Lapvona: A Novel

Lapvona is a book where everyone hurts others, and everyone is punished for their crimes by nature and the unnatural, but the cycle of misery perpetuates. This kind of book isn't for everyone, to be sure, but if you're interested in the kind of story where you don't know if the "protagonist" will win and the "antagonist" will lose, or better yet a book where everyone is protagonist and antagonist in different moments, this is the one for you. Plus, the sincerely compelling narrative voice draws you in right away.

”Sometimes something new can remind you of something you lost.” - Lapvona.Little Marek, the abused and delusional son of the village shepherd, never knew his mother; his father told him she died in childbirth. One of life’s few consolations for Marek is his enduring bond with the blind village midwife, Ina, who suckled him as a baby, as she did so many of the village’s children. Ina’s gifts extend beyond childcare: she possesses a unique ability to communicate with the natural world. Her gift often brings her the transmission of sacred knowledge on levels far beyond those available to other villagers, however religious they might be. For some people, Ina’s home in the woods outside of the village is a place to fear and to avoid, a godless place. Among their number is Father Barnabas, the town priest and lackey for the depraved lord and governor, Villiam, whose hilltop manor contains a secret embarrassment of riches. The people’s desperate need to believe that there are powers that be who have their best interests at heart is put to a cruel test by Villiam and the priest, especially in this year of record drought and famine. But when fate brings Marek into violent proximity to the lord’s family, new and occult forces upset the old order. By year’s end, the veil between blindness and sight, life and death, the natural world and the spirit world, civility and savagery, will prove to be very thin indeed.I finished this book a couple of weeks ago, and I’m still not completely sure what I read. However, that is typical for Ottessa Moshfegh’s novels, and not a bad thing in my opinion. As I’ve said before, she is such an amazing writer and her stories are truly unique. This story in particular is very different from her previous novels and is more of a take on modern society through a somewhat historical lens. I will admit that I think some of it went a bit over my head, so I plan to do a second read through, but I have loved reading other reviews and seeing how other people interpreted the plot. Needless to say, I am already waiting for her next book, and intrigued to see what she will write about next.

Both amusing and simultaneously dark. I found it moderately entertaining. Definitely with reading at the library or home. Enjoy it!

Before writing this review, one thing I want to address is the disturbing scenes. If you're a fan of horror, specifically extreme horror, this book won't be a big deal for you. But if you're more of a general fiction fan, there are some rough scenes in here. Most of the violent scenes happen off-camera, but there are enough details to where they may be triggering. I was specifically concerned about the cover; it shows a lamb with its hooves tressed, and I figured that implied animal abuse (my only trigger). Lambs are a big part of the story, but any abuse happens off-camera (such as selling lambs to slaughter).Now onto the review. This book takes place in a fictional town called Lapvona. Moshfegh doesn't go into too many details but hints that it takes place in Medieval Times around the modern-day Eastern Europe region. The book immediately introduces a boy Marek, his father, Jude, Marek's "deceased" mother, a blind midwife named Ina, and the emperor of the land, Villiam. Moshfegh introduces more characters, but they're all connected and have a pivotal role in the story.The most disturbing parts of the book center around the time period. It's the Medieval Period, so everyone is surrounded by starvation, stink, abuse, sickness, death, and poverty. Not surprisingly, religion dominates the city, but Moshfegh doesn't go into that detail as much as the corrupt priest who's in cohorts with Villiam.What this book proves is the Medieval Period isn't much different from the one we live in today. Villiam, the one in charge of the city, hogs the water, food, and all luxuries while the people suffer from hunger and thirst during a drought. Religion is the centerpiece of the town, and even the priest barely knows the Bible since he doesn't speak Latin (remember, this is before the day of widespread translations) and is only in the position for the power.This is the type of book where you think you know what comes next, and Moshfegh takes a sharp turn. I saw this book promoted within the horror community, so I expected it to be more depraved than it was (why I made that note in the beginning). But I like where Moshfegh took the book and made it more unsettling in a way I wasn't expecting.As I mentioned, there are many characters in this book, and they all change. Some characters started off poor and ended up rich. Greed took over their minds and morals--again, much like the way it is today. There are no "good" and "bad" people in this book. Everyone is flawed in many ways; some do great things in one part, and in the next, they commit a despicable crime. It's one of the many ways that Moshfegh keeps you on your toes.I 100% recommend this book. I was unsure about it and took it on and off my TBR. But I'm glad I read the reviews because it's one of the best books I read in a long time.

I’ve had trouble getting back into books lately it’s hard to keep my attention when it comes to reading I decide to give lapvona a try, I have not been able to put this book down I’ve been able to read more than half in three days which for me is quiet a lot the book itself is quit disturbing at times and can be hard to read if you are sensitive to certain topics but ottessa moshfegh’s writing overall is quiet amazing and easy to get lost in already ordered My Year Of Rest And Relaxtion!

It's so well written, I could feel this rough medieval world..... 100% recomend

Oh my god would read this over and over. Not for the weak! Had my stomach in nots and my skin crawling. So wrong in all the right ways

Celebro que haya voces tan audaces e incómodas como la de la escritora estadounidense Ottessa Moshfegh. "Lapvona" (2022), su novela más reciente, es un delirio medieval guiado por la aberración y la escatología que compone un cuadro digno de Hyeronimus Bosch. Un talento dispuesto a correr riesgos que normalmente no se corren en la actualidad.

Sur la couverture il y a comme des traces de doigts ou de colle, c'est dommage mais ça n'empêche pas la lecture..

Transformative. Powerful characters that stay with you for a long time.