Reviews tagging 'Cursing'

Lapvona by Ottessa Moshfegh

22 reviews

julesh28's review against another edition

challenging dark funny medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

wtf?? ich weiß nicht, was ich davon halte. 
ig es ist gut, dass mich das buch emotionen fühlen lässt (disgust, discomfort, verwirrung). jedoch bin ich mir noch nicht sicher, was ich nach diesem read mitnehme. 
es war auf jeden fall ein fiebertraum. wenn "die verwandlung" und "lapvona" auf einem fiebertraum spektrum wären, wären sie auf zwei verschiedenen enden des spektrums, soviel sei gesagt.
i hated to read it but at the same time i couldn't stop reading it. i would not recommend or would i?? 
naja ich glaube, ich muss mich erstmal sortieren, sachen einordnen und es in einem halben jahr nochmal lesen. 
es war schon spannend ig. und auf jedenfall sehr comedy dafür, dass alle miserable waren. oder vielleicht gerade deswegen.

(nachtrag: alter, die content warnings reflecten super, was für ein fiebertraum dieses buch ist lmao)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Cannibalism, Murder, and Abandonment

Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Self harm, Blood, Grief, Alcohol, and Classism

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, Incest, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Fire/Fire injury

sarahherm's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I hope you like trauma. Because you’re going to get some.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Excrement, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Abortion, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

dracucore's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

this book is heinous and disturbing in unspeakable ways. sometimes it is also confusing and i am still not  sure i fully understand some parts of it. dark, tense, upsetting, yet also gripping and compelling. i finished in 24hrs because i just couldn’t put it down. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

haileyeh's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

Gross for the sake of being gross.

This book answers the question - what if Saltburn was less interesting and 10x more gross? 🙄

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Infidelity, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Violence, Medical content, and Grief

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Cursing, Incest, Racism, Excrement, Abortion, Abandonment, and Alcohol

kkmcore's review against another edition

dark

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Pedophilia, Rape, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, Pregnancy, and Classism

saintesasha's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Such a thrilling and gripping read, but it definitely will not be for everybody. Moshfegh skillfully conveys the horrors of medieval life while leaning into mysticism and the influence of religion, sexuality, and the taboo. I devoured this in less than 24 hours - I found myself shocked yet riveted by the complex characters. Moshfegh richly describes the town and citizens of Lapvona, and it only took a few pages to become fully immersed in her descriptions of the world Jude, Marek and Villiam inhabit. The reflections of the meaning of religion and how religion is used to manipulate but also provide hope for those who suffer was very interesting and navigated in an interesting way. 

This novel was very refreshing and I personally loved reading such a depraved novel that teeters between a thriller, fantasy and horror novel! This book is probably best suited to those who can cope with confronting and long passages about violence/sexual assault and content. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Incest, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Grief, Cannibalism, and Murder

reading_112's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Incest, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

kcakes719's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Opening with that Demi Lovato quote was like a punch in the gut.

I think I might be severely desensitized because this book didn’t gross me out in the way others have described. It certainly has moments where I can see why someone would be disturbed though. This is a medieval slice of life with zero likable characters and I couldn’t stop thinking about it. The audiobook narration by the author was *chefs kiss*

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Rape, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Violence, Cannibalism, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Ableism, Bullying, Incest, Mental illness, Slavery, Excrement, Vomit, Abortion, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Animal cruelty, Cursing, Grief, and Classism

cwiita's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Well, after marking My Year Of Rest and Relaxation as my only DNF ever, I managed to make it through this one. I purchased this book before I started MYORAR, before I had any idea how much I would struggle with Otessa Moshfegh. I find her to be a difficult read, not for lack of skill or quality, but for the simple fact that she seems to have an ongoing problem with fatphobia and ableism, among other things.  I discussed my initial problems with MYORAR with a friend who has read most of Moshfegh's work, and the consensus was that her stories relay very similar views each time and that her characters tend to be the same type of people across the board. I am a big fan of unreliable narrators and I appreciate the challenge of crafting a story around difficult characters, but to do it unrelentingly in every book while consistently implying hateful messages is tough for me to get behind.
With that being said, I blew through Lapvona. This book is absolutely vile, but incredibly readable when it comes to pacing and language. It was also much easier to tolerate the actions and views of the characters knowing that the events were taking place under a feudal system in medieval times. Moshfegh did a wonderful job of characterization, for better or for worse. The plot is somehow both ceaseless and unrecognizable. It's an infinite circle of pointless suffering, but maybe that's the point.  In an uncanny way, there was something enjoyable about this read. Since I already own MYORAR, this piece almost convinced me to give it another try. Almost.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Grief, Cannibalism, Abortion, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

historybabe's review against another edition

challenging dark slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Where do I even begin..... Honestly, I have never had to put down a book so many times in my life. I was shocked by the sheer depravity within its pages. If you can imagine a sin, it is in this novel. If you want to be sick to your stomach by all means, read it. I'm going to go take a hot bath in bleach and read my Bible. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Incest, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Vomit, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Cultural appropriation, and Injury/Injury detail