Another unusual departure from Moshfegh.. However it's just as brutal and depraved as some of her other work. This time around she's trafficking in a fantastical medieval village to varying degrees of literary success. This is a still an author who's work I will follow, if only because of how unpredictable the trajectory of her career has been.

Ottessa Moshfegh tweaks the fairy tale, twisting it into a gloomy, cringeworthy novel wherein a lopsided peasant boy comes of age. Nothing is as expected, except the brutality of life, and the shit (so much literal poop) that comes with it. There's no such thing as a happy ending, nor a happy beginning, nor a happy middle. It's all so gloomy, yet the characters, the medieval setting, and Moshfegh's writing kept me intrigued. The audio version read by the author is well done.

[Thanks to PENGUIN GROUP The Penguin Press and NetGalley for an opportunity to read an advanced reader copy of this book.]

Ottessa Moshfegh’s newest novel, “Lapvona,” is both exactly what you would expect and not expect from the bestselling author and PEN/Hemingway Award-winning writer. Like past releases, it deals with a sense of suffering and the human psyche. Unlike previous novels, “Lapvona” follows an entire village of people, one set in medieval Europe, and is her first book written in the third person. Without giving too much away, “Lapvona” is a grotesque historical fiction read that involves incest, cannibalism, murder, medieval witchery, a deformed shepherd boy and a tongueless mother, and serves as an exploration of the effects people have on one other in a society, while trying to find one’s own place in the world.

A strange, visceral reading experience. Moshfegh apparently can take whatever setting and make it work. The way she writes female characters, showing them both at their ugliest and their best, is phenomenal.

Ummm, wtf did I just read?

That pretty much sums up my entire reading experience of Lapvona by Ottessa Moshfegh. A disgusting, disturbing, grotesquely brilliant novel that I couldn’t put down once I got into it. The storyline itself was a dizzying dream - I felt like I had been dropped into a medieval world with all the corruption, greed, guilt and barbaric darkness that you would expect - it had me clawing to find a way out but also so captivated that I had no choice but to watch the story unfold.

Lapvona was a study on the rawness of humanity - its dysfunction, destruction, and innate self-serving tendancies. While the fiction novel itself was set in the Middle Ages, the primitive nature of humanity that was displayed throughout the novel by no means ends there. This gnarled fable splays out the ever prevelant indecency of human nature, and the ways in which the wealthy spoil in their riches while the poor endure misery and abssence of basic necessities.

Religion was a prominent topic within Lapvona, where its villagers were fooled into a imperceptive acceptance of their deprivation and starvation, where the town’s faith served as a menacing force against its people. Lapvona investigates religions effects in this world of mania and frenzy, exploring the intricacies through its characters and their connection to faith, all the while leaving it up to the reading to contemplate whether the Lapvonians’ willingness to extreme suffering really does please their god and impact their placing in heaven.

Moshfegh seized all the revolting actions of the modern day and manipulated them into a fiction novel that takes place 1,000+ years ago, and the reveleance is eerie when you consider how little intuitive human nature has advanced. This was a literary experiment, and in my opionion, hit the ball out of the park. I have never read anything like it and don’t forsee reading anything remotely similar soon. ~Moshfegh 4evr~ 4.5/5

Thank you thank you thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Press for providing me with an Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for an honest review!

Wait. What did I even just read?

Lapvona is what I assumed to be a vaguely Eastern European village from a many centuries ago. The story revolves around the abject poverty and faithfulness of the village people contrasted with the extravagant wealth and foolishness of Villiam, their lord. Malek and his father, Jude are two lowly lamb shepherds, living their version of holy, ascetic, kinda sadistic life. However, one day Malek kinda accidentally-on-purpose kills the lord’s son and things in their lives begin to change.

So I love me some Moshfegh. LOVE love. The way she writes unlikeable heroines is absolute perfection. She’s an auto-read author for me.

However, this book feels different. Maybe it’s because I couldn’t ever really grasp on to a singular character and understand their motivations? The plot and characters seemed chaotic so even up until the last page I had no clue where the book was even going. And maybe that was the point! Moshfegh loves a good mind-freak.

I did love the menagerie of characters - Villiam’s son Jacob and his fancy leather shoes that will become his undoing, the village hermit-y witch who breastfed every resident for 100 years, the nun with no tongue that everyone thinks is giving birth to Christ, and of course the priest who’s never actually read the Bible.

Ooh, and the gross little details that Moshfegh includes are everything that you would want in a blighted medieval town.

We’ve definitely got some commentary on the corruption of organized religion, the banality of wealth, and maybe even climate change?? We’re contrasting the innocence of lambs with the savagery of what goes down during famine/drought. 😳

Moshfegh, I know this isn’t your usual, but it was still a strange little read, which I will always be a fan of.

Right out the gate the graphic parts were hard tj read, but I kept wanting to come back. There was a mysterious, weird, uncomfortable draw to the story and I think that was due to such great writing. I really loved it.

In Ottessa Moshfegh’s latest novel, Lapvona, the story centers around the quasi-medieval town of Lapvona where its villagers face drought and starvation as their despotic lord hoards their water supply.

I admit, this is my first time reading Moshfegh, and, after seeing the book's deep-fried surrealist trailer, I was over the moon excited for this one. I was hoping for Pathologic or a Hieronymus Bosch painting in written form.

However, asides from a scene involving the creative use of grapes and a Homelander mommy issue situation, the story itself was largely underwhelming. Instead the plot slowly meanders through the various farming seasons and the climax is ... well, anticlimactic.

Ultimately, Lapvona presents a dark satire and wry commentary on human greed, but its execution and themes feel half-baked. I wish it had leaned more into its absurdism and mysticism elements and developed its ideas further because the story itself had so much potential.

Bizarre and undeniably imaginative! The POVs of a pious masochistic boy, sadistic shepherd, delusional lord and more are utterly believable and unbelievable at the same time. This character exploration, a far leap from the "unhinged hot girl" aesthetic that has been thrust upon Moshfegh despite her other work, is absurd and more than a little twisted. Vivid, visceral prose and morally corrupt characters make "Lapvona" a memorable read, different from Moshfegh's other work but colored with the same wit and lack of sympathy.

Well this was something else! The book follows the life of the people in the village of Lapvona and even though I’m a fan of historical fiction, it was a tad too dark for me at times. However, the plot was interesting and fast-paced, and I particularly enjoyed Father Barnabas character who provided some much-needed comic relief.
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Thank you NetGalley & Penguin Press for this ARC that I probably won’t get over it for a while but that’s okay because it was a wild ride and Ottessa Moshfeg did it again.

Okay but… Where or how the f*ck do I start?

Well, the first thing you have to know about this book is that you will be uncomfortable and weirded out (100% guaranteed.) Ottessa knew exactly what she was doing when she chose a medieval setting because OH, BOY, you feel everything. The rawness, the dirtiness, the insanity, the delusion.

It’s hard to put down such a vivid book because the story is full of unexpected events and plotwists, really, the amount of times I gasped or that I had to put down the book because WTF???? were endless.) Regardless of how it makes you feel, I am sure you will keep on reading to know what’s next, who will succumb to their wickedness next and to what extent (Spoiler alert: All of them are messed up.)

It’s a 5 stars for me, hands down. But please, don’t take my 5 stars as YOU SHOULD READ IT TOO hahaha, I like weird or very sad books so yeah, take that into consideration.

Thank you to Penguin Press and NetGalley for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I gotta be real. What the heck did I just read? Otessa has always been on the edge of what I can reasonably say I enjoy reading, but this was I think a little too far out there. Sometimes it reminded me of say, Groff's 'The Matrix' but like, too often was it just crass and upsetting and depressing. So, I guess, the usual Odessa.

I don't even know how to rate it, really. 3 stars? For shock value?

Although this book isn’t my cup of tea, there is no way you can doubt Ottessa Moshfegh’s talent. With such a bizarre & twisted story, she somehow beautifies such an ugly situation. While this is probably my least favorite of her stuff, I still think it’s original and creative!

This is not a book that everyone will enjoy, and that's okay. Having never read Moshfegh before but being somewhat acquainted with her previous work only through laudatory comments from some of my favorite writers, I was really looking forward to reading this one. I've frequently seen this book described as "raw" and "unflinching", and those adjectives absolutely apply. Moshfegh is a very gifted writer who has a talent for creating evocative and memorable imagery. I'm not sure that I was in a receptive enough state of mind to really appreciate this story, but I will certainly be keen to seek out more of her work in the future.

Lapvona is a village that may (or may not) be located in Europe (Poland?) during the Middle Ages. Its population is Christian, though the local priest does little to kindle faith as he scarcely knows the Scriptures himself. As for the ruling lord, he lives in a manor, miles from the village, robbing his vassals blind without them realizing it. Over the course of a year, Lapvona’s inhabitants will see changes that will alter their outlook on life.

Lapvona is a story told in five chapters, by an omniscient narrator, with flowing prose, great world building, and simple, earthy protagonists that are flawed but not without redemption. It is an irreverent, laugh out loud, dark fairytale in which silliness, brutality, and religion coexist.

Most characters, especially the ones with most bearing in the story, are wonderfully realized, like Villiam, Marek, and Ina, not because they are perfect, but because they are perfectly flawed. Villiam is like a weather disturbance: easygoing, devious, morally corrupt, and with a wicked sense of humor; he steals with one hand while the other dispenses favors, and fancies himself a saint in the making. Marek is too childlike but perceptive; attuned to nature’s rhythms, self-indulgent, God-fearing but awfully misguided. Ina is a crone, equal parts wet nurse, sage, and medicine woman, with an extraordinary capacity for self-renewal. I liked all three.

Overall, Lapvona is a fairytale without moral, and with a goosebumps-inducing open ending. It is a breeze to read, straight to the point, and darkly funny. It may not be to everyone’s taste, but I spent a few days well entertained.

Disclaimer: I received a digital ARC from the publisher, via Netgalley, in exchange for my honest opinion.

Lapvona was a strange and riveting book. Only one word echoed in my mind as I read it: depraved. Every aspect of this story is utterly depraved. The characters are perverse and delusional. Disgusting scenarios and warped ideas fill each page. In fact, the plot points and characters in this novel were exaggerated to the point of farce. Moshfegh has taken tropes from fairytales & medieval literature and blown them completely out of proportion. Lapvona is a ridiculous novel and yet it is also incredibly readable. I was impressed, depressed, and horrified. Only Moshfegh could publish such a nihilistic and grotesque story.

I didn't know what to expect from this book and I think that was the best way to go in. Lapvona is full of horrible people and horrible circumstances, but that's what makes it so hard to put down. Moshfegh's exploration of faith and society strongly parallels our current social climate. Though this is set in a medieval fiefdom, the writing is modern and moves the story along well. I've seen this shelved as horror and although there are a few horror elements, I don't think the intention was for this to be a horror novel.

I really admire Moshfegh's other book so I had been anticipating this read for awhile now. I was really shocked with how different this book is from her other ones. It was twisted and disturbing. I read it at more of a slower pace, because of this. Overall, I really enjoyed reading this book as I would any book from this author. I cannot wait to get my hands on a physical copy. The characters were all developed so well. It was such a twisted yet compelling story.

Ottessa Moshfegh never disappoints. A raw, fantastical and haunting tragedy that just kept hitting with increasing speed. Some surprisingly humorous moments in an overall heavy novel that feels surreal in its contemporary style.

Disgusting, vile, and disturbing. Saying I loved it feels wrong, but I was utterly fascinated.

Lapvona is very different from Moshfegh’s previous books (I love how she writes unstable women), but I do think it’s her best-written. I’m a huge fan of her prose. It doesn’t follow one character, but an ensemble cast whose lives all intertwine. She somehow constructs a world in which I hate all of the characters and yet find them all incredibly compelling. I would put the book down incredibly annoyed with a character only to come back five minutes later and keep going. The book doesn’t answer all of our questions and has a pretty open-ended conclusion, but I was generally satisfied and felt that it was fitting, especially considering that this is not a book that wants to hold your hand.

As a note, this book contains pretty much every major trigger warning plus a few weird niche ones. If you hate when gross things happen with eyes, I’d skip this one.

Thank you to Netgalley for this ARC!