Lapvona: A Novel

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.
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320 pages

Average rating: 6.35

82 RATINGS

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18 REVIEWS

Community Reviews

Anonymous
Jan 08, 2025
6/10 stars
Initially I thought the setting and characters would make an interesting movie, but after finishing the book, I think maybe not. Too many instances of dark human behavior and grotesque descriptions of bodily functions. Moshfegh is a great story teller, although I'm not sure what the point of this novel was. Nearly everyone was miserable, rotten, or murdered. Quite a commentary.
nadiasprologue
Dec 28, 2024
6/10 stars
i’m grossed out and frightened for my life
mhalgren
Dec 17, 2024
6/10 stars
well that happened
Anonymous
Dec 11, 2024
8/10 stars
This was like watching a train wreck happen and knowing you can’t save it. I only docked a star because the ending was very anticlimactic.
gigireadshorror
Nov 26, 2024
8/10 stars
Look, look with your horse eyes!

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