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A review by academicaries
Lapvona by Ottessa Moshfegh
Did not finish book. Stopped at 77%.
This is, unfortunately, the result of blindly trusting booktok reviews, which I will now analyze with more guardedness than before.
I wanted to like this book. At first, the descriptions of a disabled boy and his father seem compelling, idyllic, and strangely curious. But for all of that initial image, the following pages plunged me in a deeper state of disillusion and abhorrence. While this is not written as historical fiction, it clearly takes inspiration from life in the Dark Ages, though the only art this book partakes in is its illustrative slaughter. The social critiques are sluggish, unclever, and lazy all throughout, necessitating the use of cruelty and grotesque depictions to drive home the "points," which are nothing more than mockery when compared to solid and anchored socio-political commentarists, such as Agustina Bazterrica. Truly, the latter author is now, in my mind, a genius when contrasted with Lapvona. Besides this, the book lacked a clear north, an anchor. The book is full of scenes that, even for a work of fiction, are completely implausible. The narration often includes the perspectives of characters whose voice is irrelevant to the story, and thus make it more hollow and senseless. The Unworthy by Agustina Bazterrica was a richer, denser, and more historically and politically anchored book than this. Ottessa Moshfegh is nothing but a clown masquerading literary deftness.
I wanted to like this book. At first, the descriptions of a disabled boy and his father seem compelling, idyllic, and strangely curious. But for all of that initial image, the following pages plunged me in a deeper state of disillusion and abhorrence. While this is not written as historical fiction, it clearly takes inspiration from life in the Dark Ages, though the only art this book partakes in is its illustrative slaughter. The social critiques are sluggish, unclever, and lazy all throughout, necessitating the use of cruelty and grotesque depictions to drive home the "points," which are nothing more than mockery when compared to solid and anchored socio-political commentarists, such as Agustina Bazterrica. Truly, the latter author is now, in my mind, a genius when contrasted with Lapvona. Besides this, the book lacked a clear north, an anchor. The book is full of scenes that, even for a work of fiction, are completely implausible. The narration often includes the perspectives of characters whose voice is irrelevant to the story, and thus make it more hollow and senseless. The Unworthy by Agustina Bazterrica was a richer, denser, and more historically and politically anchored book than this. Ottessa Moshfegh is nothing but a clown masquerading literary deftness.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Rape, Cannibalism
Moderate: Child abuse, Violence