I love Ottessa, I've read all her books and this is so different to what I normally expect, I did enjoy it though, akthough it doesn't beat Eileen for me! Super weird, grotesque, graphic, loved the medieval setting, really great writing.

depraved and disgusting in the best way. this is set in a medieval village so is obviously very different from what i've previously read from ottessa moshfegh but it still gives you everything you'd expect from one of her books. an incredible read!

This is a very unusual novel and I wouldn’t have picked it up had it not been written by Ottessa Moshfegh as the setting and subject matter (a year in the life of a medieval fiefdom) wouldn’t otherwise have appealed to me. However, I was captivated and thought about the novel (particularly the ending) long after I’d finished it - it’s spare and raw and conjures up a whole world in relatively few words. Recommended and thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Set within the feudal system of a “ medieval “ village , this is a brutal tale of survival following the life of Marek. Without giving away the plot, the tale explores the relationship between Marek and his father and following an accident and it’s immediate impact, the involvement of the lord of the manor/village. The book is graphic in its description of life- sex , everyday living and violence. The tale is quite simple in many ways - the desire to be wanted and respected and ultimate retribution. Personally , it was too dark in some of its content but nevertheless captured a world where survival for many is a challenge and the rich don’t seem to care- much like the world and people today

Marek was born and raised in poverty in the Christian town of Lapvona by his abusive father after his mother Agata died in childbirth. Marek has red hair and a contorted body but enjoys socialising with Jacob, the son of the town Governor Villiam who lives in the family mansion with Jacob's mother Dibra and their servants on the top of a hill in the town.

Jacob is a similar age to Marek but much more accomplished in all things but especially hunting. There is an accident during one of their hunting trips which changes Marek's life in a most unexpected way. The summer brings a drought to Lapvona and the townspeople suffer badly whilst life in Villiam's estate continues as normal.

Moshfegh creates an intriguing society of uniquely interesting characters and relationships which are totally believable in this context but would be very odd in any other scenario. Confusion, lies and secrets elevate simple events to an amusing farce. The role of the church is a further source of ridicule.

This is an impressive story that neatly concludes in a most unexpected fashion and will live long in the memory of those who read it.

This is a difficult one to review and rate. The characters were almost universally unlikeable - but, having read (and enjoyed) Moshfegh's debut, "Eileen," I was anticipating that - and they are undeniably portrayed with impressive skill. This is essentially a story about humanity at its ugliest: physical and emotional abuse, greed, gluttony, corruption, abuse of power, rape, cannibalism... often described in grotesque and gory detail. As such, it is very well written, and the fictional medieval world is brought to vivid, immersive life.

The setting, character tropes and touches of magical realism give an impression of a folk tale with, reading between the lines, what I strongly suspect is an allegorical comment on contemporary society.

So it's all very clever and skilful; for me, however - and this may be my own failing - ultimately I never quite understood the point of the book. If I can't engage with any of the characters in a book - and this is not a criticism; indeed some of my favourite novels are populated by unpleasant people - then I generally want to learn something or be entertained. This reading experience lacked any of these, and when it was over I was left with the overwhelming question, "Why?"

I did not enjoy this book as much as "Eileen,", but cannot deny that it warrants a solid 4 stars for the amazing world-building alone.

With thanks to Random House for an ARC via NetGalley.

Wow. I’m not quite sure what I just read but I definitely loved it.

Lapvona follows the story of a small town, the people within and their respective world views and religious devotion.

It was definitely a unique novel and unlike anything I’ve read before, even by the same author. I found the writing engaging, with information revealed at the right moments which prevented me from getting bored. The plot was well paced and very unexpected. This book kept me on my toes which I really enjoyed.

I was thoroughly disgusted at certain parts of the book whilst simultaneously being impressed by its ability to evoke such emotions.

The exploration into religion and religious attitudes relating to manipulative and corrupt behaviour was definitely my favourite aspect of the book.

I would recommend this if you want something unexpected.

‘Lapvona’ is set in a medieval village, a world that is dark, brutal, and violent. Every character in this novel is selfish and uncaring, and there are no likeable characters. If this does not appeal, this is not the book for you.

Things that worked for me:

Moshfegh’s storytelling in ‘Lapvona’ is interesting and very readable. The story is told from the point of view of an omniscient narrator, who drops in major revelations gradually and as though they were insignificant. While the basic plot of the novel is fairly straightforward, there is a lot to more to the world, and I imagine it would benefit a reread for this reason.

The book is firmly rooted in the medieval setting and Moshfegh spends time developing and explaining the village of Lapvona. This is not historical fiction - this is not a book rooted in realism or history, and it does lean in to magical or fantastical elements at points, but Moshfegh clearly develops the way the village works, the power dynamics at its core, and the mindset of the violence-prone inhabitants.

Things that didn’t work for me:

The beginning of the book is slow, and there is no clear direction of travel. When key events occur, the story picks up and the book becomes much more engaging, but there are large chunks in which the pacing slows and the book starts to drag again.

The characters are deeply detestable, by design. This in itself is not a flaw, Moshfegh clearly establishes that this is a world without morals and without good people, though I found that because the book spends so much time developing this world if sudden violence where anything can happen, I found it difficult to care about anything that happened. Character’s deaths didn’t make me feel much at all, and by the third (or thirtieth) shocking scene I had stopped feeling all that shocked.

This is a book that I think a lot of people will get a lot from, and Moshfegh fans will love - I just don’t think it was particularly my kind of thing, and I was left feeling quite tired by the time I reached the end end.

Lapvona is the best written book I've ever given 3 stars.

This is the story of the residents living in the fictional medieval village of Lapvona. In some respects, it is an allegory of life during the Covid-19 pandemic. As a piece of literature, it does a wonderful job of harkening back to classic literary conventions and characters through Shakespeare etc and is, if anything, simply too clever for me. We explore class disputes, abuse and the true depths of depravity that humans are capable of. While the prose is absolutely stunning and I will be reading more of Moshfegh’s work, I found the presentation and subject manner so disturbing and off putting that whilst I could never put the book down, I always just wanted it to be over.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

Lapvona is very different when compared to Moshfegh’s other works, such as ‘My Year of Rest and Relaxation’. Similar traits remain, including unlikeable characters, however the plot is very different to her previous writing. Lapnova has a medieval setting, with motifs of existentialism, comments on the meaning of religion and God, with a sprinkle of magical realism. By writing chronologically according to the four seasons, Moshfegh creates a very eerie, bleak and disturbing atmosphere, enhancing the evil taking place in this small, isolated village. The book follows the character’s mental (and sometimes physical) deterioration, and how this affects their own belief systems, whether their opinions on Heaven and Hell, and God in general, change after each misfortune and disaster (reminiscent of the seven deadly sins). This book in turn makes you contemplate evil in our current world, offering a perspective on the political stance of the situation, and what awful consequences power imbalances can lead to, with truly revolting imagery which will haunt you for days after finishing this book.

This book is bound to shock some readers, and I’m highly anticipating to see how this book will be received by the public. Moshfegh’s literary experimentation worked heavily in her favour, and personally I preferred it to some of her more popular novels. Safe to say I am very excited to what trajectory her work will take in the future, and looking forward to reading her next instalment!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House (UK) Vintage Books for providing me an ARC of Lapvona in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you so much to Penguin for the ARC of this book.

This book had me feeling like I was absolutely insane. There were so many moments that I just had to put the book down because I couldn’t believe what I’d read.

It was so beautifully written and I loved the way it followed a set of characters over the course of a year. This is a must read for lovers of dark fiction.

This book is horrifying and vile.
Had me gagging, dying, vomiting.
Otessa moshfegh can do no wrong. This book definitely changed my brain chemistry and now I will never be the same.
Girlies if you're weak for A24 movies!!!! This! Is! It!
Especially midsommar 🤪
This book has ruined my life here take 5 stars!!!

A tale of power and religion, of people kept under control for the enjoyment of the rich and powerful. A tale about the dirty and cruel side of humanity. A tale that has been done and re-done countless times. Apart from the shocking factor and the dark touches of macabre and grotesque there nothing else to recommend this little novel.

I had no idea what to expect from this book as it was my first time experiencing Ottessa Moshfegh, but it was indeed quite wild. If you’re someone who gets easily grossed out by books or are wavy of heavy content, check the triggers for this one.

I can definitely see why Moshfegh has the platform she has as an author and why her books got so popular in the first place in the literary fiction field. She has a really lovely and almost lyrical style of writing that I really enjoyed and she definitely has a real talent for what she does. There was a really great atmosphere created in this book and the way Moshfegh wrote it felt almost effortless.

It had a really interesting batch of characters that allowed a couple of complex themes to be touched on in here. I don’t think I picked up on enough or have enough intelligence on some aspects of the subject matter myself to comment on most of it, but it felt well done. It was an extremely grotesque and uncomfortable read, Moshfegh clearly doesn’t shy away from directly tackling horrifying aspects of life and digging into disgusting corners of the human mind. It was really disgusting and painfully sad throughout.

I was really hung up on whether to rate this book three or four stars, but I went for the lower rating purely based on the fact that I didn’t know what to take from this book. I think most of it went over my head and I got too confused to really understand the cleverness of what Moshfegh was really writing, which is a shame, it almost felt wasted on me. Especially as the narrative continued and we got closer to the end of the novel, I was really disorientated and had no idea what was happening or how to feel.

Overall my feelings towards this one were mostly positive, just not sure I was entirely the right audience for it which is fine. From what I heard of Moshfegh’s other books, if you love those this will definitely be up your alley.

Despite enjoying some of Moshfegh's previous work, this was a DNF for about around 10% of the way in. It struggled to capture my attention.

Moshfegh has taken a bold and daring leap with this book - it is quite the departure from her other works, particularly the infamous My Year of Rest and Relaxation. While the writing wasn't necessarily to my taste, with Moshfegh's usual high levels of detail for the grotesque, I found this story to be gripping and unlike anything else I've read in a very good way. Not my favourite of hers but I enjoyed it nonetheless!

Moshfegh goes Mediaeval

After two novels dealing with the ennui of modern life, and a foray into a meta-fictional detective novel, the author turns her literary attention to historical fiction (of the more fabled than historically accurate variety)

The other change is in the voice - all of the first three novels were written in an intense, very private first person - this is a third person novel.

Nevertheless it retains the deliberately provocative grossness that characterises the author's work

It also has the ideas of exploring the greed and delusion of both individuals, of capitalist society and of distorted organised religion which is in the first three works - with the fictional setting of Lapvona giving the author more scope to explore this in an allegorical way.

Overall I think this will be an interesting read for fans of this author who manages to be both versatile and yet immediately recognisable in her writing

A year in the life of unloved peasant-boy, Marek, in the medieval fiefdom of Lapvona.

Lapvona and its inhabitants are a Breugel painting come to life: earthy and brutal. The people exist at the whim of apocalyptic weather conditions. Things take a turn for the carnivalesque when Marek is adopted by the lord of the manor.

This is magic realism in the German tradition.

My thanks to Penguin and NetGalley for the ARC.

What's so brilliant about this is that it's completely out of left field, and somehow also unsurprising, like this is what Moshfegh has really been writing all along.

It's not an easy read, but surely a worthwhile one. My only reservation (aside from my gut-level disgust) is that it's a touch long for what it is (this is a very descriptive book, and not all of that needs to be in there - perhaps this can be laid at Covid's door?).

It's dark, bleak, funny, sickening, banal - humour truly doesn't get blacker.

And the cover art is perfect too.

My thanks to Random House and NetGalley for the ARC.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4709025905

A well written, thought provoking book, but one I found a real struggle.

On the surface it's a tale of life in a fictional medieval fiefdom, but really there's very little in the way of plot and its main purpose seems to be to act as a vehicle for the author's views on the random cruelty of life and the irredeemable selfishness/stupidity/corruptability/brutality of human beings, both as individuals and as a society. None of the characters are likable and most of them are breathtakingly awful in one way or another.

Maybe I'm one of the deluded masses the author describes, wilfully burying my head in the sand so I don't have to face up to the realities of life, but I prefer to believe in (and would probably prefer to read about!) a world where kindness pays, and where people do genuinely have the capacity to put others before themselves. This book really is not one for the fainthearted either - violence and death abound in seriously graphic detail. Although it's not gratuitous, it does make for a very difficult read and, if I'm honest, left me feeling slightly queasy.

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an ARC in return for an honest review.