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A review by acatastrophe
Lapvona by Ottessa Moshfegh
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
(from my personal reading log, April 19, 2023)
NPR's year-end booklist bills Lapvona as dark and disturbing, and I'd have to agree. It follows a year of drama and destruction in the feudal land of Lapvona. Marek, son of Jude and herder, kills the son of the lord and achieves, through a cruel comedic bit, lordship himself. It's a disconcerting tale of death, hardship, and grime, but one I quite enjoyed.
I've been thinking of what this book may have been about on a deeper level. In the end, I think it's about exploitation. Marek is being exploited by those around him--his mother Agata is defined by exploitation (and is even canonically voiceless); Ina both exploits and is exploited by the town; but the centermost exploitation is the extraction of work and life from the Lapvonans by Villiam, their feudal lord. The message here is that resource extraction leads nowhere--having wealth and power does not serve nor save Villiam (who leads a pained and empty existence)--Villiam is even subjected to an exertion of power by the unseen northern warlord Ivan. The only character given what passes for mercy in Lapvona is Agata's newborn, thrown from a cliff at the end of the story and spared a life in the wretched world.
There's also an interesting subplot with sight and seeing--Ina, Grigor, the blinded horse, and Ina's stolen eyes--but I don't have room to get into it. Overall, a good read that scratches the litfic itch and gave me quite a bit to think about moving ahead!
NPR's year-end booklist bills Lapvona as dark and disturbing, and I'd have to agree. It follows a year of drama and destruction in the feudal land of Lapvona. Marek, son of Jude and herder, kills the son of the lord and achieves, through a cruel comedic bit, lordship himself. It's a disconcerting tale of death, hardship, and grime, but one I quite enjoyed.
I've been thinking of what this book may have been about on a deeper level. In the end, I think it's about exploitation. Marek is being exploited by those around him--his mother Agata is defined by exploitation (and is even canonically voiceless); Ina both exploits and is exploited by the town; but the centermost exploitation is the extraction of work and life from the Lapvonans by Villiam, their feudal lord. The message here is that resource extraction leads nowhere--having wealth and power does not serve nor save Villiam (who leads a pained and empty existence)--Villiam is even subjected to an exertion of power by the unseen northern warlord Ivan. The only character given what passes for mercy in Lapvona is Agata's newborn, thrown from a cliff at the end of the story and spared a life in the wretched world.
There's also an interesting subplot with sight and seeing--Ina, Grigor, the blinded horse, and Ina's stolen eyes--but I don't have room to get into it. Overall, a good read that scratches the litfic itch and gave me quite a bit to think about moving ahead!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest