Reviews tagging 'Fire/Fire injury'

Lapvona by Ottessa Moshfegh

43 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

charprid's review against another edition

challenging dark fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• 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: Ableism, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Excrement, Vomit, Grief, Cannibalism, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and Classism

Minor: Fire/Fire injury

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

reads2cope's review against another edition

1.0

Was this published as a prank to see if people would actually read it?
It was so disgusting and pointless that I would have thrown it aside early on if I wasn’t reading it for a bookclub. This is especially strange because it had such potential - an interesting setting, ruined by a total lack of commitment to the alleged time period (people know disease was spread by ships, travelers, and rats [yet take no predations, just continue to die]; a character is asked if he had a “girlfriend”; a kid proclaims that he wants to be an “explorer” when he grows up, and so much more) and themes of religion, family, truth, sexuality, class, abuse, pandemics, isolation, and so much more are introduced, and then simply thrown aside.

In an especially jarring section at the end of the second to last chapter, the reader is suddenly addressed directly: “Everything seems reasonable in hindsight. 

Right or wrong, you will think what you need to think so that you can get by. So find some reason here.” Unfortunately, there was no reason to be found there or in any other part of the book.

The only partial redemption and what even allowed me to finish reading was the flow and some actually funny lines:
‘What about heaven, Ina? Don’t you want to go?’ 

‘It doesn’t matter,’ she said. ‘I won’t know anyone.’
And even less often, a truly beautiful paragraph:
“his heart felt cold, like a sweat chilled by a sudden wind. It was a terrible feeling, the boy's first experience of nostalgia: the pain of his past.  Until now, time had had almost no meaning. The sun rose and set. The church bells donged, but he didn't bother to count them.”

“She had a wisdom that nobody could recognize; the deaths of her children hadn't torn the innocence from her heart, but had calloused her against her own rage.”

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Incest, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Excrement, Vomit, Grief, Cannibalism, Abortion, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

julesh28's review against another edition

challenging dark funny 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

2.75

wtf?? ich weiß nicht, was ich davon halte. 
ig es ist gut, dass mich das buch emotionen fühlen lässt (disgust, discomfort, verwirrung). jedoch bin ich mir noch nicht sicher, was ich nach diesem read mitnehme. 
es war auf jeden fall ein fiebertraum. wenn "die verwandlung" und "lapvona" auf einem fiebertraum spektrum wären, wären sie auf zwei verschiedenen enden des spektrums, soviel sei gesagt.
i hated to read it but at the same time i couldn't stop reading it. i would not recommend or would i?? 
naja ich glaube, ich muss mich erstmal sortieren, sachen einordnen und es in einem halben jahr nochmal lesen. 
es war schon spannend ig. und auf jedenfall sehr comedy dafür, dass alle miserable waren. oder vielleicht gerade deswegen.

(nachtrag: alter, die content warnings reflecten super, was für ein fiebertraum dieses buch ist lmao)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Cannibalism, Murder, and Abandonment

Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Self harm, Blood, Grief, Alcohol, and Classism

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, Incest, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Fire/Fire injury

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

littlemountainchicken's review against another edition

dark sad tense medium-paced

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

3.25

It's a mess of everything bad happening to those who deserve it and those who don't. The plot carries the characters along, influenced by their actions, but rarely in their favour. A few times the narrative became a bit too repetitive in it's violence and abuse of the characters.

I found it interesting how the point of view jumps from a character to another, accompanied by the narrators monotonous voice.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Excrement, Vomit, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

torihbu's review against another edition

dark emotional sad fast-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

2.0

a quick read because it was entertaining, in about the same way as a train crash is entertaining. you want to stick around to see what unfortunate event might be next.

there seems to be a point to the story--questioning religion, capitalism, haves v have-nots, death, afterlife, pain, suffering, all the dark parts of the human experience. a medieval kingdom is a good place to explore those themes. however, the themes are overshadowed by disrespectfully odd scenes that have the same shock-value as a bad comedian trying to get a rise out of the audience.

sometimes the themes were delivered subtly, but most of the time, the themes were very blunt and overtly described. there was not much for the reader to think about or learn--it was just one shocking, depressing, or annoying scene after the other.

i would recommend if you're in the mood to indulge in the horrors of the human experience without having to get too depressed or think too hard about what you're reading. otherwise, maybe skip this one!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Incest, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Xenophobia, Excrement, Abortion, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Miscarriage

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

elisetamsin's review against another edition

challenging dark medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicide, Blood, Cannibalism, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury