As a fan of Moshfegh's previous works, I have been looking forward to this title since it was announced and was not disappointed. I would classify this as her most literary work, by far, and found Lapvona to be incredibly immersive and compelling. The allegory is subtle and the characters, while all abhorrent in their own ways, are striking and sympathetic in turn. Absolutely recommend to anyone familiar with her work and genre, but may not be a title I recommend to just anyone.

Lapvona will seem like a big departure for fans of Moshfegh's other work but the strange story still dazzles from her sharp and observant writing. The book has the making of a modern The Canterbury Tales but with a lot more verve in digging into just how disgusting and bleak the life of a peasant can be. This is not a feel good book but it's a quick read that will get you thinking about a lot more than sheep.

I knew this was going to be a banger from the moment I read the epitaph. I’m a huge fan of both folk horror and Moshfegh so this really hit a sweet spot for me. A grotesque fairytale that reads like an a24 horror movie. The writing is simultaneously beautiful and horrifying and there’s a deeper commentary on wealth inequality and human nature that I think really landed well for me. If you’re a fan of Moshfegh and Ari Aster this is the book for you.

Unique and incredibly atmospheric. This book was spooky insight on a way of life and a time I can hardly imagine but Moshfegh manages to place you directly into it. Much darker than some of her other works, which only makes it better in my eyes. One of my favorite books of the year thus far.

Ottessa Moshfegh does it again with her new novel, “Lapvona.” People who read “My Year of Rest and Relaxation” will be pleasantly surprised by this new world Moshfegh opens for us. Although completely different from the other worlds of her previous writings, “Lapvona” possesses the same dark and complex emotional tones of her other novels.
I’m personally so thrilled for this to be in more people’s hands so I can discuss it in more detail with other readers and fans of Moshfegh.

4.5 Stars

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book felt like a fever dream. It was grotesque, made me incredibly squeamish at times, and yet it is an absolute masterpiece. I’ll begin this review by stating the obvious: Ottessa Moshfegh is an incredible writer. Not a lot of authors could write about a bleak Medieval town with some of the most horrific characters imaginable and have me instantly hooked. What was most fascinating about this novel is the way that Moshfegh unpacked the complexities of religion. When a famine hits Lapvona and people begin go to mad from starvation, the villagers begin to question themselves and the way they practice their faith: What have they done to deserve such suffering? Did they provoke the Devil’s wrath? When the villagers turn to Father Barnabas, he only tells them lies that feed this fear and paranoia. To make it even worse, amidst all of this chaos, Lord Villiam sits comfortably in his manor eating so much food that he often has to vomit it up afterwards and making sure that he is the only one in the village with access to clean water. He uses religion to justify his behavior and, with the help of Father Barnabas, manipulates the people of Lapvona into believing that their sins have brought this terrible famine upon them. Rather than exposing the faults of religion itself, Moshfegh points to the horrors of humankind and the ways in which humans use religion as a weapon. Moshfegh is undeniably one of the most talented contemporary writers and this book proves that her talent is only growing.

Another Moshfegh marvel, transporting the reader to a feudal landscape stuffed with horror and cruelty, selfishness and misery. Pushing boundaries, offering no relief or redemption, Moshfegh imagines the worst, most relevant, and renders it simultaneously compelling. That’s some gift.

Ottessa Moshfegh at her finest, I loved this dark and depraved story, whilst the story of a sheep farmer in a medieval fiefdom would not usually be my time of novel Moshfegh's writing and storytelling kept me engaged and hooked, even during the darker elements of the story.

One to check trigger warnings for.

Lapvona is a reflection on human behavior. The narrative focuses on a rotating cast of characters - all unlikable, intricate, and isolated in their own way. All have their own opinions and ways of creating purpose out of what they know (or believe they know) of the world around them.

Lapvona brings in elements of Ottessa Moshfegh's style into the new medieval setting. The story is dark and the characters are deeply flawed, Similar to her story Eileen. While the book is dark and sometimes gross, Moshfegh's writing is great and detailed. I will continue to read the books that she publishes.

Thank you NetGalley, Penguin Press, and Ottessa Moshfegh for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! Lapvona is a strange book that describes a medieval village and it’s many characters.

This is a dark and brutal tale that involves some graphic scenes and a gruesome world. It grossed me out, shocked me, and made me think about the differences between this medieval village and the modern world. This is one of the few books I’ve read where I truly didn’t know what would happen next. It kept me intrigued the entire time and I’m sure fans of Moshfegh will enjoy it.

This story shows multiple viewpoints throughout, which really interested me. It also describes the different belief systems in Lapvona, such as Christianity and witchcraft, and I thought that it was fascinating to see how the characters thought about themselves in terms of what they believe in. Moshfegh is skilled at world-building and this book showcases that and makes Lapvona feel like a real place that existed.

I recommend this book, but be sure to check out trigger warnings before reading, and I don’t suggest reading this if you’re under 18. It’s disgusting and unnerving, but also brings up some good questions and makes for an interesting read.

This was my third Moshfegh book and it was just as unique and weird as the ones I had read before.
I enjoyed the narration and the character’s absurdities. The comments on human nature and its belief systems did not go unnoticed and while reading about illness spreading through Lapvona, I couldn’t help but be reminded of our current situation with Covid. This book brought forth so many different feelings and emotions in me at the same time. I felt happy, sad, disgusted and weirded out at the same time. Ottessa Moshfegh continues to be one of the most unique authors I have the pleasure of reading and her books make for the most interesting reading experience.
Thank you NetGalley for this ARC.
Review will be up on my accounts during the course of next week.

I loved the weirdness of this. I was completely invested in the story, setting, and characters for the first half of the book, however, got lost a bit as some plot points felt a bit “too much” or ridiculous.

For about the first third of this it was on track to be in my top one or two Ottessa Moshfegh books, before veering to the side of her I enjoy the least (when the grotesqueness feels gratuitous and vindictive, like much of Homesick For Another World but more disturbing), and it teeters between this and feeling purposeful but overall is really well done. The medieval setting fits her style very well and it’s an interesting story about a corrupt fiefdom and the church vs personal ideas of religious devotion/self-flagellation for god’s favoritism. It’s soapy, absurd, and disgusting and calls to mind both Shipwrecks by Akira Yoshimura and aspects of The Volcano Lover by Susan Sontag. And somehow Family Guy to be honest I can’t explain that one.

I am a fan of Moshfegh’s “My Year of rest and Relaxation” and was eager to get my hands on this book. The setting of the book and time period are unique, the story takes place in the village of Lapvona with an interesting cast of characters who have moments of misfortune and perversity. Moshfegh’s novels are always unique and thought provoking and this one is no exception. Thank you to Netgalley for this ARC.

Ottessa Moshfegh is one of our best writers, and Lapvona is a wonder: strange and beautiful, cruel and profound. Though the novel is set in a fictional European country during medieval times, it feels timeless in much the same way that Tarkovsky's Andrei Rublev feel timeless, offering up an exquisite examination into the nature of jealousy, power, mythology and the always underestimated divine feminine that speaks as loudly to our own hell-bent times as it does to those of 500 years ago.

Ottessa Moshfegh writes like no other writer of her generation. She writes without agenda, about the things she wants to write. And that's probably the reason why her literature feels so authentic and her voice so original.
This book is a gem. The plot is complex and the story is full of flawed characters. The city of Lapvona is barely outlined but in such a perfect way that it becomes a character itself, some kind of medieval fiefdom. We are not even sure when the narrated events take place but it feels like a thing of the past, something that could happen centuries ago.
Moshfegh's prose and descriptions are crude and full of disturbing details.
In my opinion, it is in these details that the strength of this book lies. And in the fact that the author understands that her goal is not to "educate" the readers with a current agenda but to entertain them with a complex story and, if possible, disturb them in the best possible way.
I really enjoyed this book and I'm sure that some the images will stay with me for a long time.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this one.
Do I get this book? Not really. Am I mad about it? Not at all! This is a bizarre, gruesome and macabre tale about set in some sort of medieval period. I feel like a read a parable but I'm not really sure what I was to take away from it. Perhaps there was nothing to take away except an odd and delightful story with some fairly unlikable characters. Some parts were hilarious and some were gross and I delighted in all of them.

Having read My Year of Rest and Relaxation, I expected some of the same here. I did NOT get what I expected! This is set in a semi-medieval time period of cruel overlords and famine, with audacities and appalling behavior on every page. I almost DNF'd after 25 pages or so but something kept me reading... all the way to the end. Was there ever to be redemption for these awful characters? In this world that Moshfegh has created, you feel the ones who don't make it are the lucky ones. I read that this was her COVID novel, written in isolation, so some of that makes sense with what's on these pages. Read if you dare! Thank you to @netgalley and Penguin Press for the ARC copy of this book.

I’m a big fan of Otessa Moshfegh’s work, so was really excited to get an advance copy of this to review. This book is unlike anything she’s written before - set in a (fictional) medieval fiefdom, the writing is graphic, scathing and at times utterly vicious, shot through with some excellently observed moments of black comedy.

Written during one of the many covid lockdowns of the past couple of years, the book reflects the sense of claustrophobia, uncertainty, corruption and death. It could also be viewed as a comment on climate change and the corruption of people in power. Although it’s set in an unspecified historical period, it felt to me more like historical fantasy - the character of Ina in particular crossed the blurred lines between reality and fantasy, with her ability to understand bird song, her seeming agelessness, and her sight being restored by the eyes of a horse.

I’ve only given this four, rather than five, stars because I’m still unsure about how I feel about the characters. They were enigmatically and sharply written, but were often so repulsive that I struggled to care about what happened to them. However, the world Moshfegh has created was so absorbing and unique, with such beautifully crafted, almost biblical, writing that it deserves nothing less than a solid 4/5.