Reviews tagging 'Kidnapping'

Lapvona by Ottessa Moshfegh

56 reviews

olivianw'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? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Grotesque. Moshfegh has a talent for making hideous stories impossible to put down. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicide, Excrement, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, and Abandonment

zoelikesbooksandchihuahuas's review against another edition

dark 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Excrement, Vomit, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

sincerelylogan's review against another edition

dark 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

2.0

This book was nasty. And I mean that in both senses of the word - it was mean spirited and it was, quite literally, gross. (I suppose for a brutal portrayal of feudal life in the middle ages, that could be expected?) I do not feel like the book's blurb did justice to what the book was actually about. Moshfegh has an absolute talent for lyricism and a bizarre POV, but this just wasn't for me. At the end,  I’m not sure what was the point of all the cruelty and disgusting scenarios. It seemed all too absurd to be meaningful, but too heavy to be funny. What is satire without the humor called?

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Incest, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Fatphobia

gardenofroses's review against another edition

dark slow-paced

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

5.0

 This was my first Ottessa Moshfegh read and I was so excited to finally read one of her novels. This was one of my most anticipated book releases of the year and it did not disappoint.

It was definitely a lot more gruesome than I was expecting but after I got over the initial shock I was able to keep reading. I understand that this kind of book may not be for everyone so if you’re thinking of reading this book please check the trigger warnings.

This book centers around the medieval town of Lapvona which is controlled by a fiefdom. Because it focuses on a whole town there is a wide range of unique characters that we focus on. There’s Marek who is a disabled 13-year-old, his dad Jude who cares for lambs, Ina the witch that lives on the outskirts of town, Villiam, the Lord controlling the town and so many more.

There were many themes within the book but the one that interested me the most was the relationship that each character had with their god. They all had very different ideas of what their god represented and what he expected of their devotion to him, whether that be self-flagellation, starvation/restriction, pain, hard work, etc. A lot of the time it was these beliefs that led them to make some horrific decisions. Ottessa does not shy away from the grotesque or from exploring the depraved parts of humanity. She consistently put these characters into situations that just kept getting worse and worse. I was at the edge of my seat half the time because I was so scared of what the characters would do next, that I didn’t trust any of them.

I definitely want to reread this again sometime in the fall or winter just so that I can fully examine all the different cast of characters. Especially Ina, the witch, and her relationship with the town, because I feel like the first time around, I was so surprised by all the gruesome details that I didn’t get to focus on the characters as much as I wanted to.

Also, when I was reading this it was playing in my head like a movie directed by Ari Aster. It gave those same sinister vibes you get with Midsommar and Hereditary.

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Classism

avaaustin's review against another edition

dark reflective sad 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

4.0

Moshfegh looked at a list of content warnings and said let’s put them all in one book. Lapvona was totally en(gross)ing. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Incest, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

kalayk's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Gore, Incest, Infertility, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, and Abandonment