300 pages), however it took me forever to read because it left me feeling heavy and icky each time I entered the story. I've rated 2☆ but I may revise that in time. It's definitely a book that will stick in my mind, although maybe not for the reasons I want it to.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Pedophilia, Rape, Self harm, Cannibalism, and Murder

cecilyroseceillam's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional medium-paced

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

4.0

Lapvona was very captivating and was very engaging, it had a lot of references to religion. Like LapVona and Villiam's manor representing heaven and hell; it had a lot to say about class systems and how religion is used to keep people in a certain bracket. I liked the representation of Ina as Eve/ Lilith. It was interesting to see her take part in nurturing all the people in the village with her breast milk, using herbs, and talking to the birds to learn about the world. Ina is my favorite character. It was interesting to learn about her powers, like being immortal through reversing her age. I also liked the symbolism of Cain, God, and Abel shown through Marek, his dad, and his cousin Jacob. The violence they commit to each other to go to heaven makes an interesting parody of how religion is used to justify evil. I also liked the commentary on what happens when taxes come from religion. The cultural impact it had on resources and people's land was shown in the book, as well as the constant fear of going to hell and sinning. The symbolism of the lambs and babes was also clever, and I enjoyed how it related to Marek and the ending. Villiam was also an interesting character because of how sinister he was. It could be referencing William the Conqueror/William the Eighth as he brought religion and taxes to LapVona for the sole purpose of being wealthy while keeping everyone else poor under the guise of God's decree. The philosophical conversations present what existence truly is, if there is a place for humans in the world, and how God seemingly promotes suffering. Seeing how the characters dealt with it was interesting. Overall I highly enjoyed LapVona and think it’s very effective at presenting its message. However, the book didn’t truly land for me since I’m not extremely knowledgeable on the bible, so many references went over my head as I only have a baseline knowledge.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Death, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Self harm, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

bookmuva's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Incest, Infidelity, Misogyny, Rape, Self harm, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

cydney's review against another edition

dark sad tense medium-paced

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

2.5

The author’s ability to write in a way that makes you feel gross (like you need to wash your hands or brush your teeth), is unfortunately wasted in this book. I pushed through to the end hoping the gratuitous graphic descriptions and situations would lead to some sort of end that was just as elaborate or maybe even provide a reprieve by way of a satisfying ending, but I was left disappointed and annoyed. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Body shaming, Child death, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicide, and Pregnancy

Minor: Abortion

n3verm0r3's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Grief, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Classism

Moderate: Abortion

lopez27sergio's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

2.75

Gave me many mixed emotions on the main characters and story. Hard to find a character you support 100% which is nice since it shows everyone with flaws and not being perfect. Also really enjoyed the twisted views on religion from multiple perspectives and how it shapes their lives.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Incest, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Trafficking, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Murder, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

tiwwy's review against another edition

challenging dark medium-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Incest, Pedophilia, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Animal death, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Vomit, and Abortion

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Self harm, Blood, and Murder

aubdyson's review against another edition

dark

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Incest, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Cannibalism, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, and Pregnancy