Lapvona

A Novel

By: Ottessa Moshfegh

Narrated by: Ottessa Moshfegh

An Instant New York Times Bestseller!

“Lapvona flips all the conventions of familial and parental relations, putting hatred where love should be or a negotiation where grief should be . . . Through a mix of witchery, deception, murder, abuse, grand delusion, ludicrous conversations, and cringeworthy moments of bodily disgust, Moshfegh creates a world that you definitely don’t want to live in, but from which you can’t look away.” —The Atlantic

In a village buffeted by natural disasters, a motherless shepherd boy finds himself part of a power struggle that puts the community’s 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, believes his mother died giving birth to him. One of Marek’s few consola­tions is his enduring bond with the blind village midwife, Ina, who suckled him when he was a baby. For some people, Ina’s ability to receive trans­missions of sacred knowledge from the natural world is a godsend. For others, Ina’s home in the woods is a godless place.

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 their depraved lord and governor, 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 arise to upset the old order. By year’s end, the veil between blindness and sight, life and death, and the natural world and the spirit world will prove to be very thin indeed.

Loneliness

Is the theme of the book and it is her best one thus far. Plus, she’s the reader 💗🥲

Depravity

The story was interesting, but this was a journey of wanton depravity and taboo breaking. Yeah I stuck with it until the end. It'll push your comfort level in a big way.

Well written. Not for everyone, but if it’s for you, you’ll give it 4 stars.

A genuinely good book. Two steps away from great. A few parts seems simply inserted for shock value. That said, there are some character studies in it that truest excel. Well done.

The wording and every detail

This was a lot to take in, I don’t know whether to like or dislike but it did keep me hooked on it.

Woooow

I love folklore I love fables and this one is such a fascinating, dark, foreboding and beautifully crafted story. It was unpredictable and vivid and razor sharp with its messaging.