Mixed feelings

The first half of this book had me hooked but then it just fell apart for me. It even felt as though the dialogue style completely changed. Maybe that was intentional. Narration was great though.

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A book of two halves

The first half of this book is honestly a spectacular treat of macabre and the second half is a wade through dull repetition. I did overall love it though.

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👁⚔️🐑

gross, weird, slow, and brimming with juvenile cruelty - i devoured this in a day and a half. absolutely loved it.

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A different story, but nothing exceptional.

A different story, but nothing exceptional. All I can do is sit on the fence really.

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It's a Farce not a Horror...

Firstly let me say it's not as disgusting as most of these reviews make out, there is quite a lot of incest and abuse, a bit of cannibalism, and some witchcraft, so if that's not your bag move on...

But IF you can get over that or are like me dead on the inside and not easily shocked then elements of the book are actually quite funny in a farcically tragic ''Voltaire'' kind of way.

I think a lot of people gave up halfway, and to be fair most of the abuse is in the first half of the book, but IMO that's just the build-up to the tragic comedy, or maybe I'm just a sick puppy.

Horrible (but entertaining) beginning, a Farcicle middle, abrupt ending. 4 stars.

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The right kind of twisted!

It dives into perversions of humans, the reality of the social classes and religions along side magical events. The narrator is just what the story needs, she did write it after all!

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Fairy Tale runs out of steam

Whilst all great Fairy Stories have a moral story to tell. Good vs Evil. This feels like a fairy tale for our age - all characters are flawed, pain, layered upon pain, which navigates their actions. And maybe that's the point. But in terms of telling a story, it leaves you crying out for an explanation to all it all - if not a happy ever after

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not gross for those familiar with horror stories

I mean the story starts with some grossish descriptions, and some scenes are gruesome but if you've listened to many a horror or dark thriller story it won't shock you. story is ok, little un eventful and meandering but fine - three stars for this reason, the atmosphere was cool to start with kind of grim mock mediaeval but then took a turn for a bit dull with smatterings of cannibal and kind of witchy business. interesting but not shocking if you're at all familiar with any darker horror stories or fiction which leans into the slimy side of human nature.

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Captivating

I don't think the categories really do this justice; all fiction is a kind of fantasy and this is like a dark fairy tale. A story one makes up of a small world with simple elements, just here populated with sometimes dark detail, especially when contrasted with the normal. It is not horror or superficial or obvious, but illuminates as light through the crack in a little opened door, what is in our dark minds.

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The grimmest of fairy tales

“Right or wrong, you will think what you need to think so that you can get by,”

Little Marek the abused son of a shepherd never knew his mother. The only bond he has is with the village midwife, Ina. Ina is also the village wet nurse, but she takes that role to extremes (In fact Ottessa Moshfegh’s novel takes a lot of things to the extremes!) Little Marek’s life is changed when a violent event takes him into the world of Lord Villiam who lives in the manor on the hillside. Villiam is a ‘man child’ who’s childish games and pastimes are not for the feint hearted or the weak stomached! “Let’s see who can eat the most sausages while Lisbeth holds her breath” being one of his less grotesque games.

As a biblical draught ravages the village and the people starve, they are reduced to eating dried sheep dung while Lord Villiam drinks from his private lake and eats his fill while playing out his bizarre games. The villagers are devout Christians but their church isn’t offering them the redemption they seek. They lead a life of vegetarianism as the priest gorgeous himself on meat. But when the drought strikes they eat any thing they can get hold of no matter how degrading or disgusting.

Set in a village in a medieval fiefdom, Lapvona is a difficult novel to pin down. It’s quasi medieval setting feels like it’s straight out of hammer horror or a Bergman movie. It’s bizarre, striking, and disarmingly revolting. Lapvona is a land strangely void of humanity, it’s inhabitants grotesque clowns from a Shakespearean play. It’s Game of Thrones meets Monty Python and the Holy Grail. It is cartoonish and repulsive, it’s as if Moshfegh’s has attempted to fill her novel with every kind of human degradation she can think of just for laughs, but the humour is of the darkest kind. I think the point is it’s too gross for comedy, and too silly to be be taken seriously. I found it to be a bit of a slog, it’s the grimmest of fairy tales. There’s no redemption to be found here and just when you think you’ve seen it all the ending gives us one more final salvo.

I have tried to put my finger on what is is about Lapvona that failed to resonate with me, it’s difficult to see. However I felt despite the cruelty and spiritual barrenness nothing new or fresh was being offered. The obscenity here will polarise readers but I wouldn’t criticise that, that’s not my problem with Lapvona. It’s violence in the end however becomes too silly, the message ‘death comes to us all’ isn’t enough. Despite the atrocities I struggled to find sympathy or empathy with any of the characters.

It did have its positives though despite my criticisms, it is a well written story and in the form of the nurse Ina it has one redeeming character. She seemed to be the only adult in the room here. She’s the only one who is aware of what’s going on, her wit and worldliness is a relief.

I normally I love books like this, a bit quirky, a bit left field. So I may revisit this book at some point and give it a second chance. So it’s not all bad. The narration I thought was quite good, the pace and the downbeat delivery fit the context of the story.

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