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A review by bookswithchaipai
Lapvona by Ottessa Moshfegh
Moshfegh is the bravest author I know!
Her nihilistic views of human nature shines through her writing in a strange and jarring manner. One of the most grotesque novels I have encountered, filled with harsh realities which are usually concealed behind closed doors because of its disgraceful nature and could be shameful for an author to pen down, have been grappled with dauntlessly.
Set in the medieval times, Lapvona showcases primitive village life, with a cluster of hard working villagers and God-fearing farmers working to make ends meet, and a Governor living in luxury by taking undue advantage of the villagers through underhand means. This is the perfect study of disparity between the higher and the lower classes and how they suffer.
Through her larger-than-life unlikeable character tableau, with deluded human behaviour, tackling challenging subjects like lack of familial love, and matters of faith and God, this book has a fairytale quality which is hard to brush aside. Having said that, some of the topics did grate me the wrong way, especially the cannibalism bit.
A rollercoaster would have been a pleasanter ride than this, but like it I did despite all the content warnings, because of its blatant honesty and far-fetched nature.
Her nihilistic views of human nature shines through her writing in a strange and jarring manner. One of the most grotesque novels I have encountered, filled with harsh realities which are usually concealed behind closed doors because of its disgraceful nature and could be shameful for an author to pen down, have been grappled with dauntlessly.
Set in the medieval times, Lapvona showcases primitive village life, with a cluster of hard working villagers and God-fearing farmers working to make ends meet, and a Governor living in luxury by taking undue advantage of the villagers through underhand means. This is the perfect study of disparity between the higher and the lower classes and how they suffer.
Through her larger-than-life unlikeable character tableau, with deluded human behaviour, tackling challenging subjects like lack of familial love, and matters of faith and God, this book has a fairytale quality which is hard to brush aside. Having said that, some of the topics did grate me the wrong way, especially the cannibalism bit.
A rollercoaster would have been a pleasanter ride than this, but like it I did despite all the content warnings, because of its blatant honesty and far-fetched nature.