Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

Lapvona by Ottessa Moshfegh

241 reviews

rtherese's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

Moshfegh made a list of all the horrible things imaginable. Then she made sure everything on that list was in this book.

‼️Read TWs before you read this one, I think if you are in a vulnerable mental state you should probably wait until you feel better to consider reading this. I had to take a long break halfway through because it was super heavy

Lapvona is a nihilistic exploration of religion and faith. The setting is very immersive, and the flaws of the characters make them very interesting. But

there is no point to the story. If there was, it would be that there is no point. There is no good or bad. There is no right way to be faithful. There are no rewards for your suffering, nor are there consequences for your misdeeds. Life in little Lapvona just keeps going.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Self harm, Sexual violence, and Cannibalism

Moderate: Ableism, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Vomit, Grief, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Animal cruelty, Incest, Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, Excrement, and Fire/Fire injury

blacksails03's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Excrement, Cannibalism, and Abandonment

naturallydeanna's review against another edition

dark sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Rape, and Cannibalism

_keyboardshmash_'s review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Incest, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Blood, Trafficking, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Murder, Pregnancy, War, and Injury/Injury detail

emilychristina's review against another edition

challenging 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

4.0

is there a single character with any redeeming qualities in this book? absolutely not. does the plot move along in an enjoyable and captivating way? the plot has left the room. does the author allude to a supposed 2nd christ child being flung off a cliff? allegedly. someone said they felt like ottessa moshfegh was trying to waterboard the reader and it's absolutely true and yet i'm giving it 4 stars. no i cannot and will not elaborate.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Sexual assault, Cannibalism, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, and Abortion

Minor: Body horror and Vomit

lilylivresque's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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? It's complicated

5.0

Utterly disturbing yet—whether due to the deplorable characters and their plights, or the embrace of the natural sublime—I could not put this book down.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Incest, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Grief, Cannibalism, Abortion, Murder, Pregnancy, and Classism

gatocario's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Violence, Cannibalism, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual content, Abortion, and Pregnancy

Minor: Excrement, Vomit, and Abandonment

erikaraz's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Classism

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