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erikaraz's review against another edition
4.0
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
- 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
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
- 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
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.
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
lizzymcalpine's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
so much to explore and reflect on about the exploitation of the poor and women, about morality and its role in religion, religious justification, governmental neglect. definitely a thinker book, but left me wanting closure.
Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Bullying, Chronic illness, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Self harm, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Excrement, Trafficking, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Abandonment
hick's review against another edition
- 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
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
02kloun's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, Abortion, Abandonment, and Classism
Moderate: Animal death, Body shaming, Drug use, Gore, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Self harm, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Excrement, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
starvation due to drought is a core plot device throughout one of the sections of the bookreads2cope's review against another edition
1.0
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.
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?’
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.”
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
eveningreverie's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
It's dark, yes, it's gross, yes, it's intense, yes, but it's also genuinely and immensely funny. I feel like many people have been so mentally flashbanged by the content early in the story to fully realize the amount of humor in these pages. Utilizing each of these characters as their own self-foil was such an incredible method to tell a story about faith and the betrayal of faith, no matter what that faith may look like. Reading it as part of a book club definitely added another layer of enjoyment atop an already solid reading experience. There were so many connections that others had made that I had never seen, and it made for a constellation of constructively interfering brainstorming.
This is really good. I've seen mixed reviews on this, but this was so satisfying in a very real way. I'm very excited to read Moshfegh's other books after this, knowing how controversial those are as well.
Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Abandonment
Moderate: Bullying, Incest, Pedophilia, and Murder
smacey's review against another edition
- 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
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.
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
sarahherm's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Excrement, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Abortion, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic