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A review by shay_talksbooks
Lapvona by Ottessa Moshfegh
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Pedophilia, Rape, Self harm, Cannibalism, and Murder