Name: Mitch McGonegal's review of Lapvona by Ottessa Moshfegh
Item: Lapvona
Rating: 2.5
Author: Mitch McGonegal

Ottessa Moshfegh

In a village in a medieval fiefdom buffeted by natural disasters, a motherless shepherd boy finds himself the unlikely pivot of a power struggle that puts all manner of faith to a savage test, in a spellbinding novel that represents Ottessa Moshfegh’s most exciting leap yet 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.

A Novel

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 when he was a baby, as she did for 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 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 will prove to be very thin indeed.

mallorie 🦌

"Forget him. He'll rot now. He'll feed the worms. Shall we pick some flowers on the way home?" 

In a village in a medieval fiefdom buffeted by natural disasters, a motherless shepherd boy finds himself the unlikely pivot in a power struggle that puts all manner of faith to a savage test, in a spellbinding novel that represents Ottessa Moshfegh's most exciting leap yet

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 when he was a baby, as she did for 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 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 will prove to be very thin indeed.

Jordan Card

‘What about heaven, Ina? Don't you want to go?’

‘It doesn't matter,' she said. ‘I won't know anyone.'

Helen 

Lispeth never complained of hunger or hardship. But Petra could see the bruise on her spirit, the little cuts of sadness. 

His face was not something she had studied, but something that acted upon her. Like wine, it took hold of her mind and drew it into a golden light, the dawn of heaven, and her body tingled and relaxed. She felt more alive in these dreams, but woke up wishing that she, too, were dead.

Genesis (@whisperingchapters)

moshfegh’s worst by a mile. i appreciate the swing and don’t think she’s unsuited to write in an omniscient perspective but she’s definitely in her wheelhouse when she’s able to create intensely personal, subjective stories. when everything is objective, like it is here, it’s hard to get swept up in the twisted morality and idiosyncrasies of her best work

Mitch McGonegal

𓆨

it was good at first but then something went wrong somehow

catalina

me aburrió jajaja, llegué como a la mitad del verano

mousie

désirée

extremely disgusting and harrowing .. loved it

Syahla Aurel

Perhaps it is most miraculous when God exacts justice even when no human lifts a finger. Or perhaps it is simply fate.

Funny, disgusting, strange, and disturbing at the same time. However, despite the book's obvious criticism of a religious cult, its plain portrayal of corrupt leaders, social divide, and exploitation, I still found it difficult to grasp its purpose. But perhaps it is the book's main message after all.

Christine 

sarah

salem

i really, really, wanted to like this book because of it's interesting premise, but it just wasn't for me. easily my least favorite of all her novels.

marlene

🦌

beautiful book. I love and despise Marek. 

Nathan Canon

Sara

Grace M

Lapvona was exactly what I expected when I heard Otessa Moshfegh was crafting a medieval world from her magical brain. I love just about everything Moshfegh writes so I am a *touch* biased here, but I loved the journey that is Lapvona. I adored how gross and strange the world was and the commentary on class welfare baked in between each rotten layer of Lapvona.

Liked the writing style but honestly don‘t know what i read half the time and now i wish i hadn‘t read half of it

Thea Sophie

Lauren Falicia

⭐️⭐️ 1/2 = this book isn’t bad, I just didn’t like it that much. 

Although I’m usually a fan of Moshfegh’s work, this one didn’t really do it for me. 

Something about the tone seems mismatched with the subject, but maybe I’m missing something. 

There are some aspects of this book that I enjoy, but most of those are just things I like about Moshfegh’s writing: gross/disturbing subject manner, her general voice, etc. 

I might need to reread this one and gather my thoughts a little more..

Ashley 

⭐️⭐️ 1/2 = this book isn’t bad, I just didn’t like it that much. 

Although I’m usually a fan of Moshfegh’s work, this one didn’t really do it for me. 

Something about the tone seems mismatched with the subject, but maybe I’m missing something. 

There are some aspects of this book that I enjoy, but most of those are just things I like about Moshfegh’s writing: gross/disturbing subject manner, her general voice, etc. 

I might need to reread this one and gather my thoughts a little more..



[stares quietly out of the window for 20 hours] i liked it

Bianca Ivănuș

Morgan Thomas

Moshfegh has been on my radar for a while. I had been meaning to read her but having tried another book and not finishing it she wasn't high on my list. But when I heard about this book and how dark and depraved it was I decided to give it a try. I was disappointed which I think was a combination of the story and very high expectations. The book came across as being Moshfegh's most disturbing but I didn't think it was especially disturbing. I found while there to be scenes of depravity the tone of the writing didn't seem to mirror this. Most of the characters didn't seem to be doing horrible things but seeming to exist in a whole other time (medieval Europe) and acting accordingly. Not only that, but many of the peasants in the story lived a life (sometimes with violence and deprivation) of deep religious conviction. While dark, this seemed to give them some meaning, guidance and understanding of the lives and world they lived in. So how could it be so bad? I couldn't help seeing this as some meaning and not being as contemptuous of it. Ultimately while I would have liked the book more if I had not been deeply disappointed by the ending. Maybe cutting out that last spring section would have been better.

Ottessa Moshfegh really is wild for this, never thought a bunch of people in a medieval town with religious trauma and delusions would really be this poetic. Not embarrassed to say that this kinda did it for me. 

Genesis (@whisperingchapters) &
Lapvona by Ottessa Moshfegh

Reviews

Highlights

Join the club

Genesis (@whisperingchapters) &Lapvona by Ottessa Moshfegh

Reviews

Highlights

Join the club

Genesis (@whisperingchapters) &
Lapvona by Ottessa Moshfegh